UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
FORM
(Mark One)
OR
For
the fiscal year ended
OR
OR
Date of event requiring this shell company report. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Commission
File Number:
(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)
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(Translation of Registrant’s name into English) | (Jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) |
People’s Republic of
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)
People’s Republic of
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(Name, Telephone, Email and/or Facsimile number and Address of Company Contact Person)
Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of each class | Trading Symbol | Name of each exchange on which registered | ||
The | ||||
The |
* | expiring on November 17, 2025. |
Securities
registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:
None
(Title of Class)
Securities
for which there is a reporting obligation pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Act:
None
(Title of Class)
Indicate the number of outstanding shares of each of the issuer’s classes of capital or common stock as of the close of the period covered by the annual report:
626,966 ordinary shares,
including
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by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☐
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by check mark whether the registrant: (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange
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has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule
405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant
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Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or an emerging growth company. See definition of “large accelerated filer”, “accelerated filer,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
Large accelerated filer ☐ | Accelerated filer ☐ | ☒ | ||||||
Emerging growth company |
If
an emerging growth company that prepares its financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP, indicate by check mark if the registrant
has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards† provided
pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.
† | The term “new or revised financial accounting standard” refers to any update issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board to its Accounting Standards Codification after April 5, 2012. |
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by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness
of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered
public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report.
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securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant
included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements.
Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b). ☐
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☒ | International Financial Reporting Standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board ☐ | Other ☐ |
If “Other” has been checked in response to the previous question, indicate by check mark which financial statement item the registrant has elected to follow. Item 17 ☐ Item 18 ☐
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this is an annual report, indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange
Act). Yes ☐ No
(APPLICABLE ONLY TO ISSUERS INVOLVED IN BANKRUPTCY PROCEEDINGS DURING THE PAST FIVE YEARS)
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed all documents and reports required to be filed by Sections 12, 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 subsequent to the distribution of securities under a plan confirmed by a court. Yes ☐ No ☐
TABLE OF CONTENTS
i
Introduction
Except where the context otherwise requires and for purposes of this annual report only:
● | “AI” refers to artificial intelligence; |
● | “app” refers to mobile app; |
● | “Beijing Melo” refers to Beijing Melo Technology Co., Ltd.; |
● | “Beijing U Bazaar” refers to Beijing Ubazaar Technology Co., Ltd.; |
● | “Business Combination” refers to (1) reincorporation of Orisun Acquisition Corp in the Cayman Islands by merging with and into our company; and (2) merger of Everstone International Ltd, a Cayman Islands exempted company and wholly owned subsidiary of our company, with and into Ucommune Group Holdings Limited (“Ucommune Group Holdings”), resulting in Ucommune Group Holdings being a wholly owned subsidiary of our company. |
● | “CAGR” refers to compound annual growth rate; |
● | “China” or “PRC” refers to the People’s Republic of China, excluding, for the purpose of this annual report only, Taiwan, Hong Kong and the Macau Special Administrative Region; |
● | “Class A ordinary shares” or “our Class A ordinary shares” refers to the Class A ordinary shares, par value US$0.024 per share, of the Parent, carrying one vote per share; |
● | “Class B ordinary shares” or “our Class B ordinary shares’ refers to the Class B ordinary shares, par value US$0.024 per share, of the Parent, carrying 55 votes per share; |
● | “Generation Z” refers to the demographic cohort in China of individuals born from 1990 to 2009; |
● | “GMV” refers to gross merchandize value; |
● | “Greater China” refers to, for the purpose of this annual report only, China as well as Hong Kong, Macau Special Administrative Region and Taiwan; |
● | “Hong Kong” or “HK” refers to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the PRC; |
● | “individual members using workstations” refers to the individuals that use our workstations under a membership agreement as of a given date, excluding the individuals that have access to a workstation on as-needed basis; |
● | “IoT” refers to internet of things; |
● | “IT” refers to information technology; |
● | “mature spaces” refers to spaces that have been open for more than 24 months; |
● | “members” refers to the individuals and enterprises that have registered on U Bazaar as of a given date; |
● | “new tier-1 cities” refers to the relatively developed cities following the tier-1 cities: Chengdu, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Qingdao, Kunming, Shenyang, Tianjin, Wuhan, Xi’an, Changsha, Chongqing, Suzhou, Ningbo, Zhengzhou and Dongguan; |
● | “ordinary shares” refers to our Class A and Class B ordinary shares of par value US$0.024 per share; |
ii
● | “Parent” refers to Ucommune International Ltd, our ultimate Cayman Islands holding company and a Nasdaq-listed company; |
● | “PIPE” refers to the investment of US$60.9 million in by certain backstop investors in connection with our company’s Business Combination. |
● | “RMB” or “Renminbi” refers to the legal currency of the PRC; |
● | “SAFE” refers to the State Administration for Foreign Exchange; |
● | “Shengguang Zhongshuo” refers to Zhuhai Shengguang Zhongshuo Digital Marketing Co., Ltd.; |
● | “SME” refers to small and medium enterprises; |
● | “space(s) operated by our associate(s)” refers to the co-working space(s) in which we have a minority interest investment but are operated by our associate(s); and we account for our investment under the equity method but do not consolidate the revenue of such spaces into our consolidated financial statements; |
● | “tier-1 cities” refers to the most developed cities in the PRC: Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen; |
● | “U Bazaar” refers to the mobile app developed by Beijing U Bazaar Technology Co., Ltd.; |
● | “Ucommune Technology” refers to Ucommune (Beijing) Technology Co., Ltd.; |
● | “Ucommune Venture” refers to Ucommune (Beijing) Venture Investment Co., Ltd.; |
● | “US$,” “dollars” or “U.S. dollars” refers to the legal currency of the United States; |
● | “variable interest entities” or “VIEs” refers to Ucommune Venture and Beijing U Bazaar (including each of their consolidated subsidiaries in China, if any), which are PRC companies in which the Parent does not have equity interests but whose financial results have been consolidated into the consolidated financial statements in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles, or U.S. GAAP, due to the Parent being the primary beneficiary of, such entities. In the context of our historical operations and consolidated financial statements as of and for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2022, “variable interest entities” or “VIEs” also includes Weixue Tianxia, the contractual arrangements with respect to which were terminated in December 2023; |
● | “we,” “us,” “our company,” “our” or “Ucommune” refers to Ucommune International Ltd, a Cayman Islands exempted company, its subsidiaries and, in the context of describing our operations and consolidated financial statements, the consolidated VIEs; |
● | “Weixue Tianxia” refers to Beijing Weixue Tianxia Education Technology Co., Ltd; |
● | “wholly foreign-owned enterprises” or “WFOEs” refers to Ucommune Technology and Beijing Melo; |
● | “2019 plan” refers to a share incentive plan of the Parent adopted on August 22, 2019; and |
● | “2020 plan” refers to a share incentive plan of the Parent adopted on November 17, 2020, as amended, to assume and replace the 2019 plan. |
Unless otherwise noted, all statistics with respect to our co-working spaces, cities covered by our co-working space network, managed area of co-working spaces, workstations, occupancy rates and members exclude the spaces operated by our associates.
Certain amounts, percentages and other figures, such as key operating data, presented in this annual report have been subject to rounding adjustments. Accordingly, figures shown as totals, dollars or percentages may not represent the arithmetic summation or calculation of the figures that accompany them.
Unless otherwise noted, all translations from Renminbi to U.S. dollars and from U.S. dollars to Renminbi in this annual report are made at RMB7.0999 to US$1.00, the exchange rate set forth in the H.10 statistical release of the Federal Reserve Board on December 29, 2023. We make no representation that any Renminbi or U.S. dollar amounts could have been, or could be, converted into U.S. dollars or Renminbi, as the case may be, at any particular rate, the rates stated below, or at all.
iii
FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION
This annual report contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. All statements other than statements of historical facts are forward-looking statements. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements.
You can identify these forward-looking statements by words or phrases such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “aim,” “estimate,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe,” “likely to” or other similar expressions. We have based these forward-looking statements largely on our current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends that we believe may affect our financial condition, results of operations, business strategy and financial needs. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about:
● | our goals and growth strategies; |
● | our future business development, results of operations and financial condition; |
● | relevant government policies and regulations relating to our business and industry; |
● | our expectation regarding the use of proceeds from securities offerings; |
● | general economic and business conditions in China; and |
● | assumptions underlying or related to any of the foregoing. |
You should read thoroughly this annual report and the documents that we refer to in this annual report with the understanding that our actual future results may be materially different from and worse than what we expect. Other sections of this annual report include additional factors which could adversely impact our business and financial performance.
We operate in an evolving environment. New risk factors and uncertainties emerge from time to time and it is not possible for our management to predict all risk factors and uncertainties, nor can we assess the impact of all factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. We qualify all of our forward-looking statements by these cautionary statements.
You should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
This annual report also contains statistical data and estimates that we obtained from industry publications and reports generated by third-party providers of market intelligence. These industry publications and reports generally indicate that the information contained therein was obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but do not guarantee the accuracy and completeness of such information.
iv
part I
ITEM 1. IDENTITY OF DIRECTORS, SENIOR MANAGEMENT AND ADVISERS
Not applicable.
ITEM 2. OFFER STATISTICS AND EXPECTED TIMETABLE
Not Applicable.
ITEM 3. KEY INFORMATION
Implications of Being a Company with the Holding Company Structure and the VIE Structures
The VIE Structures and Associated Risks
Ucommune International Ltd, the Parent, is the ultimate Cayman Islands holding company with no material operations of its own. The Parent carries out its business in China through the WFOEs and their respective contractual arrangements, commonly known as the VIE structures, with the VIEs based in China and their respective shareholders, due to the PRC regulatory restrictions on direct foreign investment in value-added telecommunications services (“VATSs”) and certain other businesses. Investors in our securities are purchasing the equity securities of Ucommune International Ltd, the Cayman Islands holding company, rather than the equity securities of the VIEs in which our operations are conducted.
