This article was updated to add a comment from WeWork.

IWG, the global coworking giant, is calculating the value of financially struggling rival WeWork's office space across the globe and has made 55,000 square feet of prime property in West London the latest workspace it has taken on.

The move comes as New York-based WeWork has begun a process of renegotiating the majority of its global leases with landlords as it fights to stay in business.

IWG didn't disclose until contacted by CoStar News for confirmation that it has taken the WeWork space at 12 Hammersmith Grove, which is listed as closed on its website, for its Spaces business. Spaces already occupies 42,000 square feet at The Assembly in Hammersmith while IWG's Regus brand also occupies space in Hammersmith. Spelthorne Council bought the 171,000-square-foot 12 Hammersmith Grove in 2018 for £170 million in a deal first revealed by CoStar News.

WeWork said last week it's seeking to negotiate terms with landlords globally to let the company maintain its "quality of service and global network, in a financially sustainable manner" said David Tolley, WeWork's chief executive officer. He added that this will lead to it exiting "unfit and underperforming locations" and reinvesting in its strongest assets.

That strategy shift came after WeWork announced in its second quarter results released last month that "substantial doubt exists" about its ability to continue as a going concern, putting landlords and tenants at millions of square feet of space on notice.

IWG, a publicly traded company like WeWork, said the move to 12 Hammersmith Grove had been prompted by the need to meet the "sharply rising demand for top class flexible working space" in London. The site by Hammersmith Broadway will include private offices, meeting rooms, co-working and creative spaces, as well as an exclusive ground floor reception area and lounge.

IWG said its most rapid growth in the United Kingdom is taking place in areas outside of central London including Hammersmith, Battersea, Ealing, Epping Forest, Finsbury Park, Teddington and Wandsworth.

In the first half of 2023, IWG has added 400 locations to its global network and posted its highest half-year revenue in its more than 30-year history.

IWG explained the owners decided to invest in the IWG platform to make the most of the return on their real estate space by taking advantage of the rapidly expanding demand for hybrid working.

Mark Dixon, CEO & founder of IWG, said in a statement: “We are growing fast throughout the capital and will continue to announce further locations to meet customer demand.”

“Our expanding footprint highlights that more and more companies are discovering that flexible working boosts employee happiness and satisfaction, while helping the environment. Our workplace model is also proven to increase productivity and allows for a business to scale up or down at significantly reduced costs.”

Dixon is well known for taking on space or taking over operators of space in the coworking sector when there is distress. The company has been approaching landlords about opportunities.

In IWG's buoyant results in August Dixon said the company had already taken on as many as 50 WeWork spaces as he said its revenues were soaring to record levels on the back of a global pivot to focus on more flexible office working and IWG's own emphasis on management agreements.

He was adamant the flexible offices sector is thriving, while he took a swing at WeWork's business model.

"In terms of our friends at WeWork it is the same business but a different model and that is what is causing them a problem. The space is wrongly fitted out. We have taken over maybe 50 WeWorks and we have to refit them and go again. The performance here would be better if they reshape in some way. This is an anomaly from a massive investment made a few years ago." He added it is unraveling but it will return to normal.

Experts expect IWG to be among the parties to launch a bid to take over WeWork if a sales process begins.

Looking at the likely options for WeWork if its landlord negotiations are not successful, Jonathan Price, who works in finance and flexible offices and built a £60 million portfolio of business hubs for Close Brothers between 2000 and 2006, told CoStar News: "I hope they are in talks about a rescue or restructuring that would bring down their very high costs and in particular the high central overheads. The cost control has been reducing this but not enough. I think a sensible solution is for a private equity firm to come in" and add capital to the business and put in new management who can turn it around.

WeWork has not operated the location for several months. In a statement it said it had left the space as part of its effort to make the most of its portfolio and provide the highest quality spaces to its customers.