Soho China shifting more toward co-working spaces

Commercial property developer and operator Soho China is looking to tap into demand for shared workspaces beyond Beijing and Shanghai. According to The Wall Street Journal, the Beijing-based company, whose profits have shrunk for three straight years, has been branching out for the past 18 months into short-term leasing of shared working space to startups and small businesses. It is a business model that has turned New York-based WeWork Cos. into a market darling. Since 2012, its has sought to shift to leasing from sales, and long-term office leases generate most of Soho China’s revenue.  It already leases 16,000 desk in Beijing and Shanghai, most of which are taken up by local technology companies.