The VIE structures are established through a series of agreements, including those by and among Ucommune Technology, Ucommune Venture and the shareholders of Ucommune Venture and those by and among Ucommune Technology, Beijing U Bazaar and the shareholder of Beijing U Bazaar. The series of agreements generally comprises executive business cooperation agreements (or exclusive technology consulting and service agreement), equity pledge agreements, exclusive option agreements, shareholders’ voting rights proxy agreements and spousal consent letters. The contractual arrangements allow us to (1) be considered as the primary beneficiary of the VIEs for accounting purposes and consolidate the financial results of the VIEs, (2) receive substantially all of the economic benefits of the VIEs, (3) have the pledge right over the equity interests in the VIEs as the pledgee, and (4) have an exclusive option to purchase all or part of the equity interests in the VIEs when and to the extent permitted by PRC law. For details, see “Item 4. Information on the Company — C. Organizational Structure — Contractual Arrangements with the VIEs and Their Respective Shareholders.”
However, neither the Parent nor WFOEs own any equity interest in the VIEs. Our contractual arrangements with the VIEs and their respective shareholders are not equivalent of an investment in the equity interest of the VIEs. Instead, as described above, we are regarded as the primary beneficiary of the VIEs and consolidate the financial results of the VIEs under U.S. GAAP in light of the VIE structures.
The VIE structures involve unique risks to holders of our securities. It may be less effective than direct ownership in providing us with operational control over the VIEs, and we may incur substantial costs to enforce the terms of the arrangements. For instance, the VIEs and their respective shareholders could breach their contractual arrangements with us by, among other things, failing to conduct the operations of the VIEs in an acceptable manner or taking other actions that are detrimental to our interests. If we had direct ownership of the VIEs in China, we would be able to exercise our rights as a shareholder to effect changes in the board of directors of the VIEs, which in turn could implement changes, subject to any applicable fiduciary obligations, at the management and operational level. However, under the current contractual arrangements, we rely on the performance by the VIEs and their respective shareholders of their obligations under the contracts to direct the VIEs’ activities. The shareholders of the VIEs may not act in the best interests of our company or may not perform its obligations under these contracts. If any dispute relating to these contracts remains unresolved, we will have to enforce our rights under these contracts through the operations of PRC law and arbitration, litigation and other legal proceedings and therefore will be subject to uncertainties in the PRC legal system.
1
We may face challenges in enforcing the contractual arrangements due to jurisdictional and legal limitations. There are substantial uncertainties regarding the interpretation and application of current and future PRC laws, regulations and rules regarding the status of the rights of our Cayman Islands holding company with respect to the contractual arrangements with the VIEs and their respective shareholders through the WFOEs. As of the date of this annual report, the contractual arrangements governing the VIEs have not been tested in a court of law. It is uncertain whether any new PRC laws or regulations relating to VIE structures will be adopted or, if adopted, what they would provide. If we or the VIEs are found to be in violation of any existing or future PRC laws or regulations or fail to obtain or maintain any of the required licenses, permits, registrations or approvals, the relevant PRC regulatory authorities would have broad discretion to take action in dealing with such violations or failures. The PRC regulatory authorities could disallow the VIE structures at any time in the future. If the PRC government deems that our contractual arrangements with the VIEs do not comply with PRC regulatory restrictions on foreign investment in the relevant industries, or if these regulations or the interpretation of existing regulations change or are interpreted differently in the future, we could be subject to severe penalties and may incur substantial costs to enforce the terms of the arrangements, or be forced to relinquish our interests in those operations. Our Cayman Islands holding company, our subsidiaries, the VIEs and our shareholders face uncertainty with respect to potential future actions by the PRC government that could affect the enforceability of the contractual arrangements with the VIEs and, consequently, significantly affect the financial performance of our company and the VIEs as a whole. For details, see “— D. Risk Factors — Risks Relating to Our Corporate Structure.”
Revenues contributed by the VIEs accounted for substantially all of our net revenue in 2021, 2022 and 2023. For a condensed consolidation schedule depicting the results of operations, financial position and cash flows for us, the WFOEs and the VIEs during 2021, 2022 and 2023, see “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects.” For details of the permissions and licenses required for operating our business in China and the related limitations, see “— Our Operations in China and Permissions Required from the PRC Authorities for Our Operations.”
Cash and Asset Flows through Our Organization
In light of our holding company structure and the VIE structures, our ability to pay dividends to the shareholders, and to service any debt we may incur may highly depend upon dividends paid by the WFOEs to us and service fees paid by the VIEs to the WFOEs, despite that we may obtain financing at the holding company level through other methods. For instance, if any of the WFOEs or the VIEs incur debt on their own behalf in the future, the instruments governing such debt may restrict their ability to pay dividends to us and our shareholders, as well as the ability to settle amounts owed under the contractual arrangements. As of the date of this annual report, none of Ucommune International Ltd, the WFOEs and the VIEs has paid any dividends or made any distributions to their respective shareholders, including any U.S. investors, nor do we have any present plan to pay any cash dividends on our ordinary shares in the foreseeable future. We currently intend to retain most, if not all, of our available funds and any future earnings to operate and expand our business. See “Dividend Policy” for details. In 2021, 2022 and 2023, the total amount of the service fees that the VIEs paid to the WFOEs under the contractual arrangements was nil, nil and nil, respectively. We expect to continue to distribute earnings and settle the service fees owed under the contractual arrangements at the request of the WFOEs and based on our business needs, and do not expect to declare dividend in the foreseeable future.
Under PRC laws and regulations, the WFOEs are permitted to pay dividends only out of their retained earnings, if any, as determined in accordance with PRC accounting standards and regulations. Furthermore, the WFOEs and the VIEs are required to make appropriations to certain statutory reserve funds or may make appropriations to certain discretionary funds, which are not distributable as cash dividends except in the event of a solvent liquidation of the companies. Remittance of dividends by the WFOEs out of China is also subject to certain procedures with the banks designated by the PRC State Administration of Foreign Exchange (“SAFE”). These restrictions are benchmarked against the paid-in capital and the statutory reserve funds of the WFOEs and the net assets of the VIEs in which we have no legal ownership. In addition, while there are currently no such restrictions on foreign exchange and our ability to transfer cash or assets between Ucommune International Ltd and our subsidiaries incorporated in Hong Kong (the “HK Subsidiaries”), if certain PRC laws and regulations, including existing laws and regulations and those enacted or promulgated in the future were to become applicable to our HK Subsidiaries in the future, and to the extent our cash or assets are in Hong Kong or a Hong Kong entity, such funds or assets may not be available due to interventions in or the imposition of restrictions and limitations on our ability to transfer funds or assets by the PRC government. Furthermore, we cannot assure you that the PRC government will not intervene or impose restrictions on Ucommune International Ltd, its subsidiaries and the VIEs to transfer or distribute cash within the organization, which could result in an inability of or prohibition on making transfers or distributions to entities outside of mainland China and Hong Kong.
2
Under PRC laws and regulations, we, the Cayman Islands holding company, may fund the WFOEs only through capital contributions or loans, and fund the VIEs only through loans, subject to satisfaction of applicable government registration and approval requirements. For details, see “— D. Risk Factors — Risks Relating to Doing Business in China — We may rely on dividends and other distributions on equity paid by our PRC subsidiaries to fund any cash and financing requirements we may have, and any limitation on the ability of our PRC subsidiaries to make payments to us could materially and adversely affect our ability to conduct our business,” and “— D. Risk Factors — Risks Relating to Doing Business in China — PRC regulation of loans to and direct investment in PRC entities by offshore holding companies and governmental control of currency conversion may delay us from using the proceeds of securities offerings, to make loans or additional capital contributions to our PRC subsidiaries, which could materially and adversely affect our liquidity and our ability to fund and expand our business.”
See also “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects — B. Liquidity and Capital Resources. — Holding Company Structure.”
Financial Statement Information Related to the VIE Structures
The following condensed consolidated financial statements present information related to the Parent, i.e., Ucommune International Ltd, which is our investment holding company, the VIEs, the WFOEs, the HK Subsidiaries and other subsidiaries as of and for the periods indicated.
