Troubled office-sharing start-up WeWork is set to have a positive cash flow by next year, its executive chairman told the Financial Times on Sunday, hailing a turn-around for the high-profile company.

"Everybody thought WeWork was mission impossible. [That we had] zero chance. And now, a year from now, you are going to see WeWork to basically be a profitable venture with an incredible diversity of assets," Marcelo Claure said.

Claure told the Financial Times that the New York-based company's revival was ahead of schedule after cutting its workforce by 8,000, renegotiating leases and selling assets.

WeWork says it is bouncing back despite the COVID-19 pandemic
WeWork says it is bouncing back despite the COVID-19 pandemic AFP / Kazuhiro NOGI

He also cited strong demand for flexible work space since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, with companies seeking small, satellite offices near where employees live.

The SoftBank-backed company was once hailed as a dazzling unicorn valued at $47 billion, before hemorrhaging cash and cancelling its share offering in 2019, with founder Adam Neumann pushed out.

Some tenants had refused to pay rent during COVID-19 shutdowns, but Claure said Mastercard, ByteDance, Microsoft and Citigroup had all recently signed lease deals with WeWork.

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