PE-backed UrWork, 5Lmeet get $116m from Beijing Xingpai

Each company has received RMB400 million from Beijing Xingpai, whose business operations include sports, real estate, education, entertainment and financial investments. Following the investment, three parties will deepen cooperation in the fields of office sharing and lifestyle activities, a statement said. 

Established in April 2015, UrWork raised RMB400 million in January before it merged with rival New Space last month. The combined entity was valued at about $1.3 billion. Investors in UrWork’s previous rounds include Gopher Asset Management, Banyan Capital, ZhenFund, Sinovation Ventures and Sequoia Capital. UrWork itself operates 78 offices in 20 Chinese and overseas cities, hosting more than 2,000 start-ups.

Mao founded 5Lmeet eight months after UrWork. While UrWork is focused on providing office facilities and services – such as legal, accounting, marketing, and cloud computing services – to start-up founders and small enterprise owners, 5Lmeet’s services extend beyond co-working spaces and include round-the-clock lifestyle services. It has so far opened one center in Beijing, providing open offices, bookstore, gym rooms, restaurants and even bedrooms. The company plans to open another six centers in the country.

5Lmeet features a similar group of investors as UrWork. Sequoia, ZhenFund and China Equity provided seed funding to the company. 5Lmeet then closed a RMB400 million Series A round last year led by Jinyun Electrical and Junzi Capital, and a RMB100 million in March this year from Singapore’s GIC Private alongside Kaifeng Culture Tourism Investment Group, a Chinese local government industry fund.

Co-working spaces are proliferating in Asia as companies – from multinationals to start-ups – opt for more flexible real estate arrangements. In China, it’s estimated that more than 1,000 spaces are in operation in Beijing and Shanghai. While UrWork has gained strong interest from PE investors, US-based WeWork also raised a $430 million Series F found led by Legend Holdings and Hony Capital last year. The funding was earmarked for Asia expansion, with a focus in China.

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• Topics
• Greater China
• Real estate
• Expansion
• Support services
• China
• Growth capital