Wework to rebrand as The We Company in business structure overhaul, turning its eyes to fintech

Shared workspace provider Wework is rebranding itself as The We Company, as the firm aims towards a more diversified business portfolio.

To be announced at an internal company conference later this week, The We Company will become the parent to several offshoots, including Wework as its main office provider.

Others include its residential unit Welive, and an educational arm called Wegrow that currently operates an elementary school in the US and a coding academy. 

Chief executive Adam Neumann revealed in an interview with Fastcompany that the firm plans to hire around 1,000 engineers this year, as well as acquire more businesses to scale its growth.

Potential business ventures mentioned in the past by Neumann included Wesleep and Wesail.

Its financial services arm Webank is "coming", said Neumann, upping the game for a future battle with fintech darlings such as Revolut, Chime, Venmo and Monzo, depending on what form the division takes.

The news comes as Japanese mega-investor Softbank is said to have scaled back a renewed investment in Wework, down from an initially-reported $16bn (£12.6bn) to $2bn.

The firm suffered several setbacks in December, including a disappointing public markets debut for its telecoms unit in Tokyo. Meanwhile its $100bn Vision Fund also received hefty criticism for its reliance on Saudi money, after the kingdom was implicated in the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

A representative for Wework has been contacted for comment.