As of December 31, 2023 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Parent | VIE and its Subsidiaries | WFOEs | HK Subsidiaries | Other Subsidiaries | Eliminating Entries | Total | ||||||||||||||||||||||
(RMB in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Cash and cash equivalent | 1,034 | 51,854 | 1,002 | 312 | 86 | — | 54,288 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Inter-Company balances due from VIEs/Subsidiaries | 439,313 | — | — | — | — | (439,313 | ) | — | ||||||||||||||||||||
Other current assets | 69,728 | 195,143 | 5,772 | 2,510 | 311,627 | (344,518 | ) | 240,262 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Total current assets | 510,075 | 246,997 | 6,774 | 2,822 | 311,713 | (783,831 | ) | 294,550 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Property and equipment, net | — | 54,505 | 2 | — | — | — | 54,507 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Right of use assets, net | — | 142,456 | — | — | — | — | 142,456 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Other non-current assets | — | 95,246 | — | — | — | — | 95,246 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Total non-current assets | — | 292,207 | 2 | — | — | — | 292,209 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Total assets | 510,075 | 539,204 | 6,776 | 2,822 | 311,713 | (783,831 | ) | 586,759 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Accounts payable | 3,786 | 198,318 | 80 | — | — | — | 202,184 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Investment deficit in subsidiaries and consolidated VIEs | 396,106 | — | — | — | — | (396,106 | ) | — | ||||||||||||||||||||
Inter-Company balances due to Parent/VIEs/Subsidiaries | — | 182,706 | 9,173 | 130,539 | 116,894 | (439,312 | ) | — | ||||||||||||||||||||
Lease liabilities, current | — | 36,927 | — | — | — | — | 36,927 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Other current liabilities | 42,831 | 183,746 | 5,307 | 45,158 | 260,101 | (344,211 | ) | 192,932 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Total current liabilities | 442,723 | 601,697 | 14,560 | 175,697 | 376,995 | (1,179,629 | ) | 432,043 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Lease liabilities, non-current | — | 70,628 | — | — | — | — | 70,628 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Other non-current liabilities | 5,383 | 9,185 | — | — | — | — | 14,568 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Total non-current liabilities | 5,383 | 79,813 | — | — | — | — | 85,196 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Total liabilities | 448,106 | 681,510 | 14,560 | 175,697 | 376,995 | (1,179,629 | ) | 517,239 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Total Equity/(Deficit) | 61,969 | (142,306 | ) | (7,784 | ) | (172,875 | ) | (65,282 | ) | 395,798 | 69,520 |
3
As of December 31, 2022 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Parent | VIE and its Subsidiaries | WFOEs | HK Subsidiaries | Other Subsidiaries | Eliminating Entries | Total | ||||||||||||||||||||||
(RMB in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Cash and cash equivalent | 658 | 46,886 | 3,169 | 2,032 | 500 | — | 53,245 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Inter-Company balances due from VIEs/Subsidiaries | 501,913 | — | — | — | — | (501,913 | ) | — | ||||||||||||||||||||
Other current assets | 42,090 | 316,832 | 27,580 | 1 | 318,635 | (393,427 | ) | 311,711 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Total current assets | 544,661 | 363,718 | 30,749 | 2,033 | 319,135 | (895,340 | ) | 364,956 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Property and equipment, net | — | 131,291 | 4 | 30 | — | — | 131,325 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Right of use assets, net | — | 319,263 | — | — | — | — | 319,263 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Other non-current assets | — | 213,182 | — | 2,873 | 6,767 | — | 222,822 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Total non-current assets | — | 663,736 | 4 | 2,903 | 6,767 | — | 673,410 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Total assets | 544,661 | 1,027,454 | 30,753 | 4,936 | 325,902 | (895,340 | ) | 1,038,366 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Accounts payable | 5,498 | 273,813 | — | 5,668 | 1,393 | (6,693 | ) | 279,679 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Investment deficit in subsidiaries and consolidated VIEs | 400,518 | — | — | — | — | (400,518 | ) | — | ||||||||||||||||||||
Inter-Company balances due to Parent/VIEs/Subsidiaries | — | 221,904 | 11,199 | 141,599 | 127,211 | (501,913 | ) | — | ||||||||||||||||||||
Lease liabilities, current | — | 162,791 | — | — | — | — | 162,791 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Other current liabilities | 73,087 | 318,570 | 23,177 | 94,398 | 218,886 | (386,500 | ) | 341,618 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Total current liabilities | 479,103 | 977,078 | 34,376 | 241,665 | 347,490 | (1,295,624 | ) | 784,088 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Lease liabilities, non-current | — | 153,298 | — | — | — | — | 153,298 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Other non-current liabilities | 14,291 | 9,297 | — | — | — | — | 23,588 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Total non-current liabilities | 14,291 | 162,595 | — | — | — | — | 176,886 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Total liabilities | 493,394 | 1,139,673 | 34,376 | 241,665 | 347,490 | (1,295,624 | ) | 960,974 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Total Equity/(Deficit) | 51,267 | (112,219 | ) | (3,623 | ) | (236,729 | ) | (21,588 | ) | 400,284 | 77,392 |
4
Year Ended December 31, 2023 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Parent | VIE and its Subsidiaries | WFOEs | HK Subsidiaries | Other Subsidiaries | Eliminating Entries | Total | ||||||||||||||||||||||
(RMB in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Total revenue | — | 459,820 | 7 | — | — | (7 | ) | 459,820 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Total cost of revenue | — | (451,937 | ) | (2,847 | ) | — | — | — | (454,784 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||
Operating income /(expenses): | 8,747 | (138,224 | ) | (1,508 | ) | (3,427 | ) | (152 | ) | 7 | (134,557 | ) | ||||||||||||||||
Gain/(Loss) from operations | 8,747 | (130,341 | ) | (4,348 | ) | (3,427 | ) | (152 | ) | — | (129,521 | ) | ||||||||||||||||
Gain/(Loss) from equity method investments | 11,634 | 795 | — | — | — | (11,634 | ) | 795 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Net (loss)/income | (4,864 | ) | (38,883 | ) | (4,348 | ) | (3,427 | ) | 40,600 | (11,634 | ) | (22,556 | ) |
Year Ended December 31, 2022 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Parent | VIE and its Subsidiaries | WFOEs | HK Subsidiaries | Other Subsidiaries | Eliminating Entries | Total | ||||||||||||||||||||||
(RMB in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Total revenue | — | 643,535 | 7,350 | 17,186 | 12 | (7,342 | ) | 660,741 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Total cost of revenue | — | (704,849 | ) | — | (33,253 | ) | (15 | ) | 3,150 | (734,967 | ) | |||||||||||||||||
Operating expenses: | (206 | ) | (294,130 | ) | (4,447 | ) | (7,629 | ) | (56 | ) | 26,795 | (279,673 | ) | |||||||||||||||
(Loss)/gain from operations | (206 | ) | (355,444 | ) | 2,903 | (23,696 | ) | (59 | ) | 22,603 | (353,899 | ) | ||||||||||||||||
Loss from equity method investments | (291,468 | ) | — | — | — | — | 291,468 | — | ||||||||||||||||||||
Net (loss)/income | (291,674 | ) | (317,115 | ) | 2,903 | (23,696 | ) | (6,985 | ) | 314,071 | (322,496 | ) |
Year Ended December 31, 2021 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Parent | VIE and its Subsidiaries | WFOEs | HK Subsidiaries | Other Subsidiaries | Eliminating Entries | Total | ||||||||||||||||||||||
(RMB in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Total revenue | — | 1,027,988 | 836 | 16,401 | 18,441 | (6,158 | ) | 1,057,508 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Total cost of revenue | — | (1,089,977 | ) | — | (13,761 | ) | (30,322 | ) | — | (1,134,060 | ) | |||||||||||||||||
Operating expenses: | (120,491 | ) | (1,803,696 | ) | (753 | ) | (15,392 | ) | (116,086 | ) | 6,158 | (2,050,260 | ) | |||||||||||||||
Loss from operations | (120,491 | ) | (1,865,685 | ) | 83 | (12,752 | ) | (127,967 | ) | — | (2,126,812 | ) | ||||||||||||||||
Loss from equity method investments | (1,875,922 | ) | (27 | ) | — | — | — | 1,875,922 | (27 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||
Net loss | (1,996,413 | ) | (1,832,247 | ) | 83 | (12,752 | ) | (197,430 | ) | 1,875,922 | (2,162,837 | ) |
5
Year Ended December 31, 2023 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Parent | VIE and its Subsidiaries | WFOEs | HK Subsidiaries | Other Subsidiaries | Eliminating Entries | Total | ||||||||||||||||||||||
(RMB in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Net cash provided by /(used in) operating activities | 5,872 | 13,819 | (2,167 | ) | (1,122 | ) | 594 | — | 16,996 | |||||||||||||||||||
Purchase of short-term investments | — | (103,555 | ) | — | — | — | — | (103,555 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||
Redemption of short-term investments | — | 94,148 | — | — | — | — | 94,148 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Purchase of property and equipment | — | (12,992 | ) | — | (556 | ) | — | — | (13,548 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||
Other investing activities | — | 39,662 | — | — | — | — | 39,662 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Net cash provided by /(used in) investing activities | — | 17,263 | — | (556 | ) | — | — | 16,707 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Loan received from third parties | — | 4,862 | — | — | — | — | 4,862 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Loan repaid to third parties | — | (17,991 | ) | — | — | (178 | ) | — | (18,169 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||
Cash received from issuing convertible bond | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||
Redemption of convertible bond | (5,482 | ) | — | — | — | — | — | (5,482 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||
Other financing activities | — | (12,000 | ) | — | — | — | — | (12,000 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||
Net cash used in financing activities | (5,482 | ) | (25,129 | ) | — | — | (178 | ) | — | (30,789 | ) | |||||||||||||||||
Effects of exchange rate changes | (14 | ) | — | — | (42 | ) | (830 | ) | — | (886 | ) | |||||||||||||||||
Net increase/(decrease) in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash | 376 | 5,953 | (2,167 | ) | (1,720 | ) | (414 | ) | — | 2,028 | ||||||||||||||||||
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash - beginning of the period | 658 | 46,886 | 3,169 | 2,032 | 500 | — | 53,245 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash - end of the period | 1,034 | 52,839 | 1,002 | 312 | 86 | — | 55,273 |
6
Year Ended December 31, 2022 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Parent | VIE and its Subsidiaries | WFOEs | HK Subsidiaries | Other Subsidiaries | Eliminating Entries | Total | ||||||||||||||||||||||
(RMB in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Net cash (used in)/provided by operating activities | (18,223 | ) | (52,830 | ) | (6,425 | ) | (25,502 | ) | (72,917 | ) | — | (175,897 | ) | |||||||||||||||
Purchase of short-term investments | — | (201,390 | ) | (14,000 | ) | — | — | — | (215,390 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||
Redemption of short-term investments | — | 217,020 | 17,073 | — | — | — | 234,093 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Purchase of property and equipment | — | (19,321 | ) | — | (950 | ) | — | — | (20,271 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||
Other investing activities | — | 10,946 | — | — | 19,271 | — | 30,217 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Net cash provided by /(used in) investing activities | — | 7,255 | 3,073 | (950 | ) | 19,271 | — | 28,649 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Loan received from third parties | — | 21,930 | — | — | — | — | 21,930 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Loan repaid to third parties | — | (67,428 | ) | — | — | — | — | (67,428 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||
Cash received from issuing convertible bond | 17,684 | — | — | — | — | — | 17,684 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Other financing activities | — | 12,895 | — | — | — | — | 12,895 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Net cash provided by /(used in) financing activities | 17,684 | (32,603 | ) | — | — | — | — | (14,919 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||
Effects of exchange rate changes | (87 | ) | — | — | (752 | ) | (244 | ) | — | (1,083 | ) | |||||||||||||||||
Net increase/(decrease) in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash | (626 | ) | (78,178 | ) | (3,352 | ) | (27,204 | ) | (53,890 | ) | — | (163,250 | ) | |||||||||||||||
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash - beginning of the period | 1,284 | 125,064 | 6,521 | 29,236 | 54,390 | — | 216,495 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash - end of the period | 658 | 46,886 | 3,169 | 2,032 | 500 | — | 53,245 |
7
