GIC-backed co-working operator JustCo is seeking to raise gross proceeds of $100 million and net proceeds of $92.2 million at 94 cents per share in an IPO on the Mainboard of Singapore Exchange. Trading is expected to begin at 9am on May 22.
The offer of nearly 32.09 million shares comprises approximately 6.3 million shares for retail investors and 25.79 million shares for institutional and other investors. In addition, nine cornerstone investors have agreed to subscribe to nearly 74.2 million shares at the offering price, totalling approximately $69.8 million.
These cornerstone investors include JP Morgan Asset Management, Amova Asset Management Asia, Fullerton Fund Management and Avanda Investment Management — four fund managers that have been appointed under the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s Equity Market Development Programme.
The remaining five cornerstone investors are Maybank Asset Management Singapore, Maybank Securities, Taiwan-incorporated investment firms Farglory International Investment and Jang Dah Fibre Industrial, and Wei Chun Chieh, the principal of a single family office.
GIC, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, first invested in JustCo in 2018. GIC is now JustCo’s largest shareholder, with a 29.1% stake. Post-IPO, GIC’s stake is expected to fall to around 22.7%.
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“Without GIC, I wouldn’t be here today,” says CEO and founder Kong Wan Sing at a media briefing on May 15.
SGX-listed Frasers Property is another controlling shareholder, holding 22.5% of JustCo. Post-IPO, Frasers Property’s stake is expected to fall to around 17.6%.
Kong founded JustCo in 2011 with his brother Kong Wan Long, now chief commercial officer of JustCo, and about US$5 million in seed funding from his family. The CEO began his career in Sing Long Investments in 2001, where he was responsible for project development and sales.
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The company, formerly a textile business run by Kong’s father, later pivoted to property development, which gave Kong his first experience in the industry. Kong, a New York University graduate, spent seven years with the family business before joining Mapletree Investments as an investment manager in 2007.
Under an overallotment option, Kong, through Sing Long Investments, will subscribe for up to 5.3 million shares — or 16.6% of the total shares offered — at the offering price.
If the overallotment option is not exercised, JustCo will channel close to $82 million of the funds raised towards expansion plans in existing and new markets. Some $10 million will go towards general corporate purposes and working capital, while some $8.3 million will be spent on underwriting fees and IPO expenses.
Why list now?
Founded and headquartered in Singapore, JustCo has built one of Asia-Pacific’s largest flexible workspace platforms, operating 54 centres across 12 cities, including Singapore, Seoul, Tokyo, Taipei and Melbourne. Across its network, JustCo currently manages approximately 1.89 million sq ft of net lettable area (NLA) and around 37,500 workstations.
Post-IPO, JustCo plans to open 28 new centres in 2026 (four have already been opened), adding 13,800 workstations over 689,000 sq ft of NLA. From its current footprint of 54 centres across 12 cities, JustCo expects to expand to over 100 centres across 20 cities by 2029, targeting premier commercial districts and up-and-coming urban areas across the Asia Pacific.
In the near term, IPO proceeds will support JustCo’s “core focus on Japan”. There, JustCo’s committed and pipeline centres are expected to add approximately 179,000 sq ft of NLA and approximately 3,600 workstations.
Elsewhere, JustCo expects to add 192,000 sq ft of NLA in new markets across Hong Kong, India, Malaysia and the Philippines, as well as 318,000 sq ft in existing markets.
According to Kong, around 28% of the IPO proceeds will go to the new markets, 26% to Japan and 46% to existing markets, based on NLA.
The intention to deepen presence in Japan also comes as “Japan is our second-highest margin market,” says Kong, “but we are still very underpenetrated there.”
JustCo currently operates six centres in Japan, compared with 20 in Singapore, despite Japan’s office market being around “four to five times bigger than Singapore’s”. Kong says the group plans to open at least nine additional centres in Japan over the next 12 months.
The Collective is JustCo’s luxury co-working brand. Launched in February, the brand’s first location occupies the entire 30th floor of Labrador Tower.
