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CoHive bankruptcy sends chills through surviving coworking businesses
Coworking businesses have been bleeding throughout the pandemic, with the recent bankruptcy of one of the dominant players CoHive being a symptom of what experts saw as the industry’s prevailing condition in 2023.
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A person stands in a CoHive space in this promotional photo from 2019.
T
he bankruptcy of CoHive, one of Indonesia’s largest coworking start-ups, has sent chills through the industry, with many expecting difficult times for businesses in the sector this year, though the COVID-19 pandemic is no longer a hindrance for people returning to flexible work.
The Central Jakarta District Court delivered its verdict approving the bankruptcy of PT Evi Asia Tenggara, which manages the CoHive brand, filed by its creditors after the company failed to conclude arrangements on its liabilities during the debt suspension period.
Evi Asia Tenggara wrote on its website that the prolonged pandemic, an unfavorable office supply situation and challenging fundraising environment as factors contributing to its filing for bankruptcy.
CoHive was once deemed as the largest coworking space firm by occupying around 29 percent offices located in Jakarta's central business district, according to 2019 data from property consultancy JLL Indonesia cited by Kompas.com. JLL’s 2022 first quarter data shows CoHive was only in the top five of coworking space players.
Felencia, secretary-general of the Indonesian Coworking Space Association (ACI), told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday that industry players were still trying to bring their businesses back to pre-pandemic levels.
But many coworking businesses were in survival mode today, as the industry “suffered quite a lot” during the pandemic “and many were shut down”, she said.
Read also: Not back to normal for commercial real estate post-PPKM: Property firms