Year Ended December 31, 2021 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Parent | VIE and its Subsidiaries | WFOEs | HK Subsidiaries | Other Subsidiaries | Eliminating Entries | Total | ||||||||||||||||||||||
(RMB in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Net cash (used in)/provided by operating activities | (290,529 | ) | 72,702 | 844 | (71,528 | ) | 89,391 | — | (199,120 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||
Purchase of short-term investments | — | (45,700 | ) | (65,850 | ) | (254,318 | ) | — | — | (365,868 | ) | |||||||||||||||||
Redemption of short-term investments | — | 24,250 | 66,777 | 254,318 | — | — | 345,345 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Purchase of property and equipment | — | (42,604 | ) | — | (158 | ) | — | — | (42,762 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||
Other investing activities | — | 23,243 | — | — | (19,041 | ) | — | 4,202 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Net cash (used in)/provided by investing activities | — | (40,811 | ) | 927 | (158 | ) | (19,041 | ) | — | (59,083 | ) | |||||||||||||||||
Loan received from third parties | — | 50,990 | — | — | — | — | 50,990 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Loan repaid to third parties | — | (73,482 | ) | — | (842 | ) | (707 | ) | — | (75,031 | ) | |||||||||||||||||
Underwritten public offering financing, net of listing fee | 111,559 | — | — | — | — | — | 111,559 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Other financing activities | 165 | (8,789 | ) | — | — | — | — | (8,624 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||
Net cash provided by/(used in) financing activities | 111,724 | (31,281 | ) | — | (842 | ) | (707 | ) | — | 78,894 | ||||||||||||||||||
Effects of exchange rate changes | 2,087 | — | — | — | (7,073 | ) | — | (4,986 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||
Net increase/(decrease) in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash | (176,718 | ) | 610 | 1,771 | (72,528 | ) | 62,570 | — | (184,295 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash - beginning of the period | 178,002 | 124,454 | 4,750 | 101,764 | (8,180 | ) | — | 400,790 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash - end of the period | 1,284 | 125,064 | 6,521 | 29,236 | 54,390 | — | 216,495 |
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The following table sets forth the roll-forwards of the investment in our subsidiaries and the VIEs line item for the periods indicated:
Inter-group Balances Due from VIEs/Subsidiaries: | Parent | VIE and its Subsidiaries | WFOEs | HK Subsidiaries | Other Subsidiaries | |||||||||||||||
(RMB in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||||||
January 1, 2018 | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||
Re-domiciliation of Ucommune Group Holdings(1) | 827,307 | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||
Loss from equity method investment | (429,592 | ) | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||
December 31, 2018 | 397,715 | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||
Loss from equity method investment | (780,040 | ) | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||
Issue ordinary shares for acquisitions(2) | 2,292,617 | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||
Foreign exchange loss for long-term investments | (926 | ) | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||
Restructure of VIE and Subsidiaries(3) | — | 5,795 | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||
Intercompany loan lent | 69,624 | 10,438 | 135 | 8,960 | — | |||||||||||||||
Intercompany loan collected | — | (6,752 | ) | (121 | ) | — | — | |||||||||||||
December 31, 2019 | 1,978,990 | 9,481 | 14 | 8,960 | — | |||||||||||||||
Loss from equity method investment | (184,716 | ) | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||
Foreign exchange gain for long-term investments | 2,911 | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||
Intercompany loan lent | — | 79,476 | — | 457 | — | |||||||||||||||
Intercompany loan collected | — | (61,106 | ) | (2 | ) | (3,429 | ) | — | ||||||||||||
June 30, 2020 | 1,797,185 | 27,851 | 12 | 5,988 | — | |||||||||||||||
Additional long-term investment held by ESOP(4) | 164,623 | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||
Loss from equity method investment | (261,074 | ) | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||
Foreign exchange loss-LTI | (7,716 | ) | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||
Restructure of Parent and Subsidiaries through SPAC(5) | (69,624 | ) | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||
Intercompany loan lent | 235,086 | 99,550 | 45 | 10,547 | — | |||||||||||||||
Intercompany loan collected | — | (121,763 | ) | (44 | ) | (5,612 | ) | — | ||||||||||||
December 31, 2020 | 1,858,480 | 5,638 | 13 | 10,923 | — | |||||||||||||||
Loss from equity method investment | (1,875,922 | ) | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||
Additional long-term investment held by ESOP(4) | 151,177 | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||
New acquisition | 8,701 | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||
Foreign exchange gain for Long-term investments | (4,976 | ) | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||
Intercompany loan lent | 474,773 | — | 84,065 | 252,913 | 65,676 | |||||||||||||||
Intercompany loan collected | (216,477 | ) | (5,638 | ) | (84,078 | ) | (38,882 | ) | (65,676 | ) | ||||||||||
December 31, 2021 | 395,756 | — | — | 224,954 | — | |||||||||||||||
Loss from equity method investment | (291,468 | ) | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||
Additional long-term investment held by ESOP(4) | 17,684 | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||
Foreign exchange gain for Long-term investments | (29,109 | ) | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||
Intercompany loan lent | 15,729 | — | 212,281 | 107,202 | 27,994 | |||||||||||||||
Intercompany loan collected | (7,197 | ) | — | (212,281 | ) | (98,831 | ) | (27,994 | ) | |||||||||||
December 31, 2022 | 101,395 | — | — | 233,325 | — | |||||||||||||||
Loss from equity method investment | 11,634 | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||
Adoption of ASC 326 | (6,308 | ) | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||
Additional long-term investment held by ESOP(4) | 8,207 | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||
Foreign exchange gain for Long-term investments | (9,121 | ) | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||
Intercompany loan lent | 287 | — | 48,120 | 296,635 | 32,970 | |||||||||||||||
Intercompany loan collected | (62,887 | ) | — | (48,120 | ) | (339,892 | ) | (32,970 | ) | |||||||||||
December 31, 2023 | 43,207 | — | — | 190,068 | — |
(1) | Ucommune Group Holdings was incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands on September 21, 2018. Ucommune Venture was established in April 2015, as a limited liability company in the PRC incorporated by Dr. Daqing Mao and other co-founders. From September 2018 to June 2019, Ucommune Venture undertook a series of reorganization transactions to re-domicile its business from the PRC to the Cayman Islands (the “Re-domiciliation”). Prior to the Re-domiciliation, Ucommune International Ltd and Ucommune Venture were under the same ownership. The Re-domiciliation was accounted for as a reorganization of entities under common ownership. See Note 1 to the consolidated financial statements. The amount of long-term investment of the parent company was the total net assets of the VIEs as of September 21, 2018. |
(2) | Prior to establishing Ucommune Group Holdings and issuing the shares, Ucommune Group Holdings recorded capital investments into liabilities to be settled in shares rather than paid-in capital and additional paid-in capital. This is due to the enterprise law of PRC that has limitations on the number of shareholders. After the re-domiciliation and establishment of the Ucommune Group Holdings, through the contractual arrangements, these investors could be registered as shareholders by issuing ordinary shares to them and became common shareholders. These liabilities to be settled in shares have been reclassified to additional paid-in capital and increased the amount of long-term investments of the parent company in the amount of RMB2.3 billion. |
9
(3) | During 2018, all the entities were VIEs. During 2019, some of the VIEs changed to our subsidiaries through restructuring. There were inter-company loans among VIE subsidiaries before 2019 and were reclassified as inter-company balances between the VIEs and our subsidiaries during 2019 with some of the VIEs changed to our subsidiaries. |
(4) | Ucommune International Ltd issued share incentives to its employees using its ordinary shares. Upon the consummation of the Business Combination, the shares previously granted became effective and vest according to the related share incentive agreements. Therefore, the parent company recognized long-term investments to the subsidiaries and the subsidiaries recognized share-based compensation expenses. |
(5) | The parent company was Ucommune Group Holdings for the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2019 and for the six months ended June 30, 2020. Ucommune International Ltd has been the parent company since November 2020 after the completion of the business reorganization. Ucommune International Ltd was incorporated in the Cayman Islands on June 16, 2020 as an exempted company with limited liability. Therefore, the original parent company, Ucommune Group Holdings, changed to a subsidiary company and deducted the inter-company balance as the original parent company changed to a subsidiary company. |
Inter-group Balances Due to VIEs/Subsidiaries: | Parent | VIE and its Subsidiaries | WFOEs | HK Subsidiaries | Other Subsidiaries | |||||||||||||||
(RMB in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||||||
January 1, 2018 | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||
December 31, 2018 | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||
Restructure of VIE and Subsidiaries | — | — | 1,845 | 2,307 | 1,643 | |||||||||||||||
Intercompany loan received | — | — | 8,588 | 71,069 | 9,500 | |||||||||||||||
Intercompany loan repayment | — | — | (6,363 | ) | (25 | ) | (485 | ) | ||||||||||||
December 31, 2019 | — | — | 4,070 | 73,351 | 10,658 | |||||||||||||||
Intercompany loan received | — | — | 54,374 | 85 | 25,474 | |||||||||||||||
Intercompany loan repayment | — | — | (43,646 | ) | - | (20,891 | ) | |||||||||||||
June 30, 2020 | — | — | 14,798 | 73,436 | 15,241 | |||||||||||||||
Restructure of Parent and Subsidiaries through SPAC | — | — | — | (69,624 | ) | — | ||||||||||||||
Intercompany loan received | — | 1,452 | 64,396 | 149,587 | 129,793 | |||||||||||||||
Intercompany loan repayment | — | — | (72,540 | ) | (32,619 | ) | (22,260 | ) | ||||||||||||
December 31, 2020 | — | 1,452 | 6,654 | 120,780 | 122,774 | |||||||||||||||
Intercompany loan received | — | 370,966 | 5,602 | 440,891 | 59,968 | |||||||||||||||
Intercompany loan repayment | — | (175,989 | ) | — | (212,948 | ) | (21,814 | ) | ||||||||||||
December 31, 2021 | — | 196,429 | 12,256 | 348,723 | 160,928 | |||||||||||||||
Intercompany loan received | — | 222,780 | — | 32,317 | 108,109 | |||||||||||||||
Intercompany loan repayment | — | (197,305 | ) | (1,057 | ) | (6,116 | ) | (141,826 | ) | |||||||||||
December 31, 2022 | — | 221,904 | 11,199 | 374,924 | 127,211 | |||||||||||||||
Intercompany loan received | — | 320,494 | 25,088 | 160 | 32,270 | |||||||||||||||
Intercompany loan repayment | — | (359,692 | ) | (27,114 | ) | (54,477 | ) | (42,587 | ) | |||||||||||
December 31, 2023 | — | 182,706 | 9,173 | 320,607 | 116,894 |
Our Operations in China and Permissions Required from the PRC Authorities for Our Operations
We, through the WFOEs and the VIEs, conduct our operations in China. Our operations in China are governed by PRC laws and regulations. We and the VIE are required to obtain certain licenses, permits and approvals from relevant governmental authorities in China in order to operate our business. As of the date of this annual report, as advised by our PRC counsel, Jingtian & Gongcheng, the WFOEs and the VIEs have obtained the licenses, permits and registrations from the PRC government authorities necessary for our business operations in China, including, among others, value-added telecommunications licenses. Given the uncertainties of interpretation and implementation of relevant laws and regulations and the enforcement practice by relevant government authorities, and the promulgation of new laws and regulations and amendment to the existing ones, we may be required to obtain additional licenses, permits, registrations, filings or approvals for our business operations in the future. We cannot assure you that we or the VIEs will be able to obtain, in a timely manner or at all, or maintain such licenses, permits or approvals, and we or the VIEs may also inadvertently conclude that such permissions or approvals are not required. Any lack of or failure to maintain requisite approvals, licenses or permits applicable to us or the VIEs may have a material adverse impact on our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects and cause the value of any securities we offer to significantly decline or become worthless. For details, see “— D. Risk Factors — Risks Relating to Doing Business in China — Any lack of requisite approvals, licenses or permits applicable to our business may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.”