Operating under a multi-brand strategy that targets clients ranging from large corporates to start-ups and small- and medium-sized enterprises, Justco’s three brands include the luxury workspace brand The Collective; the premium co-working brand JustCo; and the no-frills, essentials-focused brand The Boring Office.
In a February interview with The Edge Singapore, Kong said he aims to double the group’s market presence across its three brands over the next three years. According to Kong, who also holds the title of executive chairman, he plans to expand the JustCo brand into new markets across India, Malaysia, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Dubai and Saudi Arabia.
JustCo’s IPO comes about two months after that interview. Kong says the company had initially explored a listing before the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted global office markets and derailed flexible workspace valuations in 2020 and 2021.
Following the pandemic, however, Kong says JustCo did not “rush into a listing”. Instead, he spent three years rebuilding occupancy and demonstrating the resilience of its business model before revisiting IPO plans.
“I told my team to give me three years; I need to prove that revenue will grow and that we can generate positive cash flow consistently every year,” says Kong.
“Over the last three years, our revenue has been growing very steadily and we [have been] cashflow positive… These are track records and validation. I keep telling investors that we are different; our business is sustainable,” he adds.
JustCo’s operating metrics have improved steadily over the past three financial years. Occupancy rate rose to 84% in FY2025, up from 78% in both FY2024 and FY2023.
Its membership base also expanded to 4,035 members occupying 29,422 workstations in FY2025, compared with 3,176 members occupying 26,765 workstations in FY2023, while membership tenure stood at 15.2 months in FY2025.
JustCo’s customers include global brands such as Coupang, Didi, General Electric, Klook, Moderna, Palo Alto, Pinterest, Tencent, Tory Burch and Zeekr. Over 53% of members have been with JustCo for more than three years and renewal success rates have grown y-o-y to 72.0% in FY2025.
Improving financials
JustCo swung into profitability ahead of its planned IPO. Based on its audited consolidated financial statements, the group posted a net profit of US$2.7 million ($3.5 million) in FY2025, reversing from net losses of US$10.1 million in FY2024 and US$12.5 million in FY2023.
Meanwhile, revenue rose to US$144.2 million in FY2025 from US$128 million in FY2024 and US$113 million in FY2023.
Cash Ebitda also increased to US$13.5 million in FY2025, compared with US$6.2 million in FY2024 and US$3.4 million in FY2023. Based on the audited financial statements, Cash Ebitda margin expanded to 9.4% in FY2025, up from 4.8% in FY2024 and 3.0% in FY2023.
Despite the turnaround, accumulated losses stood at US$188 million as at FY2025.
JustCo says it maintained a cash position of about US$104 million as at Dec 31, 2025 and had no outstanding external bank debt.
Expansionary strategy
Take-up rate for flexible workspace is expected to grow, notes Kong. “Take-up of flex space has grown by more than 50% across the Asia Pacific from over 50 million sq ft in 2022 to over 80 million sq ft in 1H2025. And by next year, this [number] will grow to more than 100 million sq ft.”
He adds: “The take-up space versus penetration is still very low at an average 5.9%, whereas in the US and the UK, the penetration rate is already at more than 10%. We have been in this business for 15 years with a focus on Asia Pacific. So, we think we can ride on this opportunity.”
JustCo’s expansionary strategy is largely driven by customers’ demand for regional workspace access as companies adopt more flexible working arrangements, says Kong. “Today, customers come to us — a regional operator — because of our reputation and access to multiple locations that fit their different ways of working.”
The group also intends to continue growing its management contract model, which currently accounts for around 40% of its portfolio, while the remaining 60% operates under the traditional lease model, says Kong.
Under management contracts, landlords bear part or all of the fit-out costs, while JustCo manages the workspace under a profit-sharing arrangement. Under traditional lease arrangements, however, JustCo leases space directly from landlords, funds its own fit-out costs and retains 100% of the profits generated from the workspace.
Over the longer term, Kong believes the flexible workspace sector could evolve similarly to the hospitality industry, with operators increasingly adopting management-based models rather than owning or leasing assets directly. “At some point, the business will become more like the hotel business,” he adds.
Photo: Albert Chua/The Edge Singapore, JustCo