On December 28, 2021, the Cyberspace Administration of China (the “CAC”) and other 12 PRC regulatory authorities jointly issued an amendment to the Measures for Cybersecurity Review (the “Cybersecurity Review Measures”), which took effect on February 15, 2022. See “Item 4. Information on the Company - Regulation - Regulations Relating to Internet Information Security and Privacy Protection.”
10
Pursuant to the Cybersecurity Review Measures, in addition to “critical information infrastructure operators” who procure internet products and services that affect or may affect national security shall be subject to a cybersecurity review, any “online platform operators” carrying out data processing activities that affect or may affect national security should also be subject to the cybersecurity review requirements. The Cybersecurity Review Measures also provide that if a “online platform operator” holding personal information of more than one million users intends to go public in a foreign country, it must apply for a cybersecurity review. In addition, the relevant PRC governmental authorities may initiate cybersecurity review if they determine certain network products, services, or data processing activities affect or may affect national security. As of the date of this annual report, we have not been informed by any PRC governmental authority of any requirement that we file for a cybersecurity review. However, if we are not able to comply with the cybersecurity and data privacy requirements in a timely manner, or at all, we may be subject to government enforcement actions and investigations, fines, penalties, suspension of our non-compliant operations, or removal of our applications from the relevant application stores, among other sanctions, which could materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations. See “— D. Risk Factors — Risks Relating to Doing Business in China — The Chinese government exerts substantial influence over the manner in which we must conduct our business activities and may intervene or influence our operations at any time, which could result in a material change in our operations and the value of our Class A ordinary shares” and “— D. Risk Factors — Risks Relating to Doing Business in China — We may be liable for improper use or appropriation of personal information provided by our customers.”
On February 17, 2023, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (the “CSRC”) promulgated the Trial Measures of the Overseas Securities Offering and Listing by Domestic Companies (the “Overseas Listing Trial Measures”) and the related guidelines, which became effective on March 31, 2023. The Overseas Listing Trial Measures has comprehensively improved and reformed the existing regulatory regime for overseas offering and listing of securities by PRC domestic companies and regulates both direct and indirect overseas offering and listing of securities by PRC domestic companies by adopting a filing-based regulatory regime. According to the Overseas Listing Trial Measures, PRC domestic companies that seek to offer and list securities in overseas markets, either in direct or indirect means, are required to fulfill the filing procedure with the CSRC and report relevant information. The CSRC provided further notice related to the Overseas Listing Trial Measures that companies that have already been listed on overseas stock exchanges prior to March 31, 2023 are not required to make immediate filings for its listing, but are required to make filings for subsequent offerings in accordance with the Overseas Listing Trial Measures, i.e., to file with the CSRC within three business days after the closing of such subsequent offerings. As we had been listed on Nasdaq prior to March 31, 2023, we are not required to make immediate filing with the CSRC in connection with our listing on Nasdaq. However, we could be subject to the filing requirements with the CSRC if we conduct subsequent offerings. See “Item 4. Information on the Company — Regulation — Regulations Relating to Mergers and Acquisitions and Overseas Listing.”
We cannot assure you that we or the VIEs can complete the filing procedures, obtain the approvals or complete other compliance procedures in a timely manner, or at all, or that any completion of filing or approval or other compliance procedures would not be rescinded. Any such failure would subject us to sanctions by the CSRC or other PRC regulatory authorities. These regulatory authorities may impose restrictions and penalties on the operations in China, significantly limit or completely hinder our ability to launch any new offering of our securities, limit our ability to pay dividends outside of China, delay or restrict the repatriation of the proceeds from future capital raising activities into China, or take other actions that could materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects, as well as the trading price of our Class A ordinary shares. Furthermore, the PRC government authorities may further strengthen oversight and control over listings and offerings that are conducted overseas. Any such action may adversely affect our operations and significantly limit or completely hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer securities to you and cause the value of such securities to significantly decline or be worthless. For details, see “— D. Risk Factors — Risks Relating to Doing Business in China — Recent regulatory development in China may exert more oversight and control over listings and offerings that are conducted overseas. The approval of and the filing with the CSRC or other PRC government authorities may be required in connection with our future offerings under PRC law, and, if required, we cannot predict whether or for how long we will be able to obtain such approval or complete such filing.”
The Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act
The Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act (the “HFCAA”) was enacted on December 18, 2020. Pursuant to the HFCAA and related regulations, if we have filed an audit report issued by a registered public accounting firm that the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (the “PCAOB”) has determined that it is unable to inspect and investigate completely, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) will identify us as a “Commission-Identified Issuer,” and the trading of our securities on any U.S. national securities exchanges, as well as any over-the-counter trading in the United States, will be prohibited if we are identified as a Commission-Identified Issuer for two consecutive years. In August 2022, the PCAOB, the CSRC and the Ministry of Finance of the PRC signed the Statement of Protocol, which establishes a specific and accountable framework for the PCAOB to conduct inspections and investigations of PCAOB-governed accounting firms in mainland China and Hong Kong. On December 15, 2022, the PCAOB announced that it was able to secure complete access to inspect and investigate PCAOB-registered public accounting firms headquartered in mainland China and Hong Kong in 2022. The PCAOB Board vacated its previous 2021 determinations that the PCAOB was unable to inspect or investigate completely registered public accounting firms headquartered in mainland China and Hong Kong. As a result, we do not expect to be identified as a “Commission-Identified Issuer” under the HFCAA for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 after we file our annual report on Form 20-F for such fiscal year. However, whether the PCAOB will continue to be able to satisfactorily conduct inspections of PCAOB-registered public accounting firms headquartered in mainland China and Hong Kong is subject to uncertainties and depends on a number of factors out of our and our auditor’s control. The PCAOB continues to demand complete access in mainland China and Hong Kong moving forward and is making plans to resume regular inspections, as well as to continue pursuing ongoing investigations and initiate new investigations as needed. The PCAOB has also indicated that it will act immediately to consider the need to issue new determinations with the HFCAA if needed. If the PCAOB is unable to inspect and investigate completely registered public accounting firms located in China and we fail to retain a registered public accounting firm that the PCAOB is able to inspect and investigate completely, or if we otherwise fail to meet the PCAOB’s requirements, our Class A ordinary shares will be delisted from Nasdaq, and will not be permitted for trading over the counter in the United States under the HFCAA and related regulations. The related risks and uncertainties could cause the value of our Class A ordinary shares to significantly decline or become worthless. For details, see “— D. Risk Factors — Risks Related to Doing Business in China — Our securities will be delisted and be prohibited from trading in the over-the-counter market in the United States under the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act if the SEC subsequently determines our audit work is performed by auditors that the PCAOB is unable to inspect or investigate completely. The delisting of our securities, or the threat of their being delisted, may materially and adversely affect the value of your investment.
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A. [Reserved]
B. Capitalization and Indebtedness
Not applicable.
C. Reasons for the Offer and Use of Proceeds
Not applicable.
D. Risk Factors
Summary of Risk Factors
Our business is subject to a number of risks, including risks that may prevent us from achieving our business objectives or may adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows, and prospects. These risks are discussed more fully below and include, but are not limited to, risks relating to:
Risks relating to our business and industry
● | our limited operating history; |
● | our ability to attract new members or retain existing ones; |
● | our ability to manage our growth effectively; |
● | our ability to generate profits and positive cash flows, and to maintain sufficient working capital; |
● | our ability to return to profitability or raise sufficient capital to cover our capital needs; |
● | our reliance on large enterprise members to sustain our occupancy rates; |
● | our ability to use key operational metrics to accurately evaluate our performance; |
● | our significant capital requirements to fund our operations and growth; |
● | our ability to retain our major customers for marketing and branding services; and |
● | our expansion into new regions, markets and business areas. |
Risks relating to our corporate structure
● | our reliance on contractual arrangements for a large portion of our operations, which may not be as effective as direct ownership in providing operational control; |
● | actual or potential conflicts of interest of shareholders of the VIEs with us; |
● | substantial uncertainties in the PRC foreign investment legal regime; and |
● | our dual-class share structure, which may limit holders of the Class A ordinary shares to influence corporate matters. |
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Risks relating to doing business in China
● | changes in China’s economic, political or social conditions or government policies; |
● | uncertainties with respect to the PRC legal system; |
● | the Chinese government’s substantial influence to intervene or influence our operations at any time; |
● | compliance of the contractual arrangements that establish our corporate structure for operating our business; and |
● | our securities being delisted under the HFCAA if the PCAOB is unable to inspect the audit working papers related to us, which are located in China. |
Risks relating to being a public company and our securities
● | volatility of the trading price of our Class A ordinary shares; |
● | potential dilution to our Class A ordinary shareholders caused by the exercise of the outstanding warrants or UPOs or the conversion UPO Rights or Debenture; |
● | our status as an emerging growth company; |
● | our status as a foreign private issuer; |
● | our status as an exempted company with limited liability incorporated in the Cayman Islands; and |
● | our status as a “controlled company” within the meaning of the Nasdaq listing requirements. |
Risks Relating to Our Business and Industry
Our limited operating history makes it difficult to predict our future prospects, business and financial performance.
We launched our first space in September 2015 and officially launched our app, U Bazaar, in April 2016. In addition, we continually review the operating models of our spaces and explore new operating models for enhancing our operational efficiency and broadening our monetization channels. For example, we further expanded our operations under U Partner, a category under our asset-light model, in July 2019.
Our short operating history may not serve as an adequate basis for evaluating our prospects and future operating results, including our key operating data, net revenue, cash flows and operating margins. In addition, the co-working space industry in China remains at an early stage of development and continues to evolve. As a result, you may not be able to fully discern the market dynamics to which we are subject and assess our business prospects.
We have encountered risks, challenges and uncertainties experienced by companies at an early stage, including those relating to our ability to adapt to the industry, to maintain and monetize our member base and to introduce new offerings and services. If we cannot successfully address these risks and uncertainties, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.
We may not retain existing members, especially those who enter into short-term contracts with us, or attract new members at a level necessary to sustain or grow our business.
We collect monthly rent in the form of membership service fees or office workstation rental fees, which constitutes an important part of our net revenue, and we depend on the enlargement of our member base to build the vibrant community that we envision. Any failure to attract existing members or bring new members in adequate numbers or at adequate rental rates would materially and adversely affect our business. To sustain our growth, we endeavor to retain our existing members and continually add new members to maintain or improve our occupancy rates.
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Because the agile office space industry is relatively new and rapidly evolving, we face uncertainties and challenges in maintaining and growing our member base. A significant number of our existing and target members consists of SMEs. These members frequently have limited budgets and are more vulnerable to adverse economic conditions and unfavorable changes in the regulatory environment.
If these businesses experience economic hardship, they may be unwilling or unable to use our services. This would reduce demand for our services, increase customer attrition and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, we may lose members due to adverse changes in general economic conditions or the regulatory environment in the regions in which we operate or the industries in which our members operate.
We have experienced fluctuations in our member base. Our members may terminate their membership agreements for leasing our workstations or spaces with us at any time upon one-month’s notice. Furthermore, our existing spaces may become unsuitable to members for a number of reasons. For example, our community could become less popular because of a shift in the local economic landscape, or our members may no longer favor our products and service offerings because of new work style trends or changes in the large enterprise members’ business plans.
Launching new spaces, as mentioned above, is expensive and involves certain risks. Likewise, it would be costly and risky to develop and introduce new lines of products or service offerings. Even if we attract new members, these new members may not maintain the same level of involvement in our community. For example, they may not use our U Plus services. In addition, our net revenue might suffer because of the discounts and other incentives we offer to attract new members.
Our growth has experienced volatility and in subject to various factors, some of which are beyond our control. If we are unable to manage our growth effectively, our business may be materially and adversely affected.
Our growth has experienced volatility. We have also experienced decline in business scale in recent years. The number of our agile office spaces decreased from 273 as of December 31, 2021 to 207 as of December 31, 2022, and further to 95 as of December 31, 2023. The number of our spaces in operation decreased from 220 as of December 31, 2021 to 174 as of December 31, 2022, and further to 79 as of December 31, 2023. The number of workstations available in our spaces in operation decreased from approximately 62,580 as of December 31, 2021 to 51,040 as of December 31, 2022, and further to approximately 29,850 as of December 31, 2023.
Our growth rates remain subject to various factors, some of which are beyond our control, including increasing competition within the industry, emergence of alternative business models, or changes in government policies or general economic conditions. For example, a significant portion of our existing and target member base consists of SMEs, whose growth and expansion have benefited from favorable policies encouraging entrepreneurship and innovation in recent years in China. If changes in policies adversely affect the growth of SMEs, our growth rate may decline due to the reduction in agile office needs in general. In addition, our business may fail to grow significantly or at all, or there could be a reduction in demand for our services as a result of decreased customer spending, weakening economic conditions or otherwise, which could materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
We have incurred significant losses historically, and we may experience significant losses in the future.
We have incurred net losses since our inception in April 2015. For 2021, 2022 and 2023, we incurred net loss of RMB2,162.8 million, RMB322.5 million and RMB22.6 million (US$3.2 million) respectively.
Our significant losses have resulted primarily from our operating activities. We also expect to incur additional general and administrative expenses and compliance costs. These expenditures may make it difficult for us to achieve profitability, and we cannot predict whether we will achieve profitability in the near term or at all. The costs actually incurred could exceed our expectations, and the investments may be unsuccessful and not generate adequate revenue and cash flow, if any at all.
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We are exposed to liquidity constraints, which could make it difficult to obtain additional financing on favorable terms or at all and could adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations and ability to repay our debts.
We had working capital deficit (defined as total current assets deducted by total current liabilities) of RMB454.0 million, RMB419.1 million and RMB137.5 million (US$19.4 million) as of December 31, 2021, 2022 and 2023, respectively. We may from time to time incur substantial debt to finance the capital expenditures needed to carry out our daily operations. To service our debt, we may also be required to borrow new loans from commercial banks or other institutions or entities. See “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects — B. Liquidity and Capital Resources.”
If we were unable to obtain financing on favorable terms, this could hamper our ability to obtain further financing and meet our principal and interest payment obligations to our creditors. As a result, we may face liquidity constraints. In order to provide additional liquidity, we could be forced to reduce our planned capital expenditures, implement austerity measures and/or sell additional non-strategic assets to raise funds.
A reduction in our capital expenditure program could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations, in particular, our ability to achieve our anticipated growth or maintain the operations of our current spaces. Such events, if they occur, would adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
We have recorded negative cash flows from operating activities historically and may experience significant cash outflows or have net current liabilities in the future.
We have experienced significant cash outflow from operating activities historically. We had net cash used in operating activities of RMB199.1 million and RMB175.9 million in 2021 and 2022, respectively. The cost of continuing operations could further reduce our cash position, and an increase in our net cash outflow from operating activities could adversely affect our operations by reducing the amount of cash available for our operations and business expansion.
Failure to generate positive cash flow from operations may adversely affect our ability to raise capital for our business on reasonable terms, if at all. It may also diminish the willingness of members or other parties to enter into transactions with us, and have other adverse effects that harm our long-term viability.
We had net current liabilities of RMB454.0 million, RMB419.1 million and RMB137.5 million (US$19.4 million) as of December 31, 2021, 2022 and 2023, respectively. Net current liabilities expose us to liquidity risk. We have satisfied our liquidity requirements primarily through equity financing activities and short-term/long-term borrowings. Such financing might not be available to us in a timely manner or on terms that are acceptable, or at all.
Our business will require significant working capital to support our growth. Our future liquidity and ability to make additional capital investments will depend primarily on our ability to maintain sufficient cash generated from operating activities and to obtain adequate external financing. We may not renew existing bank facilities or obtain equity or other sources of financing.
We may continue to incur losses and negative cash flows from operating activities and deficit in the future. If we are not able to return to profitability or raise sufficient capital to cover our capital needs, our ability to continue as a going concern would be materially and adversely affected.
We have incurred recurring operating losses since our inception, including net losses of RMB2,162.8 million, RMB322.5 million and RMB22.6 million (US$3.2 million) for 2021, 2022 and 2023, respectively. We have experienced significant cash outflow from operating activities historically. Net cash used in operating activities was RMB199.1 million and RMB175.9 million for 2021 and 2022, respectively. Net cash provided by operating activities was RMB17.0 (US$2.4 million) for 2023. Accumulated deficit was RMB4,540.8 million (US$639.6 million) as of December 31, 2023. As of December 31, 2023, we had cash and cash equivalents of RMB54.3 million (US$7.6 million). The COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted our business operations for 2021 and 2022. In 2023, although the restrictions related to the COVID-19 have been lifted, its influence over the economy continued to impact our financial position, results of operations and cash flows. These conditions raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern.
Historically, we have relied principally on both operational sources of cash and non-operational sources of financing from investors to fund our operations and business development. Our ability to continue as a going concern is dependent on management’s ability to successfully execute our business plan which includes continued business transition from asset-heavy model to asset-light model in order to improve the profitability, continued exploration of new business opportunities that have synergies with our core business, controlling operating costs and optimizing operational efficiency to improve our cash flow from operations. We also plan to raise additional capital, including among others, obtaining debt and equity financing, to support our future operation.
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We continue to explore opportunities to grow our business. However, we have not yet achieved a business scale that is able to generate a sufficient level of revenues to achieve net profit and positive cash flows from operating activities, and we expect the operating losses and negative cash flows from operations will continue for the foreseeable future. If we are unable to grow the business to achieve economies of scale in the future, it will become even more difficult for us to sustain a sufficient source of cash to cover our operating costs. There can be no assurance, however, that we will be able to obtain additional financing on terms acceptable, in a timely manner, or at all. In the event that financing sources are not available, or that we are unsuccessful in increasing our gross profit margin, pushing collection of long-term receivables and reducing operating losses, we may be unable to implement our current plans for expansion, repay debt obligations or respond to competitive pressures, any of which would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations and would materially and adversely affect our ability to continue as a going concern.
Our financial condition and operational results are affected by our occupancy rates. We face heightened risks as we rely on many large enterprise members to sustain our occupancy rates.
In pre-opening process, our spaces typically have a three to five month vacancy period to redevelop space and conduct other pre-opening preparation work. The vacancy period might also be longer than expected if we cannot attract members to our new spaces or maintain members of our existing spaces.
We rely on a limited number of key large enterprise members to sustain our occupancy rates. Our top 25 large enterprise members accounted for approximately 13% of our tenancy in terms of workstations as of December 31, 2023 and contributed to approximately 9% of our total net revenue for 2023. Such concentration leads to heightened risks, for instance, if one of these key enterprises terminates its contract with us, our business could suffer.
Large enterprise members often sign membership agreements on longer lease terms and for larger spaces or a greater number of workstations than some of our other members. They generally account for a high proportion of our net revenue at a particular community. A default by a large enterprise member under its agreement with us could significantly reduce the operating cash flow generated by the community where that large enterprise member is situated.
In addition, the larger amount of available space occupied by any individual large enterprise member means that the time and effort required to execute a definitive agreement tailored for such a member is greater than that required for our standard membership agreements. In some instances, we agree to varying levels of customization of the spaces we license to these large enterprise members.
Large enterprise members may nevertheless delay commencement of their membership agreements, fail to make timely lease payments, declare bankruptcy or otherwise default on their obligations. Any of these events could result in the termination of that large enterprise member’s agreement with us and, potentially, sunk costs and transaction costs that are difficult or impossible for us to recover.
If the members choose not to continue using our spaces, new members may not use the current space or we need additional time and cost to redevelop the space. This may result in longer vacancy periods and adversely affect our operational results.
Our key operational metrics and other estimates may not accurately measure our operating performance.
We continually review the numbers of spaces, workstations, members and occupancy rates to evaluate our growth trends, measure our performance and make strategic decisions. We calculate these metrics using internal data and they may not be indicative of our future operating performance. While these numbers are based on what we believe to be reasonable estimates for the applicable period of measurement, measuring how our spaces are used across a large member base involves significant challenges.
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For example, the number of our members may include members who do not actively use our spaces or services. If investors do not perceive our operating metrics to accurately represent our operating performance, or if we discover material inaccuracies in our operating metrics, our business, financial condition and reputation may be materially and adversely affected.
We require significant capital to fund our operations and growth. If we cannot obtain sufficient capital on acceptable terms, our business, financial condition and prospects may suffer.
We require significant capital and resources for our operations and continued growth. We expect to make significant investments in the expansion and operations of our spaces, which may significantly increase our net cash used in operating activities. Our sales and marketing expenses may also increase to retain existing members and attract new members. In addition, we invest heavily in our technology systems, which are essential to our expansion and operations. It may take substantial time to realize returns on such investments, if at all.
We have historically funded our cash requirements primarily through capital contributions from our shareholders, short-term/long-term borrowings and securities offerings. If these resources are insufficient to satisfy our cash requirements, we may seek to raise funds through additional equity offerings or debt financing or additional bank facilities.
Our ability to obtain additional capital in the future, however, is subject to a number of uncertainties, including our future business development, financial condition and results of operations, general market conditions for financing activities by companies in our industry, and macro-economic and other conditions in China and globally. If we cannot obtain sufficient capital on acceptable terms to meet our capital needs, we may not execute our growth strategies, and our business, financial condition and prospects may be materially and adversely affected. On the other hand, if we raise additional funds through the issuance of equity or convertible debt securities, the ownership interests of our shareholders could be significantly diluted. These newly issued securities may have rights, preferences or privileges senior to those of our existing shareholders.
Our advertising and branding services are subject to risks associated with concentration of customers.
The majority of our marketing and branding services revenue was mainly attributed to one of our subsidiaries, Zhuhai Shengguang Zhongshuo Digital Marketing Co., Ltd (“Shengguang Zhongshuo”), a digital marketing services provider. Top customers of Shengguang Zhongshuo have historically contributed a large percentage of our revenue from advertising and branding services. This concentration leads to heightened risks. For example, any adverse changes or loss of one of our major customers of our advertising and branding services may materially decrease our marketing and branding services revenue, and any interruption or adjustments of those major customers’ businesses may lead to material fluctuations in our marketing and branding services revenue. In 2021, the top four customers of Shengguang Zhongshuo accounted for approximately 77.0% of our revenue from our advertising and branding services. In December 2021, two of the top four customers terminated cooperation with Shengguang Zhongshuo, which accounted for approximately 46.8% of our revenue from advertising and branding services. As a result, our marketing and branding services revenue decreased by 38.0% to RMB287.5 million in 2022. Similarly, in 2022, the top three customers of Shengguang Zhongshuo accounted for approximately 81.6% of our revenue from our advertising and branding services. In 2023, the top four customers of Shengguang Zhongshuo accounted for approximately 83.3% of our revenue from our advertising and branding services, which exposed us to the risks of associated with concentration of customers.
In addition, the historical financial results of our marketing and branding services may not serve as an adequate basis for evaluating the future financial results of this segment. Our history of operating Shengguang Zhongshuo is limited and the concentration of customers increases the likelihood of material fluctuations of our marketing and branding services net revenue.
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Our expansion into new regions, markets and business areas may pose increased risks.
We plan to expand our operations in China and overseas markets. To provide superior services to our members, we also intend to increase our U Plus service offerings. This expansion will incur significant costs, and inherently involves uncertainties and risks as we may encounter unexpected issues or situations for which we are unprepared.
As our business expands into new regions, we plan to invest substantial resources and may face new operational risks and challenges associated with business, economic and regulatory environments with which we are not familiar. We must understand and comply with local regulations, partner with local businesses or individuals, hire, train, manage and retain local workforce, and cope with members or potential members with different preferences.
In launching new spaces in a new region, we need to negotiate satisfactory leasing terms with local parties, adapt the designs and features of our spaces and services to accommodate local conventions, and adjust our pricing and marketing approaches based on local rental prices. All these adjustments we make may be ineffective and adversely affect our business. Our strategy of overseas expansion will further subject us to different cultural norms and business practices, risks relating to fluctuations in currency exchange rates, and unpredictable disruptions as a result of security threats or political or social unrest and economic instability.
We have incurred, and may in the future incur, impairment loss on long-lived assets and long-term prepaid expenses, and impairment loss on goodwill. Significant impairment of our long-lived assets and long-term prepaid expenses and impairment loss on goodwill could materially impact our financial position and results of our operations.
We have made significant investment in long-lived assets. We review our long-lived assets, including right-of-use of assets arising from certain long-term leases, property, plant and equipment and assets recorded in connection with business combinations, whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may no longer be recoverable. When these events occur, we measure impairment by comparing the carrying value of the long-lived assets to the estimated undiscounted future cash flows expected to result from the use of the assets and their eventual disposition.
If the sum of the expected undiscounted cash flow is less than the carrying amount of the assets, we recognize an impairment loss based on the fair value of the assets. The application of long-lived asset impairment test requires significant management judgment. If our estimates and judgments are inaccurate, the fair value determined could be inaccurate and the impairment may not be adequate, and we may need to record additional impairments in the future.
Goodwill is primarily acquired through business acquisitions. Purchase price allocation is measured at fair value on a non-recurring basis as of the acquisition dates. We measure goodwill at fair value on a non-recurring basis when it is annually evaluated or whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that carrying amount of a reporting unit exceeds its fair value.
We had impairment loss on long-lived assets and long-term prepaid expenses of RMB114.5 million in 2021, RMB111.3 million in 2022, and RMB29.1 million (US$4.1 million) in 2023. These impairment losses primarily reflected impairment of right-of-use assets, property and equipment, intangible assets and other non-current assets. We had impairment loss on goodwill of RMB1,504.5 million in 2021, RMB43.0 million in 2022 and nil in 2023. For further information, see “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects — A. Operating Results — Key Components of Results of Operations.” We could record additional impairments on long-lived assets in the future. Any significant impairment losses charged against our long-lived assets could materially and adversely affect our results of operations.
We face vigorous competition. If we are not able to compete effectively with others, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.
While we are a leader in China’s agile office space industry, the industry remains at an early stage of development. If new companies launch competing solutions in the markets in which we operate, we may face increased competition for members. Our competitors include global players, up-and-coming local companies and traditional workspace operators. Some competitors may have more resources, operate in more jurisdictions and be able to provide a better member experience at more competitive prices.
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We may face heightened competition under certain operating models. For example, for our spaces under U Brand, our competitors may charge lower management fees and we may lose clients due to pricing or be forced to lower our fees. Our inability to compete effectively in securing new or repeat businesses could hinder our growth or adversely impact our operating results.
In addition, some of the services we provide or plan to provide are served by companies established in their markets. Failure to compete in such services markets could damage our ability to cultivate the vibrant community we seek to build.
Our success depends on the continuing efforts of our key management and capable personnel as well as our ability to recruit new talent. If we fail to hire, retain or motivate our staff, our business may suffer.
Our future success depends in a large part on the continued service of our key management. If we lose the services of any member of our key management, we may not hire suitable or qualified replacements, and may incur additional expenses to recruit and train new staff, which could severely disrupt our business and growth. If any member of our key management joins a competitor or forms a competing business, we may lose customers, know-how and key professionals and staff members.
Our rapid growth also requires us to hire, train, and retain a wide range of personnel that can adapt to a dynamic, competitive and challenging business environment and that help us conduct effective marketing, innovate new products and service offerings, and develop technological capabilities. We may need to offer attractive compensation and other benefits packages, including share-based compensation, to attract and retain them.
We also need to provide our employees with sufficient training to help them realize their career development and grow with us. Any failure to attract, train, retain or motivate experienced and capable personnel could severely disrupt our business and growth.
Certain of our affiliated persons or entities are now or may in the future lease the building spaces they own to us or have other transactions with us. We may have conflicts of interest with our officers and directors for such related party transactions and we may not resolve such conflicts on terms favorable to us.
Certain of our officers and directors are now or may in the future lease the building spaces they own to us or have other transactions with us. For example, we lease certain spaces from Youxiang Group, an affiliate of Dr. Daqing Mao, our founder. See “Item 7. Major Shareholders and Related Party Transactions — B. Related Party Transactions.”
Those related parties negotiated satisfactory terms that are in the best interests of their businesses as a whole. Although our audit committee, consisting of independent non-executive directors, reviews and approves all proposed related party transactions, we may not resolve all potential conflicts of interest in this regard.
We have engaged in transactions with related parties, and such transactions present potential conflicts of interest that could adversely affect our business and results of operations.
In addition to leasing building spaces from related parties, we have entered into a number of other transactions with related parties. See “Item 7. Major Shareholders and Related Party Transactions — B. Related Party Transactions.” for more details. We may enter into additional transactions with our related parties. Interests of these related parties may not necessarily be aligned with our interests and the interests of our other shareholders.
For example, conflicts of interest may arise in connection with transaction arrangements which may be less favorable to us than similar arrangements negotiated with unaffiliated third parties. Conflicts of interest may also arise in connection with the exercise of contractual remedies, such as the treatment of events of default. As a result, those related party transactions, individually or in the aggregate, may adversely affect our business and results of operations.
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Unexpected termination of leases or other arrangements, failure to negotiate satisfactory terms for or perform leases or other arrangements, failure to renew leases or other arrangements of our existing premises or to renew leases or other arrangements at acceptable terms could materially and adversely affect our business.
Our ability to increase the number of spaces and to operate them profitably depends on the execution and performance of these leases or other arrangements and whether we can negotiate these leases and other arrangements on satisfactory terms. Lessors may also not duly perform their obligations under the leases or other arrangements due to various reasons, such as lessors’ failure to deliver the possession of the premises as agreed.
The increases in rental rates, particularly in markets where initial terms under our leases are shorter, could adversely affect our business. In addition, our ability to negotiate favorable terms to extend a lease agreement or in connection with an alternate space depend on prevailing conditions in the real estate market, such as overall lease expenses, competition from other would-be tenants for desirable leased spaces, our relationships with building owners and landlords, or other factors beyond our control.
If we cannot renew or replace an expiring lease agreement, we will incur significant costs related to vacating that space or redeveloping the space, which could result in loss of members who may have chosen that space based on the design, location or other attributes of that particular space.
Strategic alternatives to pure leasing arrangements, such as acquisitions, strategic alliances and asset management agreements, accounted for a significant percentage of the spaces we obtain. These arrangements are generally more flexible and require less direct capital expenditures than a traditional lease arrangement but also involve risks and uncertainties.
For example, we have experienced delays or failure to deliver the possession of the premises with some of the counterparties for various reasons, including the delay of completion of the construction and the change of title of the premises before delivery. Although we have experienced such delays or failures in limited cases, we could experience delays or failures to deliver the premises in the future. Disruption of these strategic arrangements will adversely affect our business.
Growth of our business will partially depend on the recognition of our brand. Failure to maintain, protect and enhance our brand would limit our ability to expand or retain our member base, which would materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We believe that recognition of our brand among members and business partners has reduced member acquisition costs and contributed to the growth and success of our business. Maintaining, protecting and enhancing our brand remains critical to our business and market position. Maintaining, protecting and enhancing our brand depends on several factors, including our ability to:
● | maintain the quality and attractiveness of the services we offer; |
● | maintain relationships with landlords and other business partners; |
● | increase brand awareness through marketing and brand promotion activities; |
● | comply with relevant laws and regulations; |
● | compete effectively against existing and future competitors; and |
● | preserve our reputation and goodwill generally and in the event of any negative publicity on our services and data security, or other issues affecting us, and China’s agile office space industry in general. |
A public perception that we, or other industry participants do not provide satisfactory services, even if factually incorrect or based on isolated incidents, could damage our reputation, diminish the value of our brand, undermine the trust and credibility we have established and negatively impact our ability to attract and retain members, as well as our business, financial condition and results of operations.
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We face risks associated with the redevelopment and construction of the spaces we occupy.
Opening new spaces subjects us to risks associated with redevelopment projects in general, such as delays in construction, contract disputes and claims, fines or penalties levied by government authorities relating to our construction activities. We may also experience delays when opening a new space as a result of building owners or landlords not completing their base building work on time or as a result of delays in our obtaining land-use, building, occupancy and other required governmental permits and authorizations. Failure to open a space on schedule may result in lost revenue from that space, damage our brand and require that we lease and provide temporary space for our members.
Despite having our own design and building team during the development phase of our space, we rely in part on the availability and satisfactory performance of third-party general contractors and subcontractors to perform the actual construction work, and in many cases to select and obtain the related building materials. The timing and quality of the redevelopment of our occupied spaces depend on the performance of these third-party contractors acting on our behalf.
The people we engage in connection with a construction project are subject to the usual hazards associated with providing construction and related services on construction project sites, which can cause personal injury, damage to or destruction of property, plant and equipment, and environmental damage. Although we are insured against many of these risks, our insurance coverage may be inadequate in scope or coverage amount, and may be insufficient to fully compensate us for losses arising from any such events.
Despite our detailed specifications and our inspection, project management and quality control procedures, in some cases, general contractors and their subcontractors may use improper construction practices or defective materials. Improper construction practices or defective materials can result in the need to perform extensive repairs to our spaces and potentially lead to personal injury. We could also suffer damage to our reputation, and may be exposed to possible liability, if these third parties fail to comply with applicable laws.
We incur significant costs related to the redevelopment of our spaces, which we may be unable to recover in a timely manner or at all.
Redevelopment of a space typically takes three to five months from the date we take possession of the space under the relevant occupancy agreement to the opening date. During this time, we incur substantial costs without generating any revenues from the space, especially the costs for spaces under our self-operated model for which we bear lease and redevelopment costs.
If we cannot complete our redevelopment and construction activities, or conditions in the real estate market or the broader economy change in unfavorable ways, we may be unable to recover these costs in a timely manner or at all. In addition, our redevelopment activities are subject to cost and schedule overruns as a result of many factors, some of which are beyond our control and ability to foresee, including increases in the cost of materials and labor.
We incur costs relating to the maintenance, refurbishment and remediation of our spaces.
Our lease agreements generally require that we keep the spaces we occupy in good status and we typically must maintain and repair spaces we decorate. Our lease agreements for overseas spaces may also require us to return the space to the landlord at the end of the term in the same condition it was delivered to us, which, in such instances, will require removing all fixtures and improvements to the space. The costs associated with this maintenance, removal and repair work may be significant.
We may also have to periodically refurbish our spaces to keep pace with the changing needs of our members. Extensive refurbishments may be costly and time-consuming and negatively impact our operational and financial performance. Our member experience may also be adversely affected if extensive refurbishments disrupt our operations at our spaces.
The long-term and fixed cost nature of our leases may limit our operating flexibility and could adversely affect our liquidity.
We currently lease certain spaces under long-term leases. Our obligations to landlords under these agreements extend for periods that significantly exceed the length of our membership agreements with our members, which our members may terminate upon one-month’s notice. Our leases generally provide for fixed monthly payments that are not tied to member usage or the size of our member base, and all of our leases contain minimum lease payment obligations.
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As a result, if members at a particular space terminate their membership agreements with us and if we are unable to attract our members to actively use our spaces or services, our lease expenses may exceed our net revenue. In areas where retail cost for real estate is decreasing, we may not lower our fixed monthly payments under our leases to rates commensurate with prevailing market rates. At the same time, we would be pressured to lower our monthly rent in the form of membership service fees or office workstation rental fees charged to the members, potentially resulting in our lease expense exceeding our net revenue. In such events, we could not reduce our lease expenses or otherwise terminate the relevant lease in accordance with its terms.
If we experience a prolonged reduction in net revenue at a particular space, our results of operations in respect of that space would be adversely affected unless and until either the lease expires, or we are able to assign the lease or sublease the space to a third party, or we default under the lease and cease operations at the leased spaces. Our ability to assign a lease or sublease the space to a third party may be constrained by provisions in the lease that restrict these transfers without the prior consent of the landlord.
In addition, we could incur significant costs if we decide to assign or sublease unprofitable leases, as we may incur transaction costs associated with finding and negotiating with potential transferees, and the ultimate transferee may require upfront payments or other inducements. A default under a lease could expose us to breach of contract and other claims which could result in direct and indirect costs to us, and could result in operational disruptions that could harm our reputation and brand.
Failure to comply with the terms of our indebtedness could result in default, which could have an adverse effect on our cash flow and liquidity.
We may enter into credit facilities and debt financing arrangements containing financial and other covenants that could, among other things, restrict our operations. If we breach any of these covenants, including the failure to maintain certain financial ratios, our lenders may accelerate our debt obligations. Any default under our credit facility could result in the repayment of these loans prior to maturity as well as the inability to obtain additional financing, which may materially and adversely affect our cash flow and liquidity.
Some of the lease agreements of our leased properties have not been registered with PRC government authorities as required by PRC law, which may expose us to potential fines.
Under PRC law, we must register lease agreements of commodity housing tenancy with the local construction (real estate) departments. Some of our lease agreements for our leased properties in China, including leased properties for our spaces, have not been registered with PRC government authorities. The reasons for the incomplete registration and filing of lease agreements include:
● | the lessors failed to provide necessary documents for us to register the leases with the local government authorities; |
● | certain local regulatory authorities do not process certain leases registration applications; and |
● | we did not file registrations for certain of our lease agreements that were close to expiration. |
Failure to complete the registration and filing of lease agreements will typically not affect the validity of the lease agreements. However, if the parties to the lease agreements fail to rectify such non-compliance within the prescribed timeframes after receiving notice from the PRC government authorities, they may be exposed to potential fines ranging from RMB1,000 to RMB10,000 for each unregistered lease, at the discretion of the relevant authority. As advised by our PRC counsel, if we fail to rectify the unregistered leases within the period required by relevant government authorities, the maximum amount of potential fines arising from the unregistered leases would be approximately RMB0.8 million as of the date of this annual report. However, no material penalty has been imposed on us to date for the failure to register the relevant lease agreements.
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We have taken several steps to strengthen our compliance for registration of lease agreements, including:
● | liaising with the relevant lessors to provide required documentation for completing the registration; |
● | filing registrations for lease agreements that are close to expiration if such agreements are extended; and |
● | strengthening our internal control procedures to ensure registration of lease agreements for our new spaces. |
Property owners, government authorities or other third parties could challenge our rights to use our leased properties, which may disrupt our operations and incur relocation costs.
Certain lessors of our leased properties in China have failed to provide us with valid property ownership certificates or authorizations from the property owners for the lessors to sublease the properties. If such lessors do not have the relevant property ownership certificates or the right to lease or sublease such properties to us, the relevant rightful title holders or other third parties may challenge our use of such leased properties. As a result, we may be forced to vacate these properties and be required to seek alternative properties for lease or choose to terminate the lease earlier while bearing the penalty for early termination under the lease.
The usage of our leased properties might also be challenged by other various reasons, such as restrictions purposed by laws, regulations or policies based on the nature or usage of certain leased properties. With respect to these properties, if the lessors violate relevant laws and regulations for providing such leased properties to us, and incur penalties by government authorities, we may not lease and use such properties. In such an event, our operations may be interrupted, and we would incur relocation costs. Moreover, if third parties challenge our lease agreements, we could incur time, attention and costs associated with defending such actions, even if such challenges are ultimately determined in our favor.
If our promotional and marketing plans are not effective, our business and prospects may be negatively affected.
We invest in sales and marketing activities to promote our brand and spaces and deepen our relationships with members. We also pay for online advertisements to platforms to sustain our exposure and publicity. To foster our member base, we may offer discounts or other incentives, which incur costs and might not be effective for obtaining new members.
Our members may not appreciate our sales and marketing activities. The evolving marketing landscape may require us to experiment with new marketing methods to keep pace with industry trends and member preferences. Failure to refine our existing marketing approaches or introduce new marketing approaches in a cost-effective manner could reduce our members, occupancy rates and market share.
We also rely on a number of agencies, business partners and our own business development team to attract new members and enlarge our member base. Any disruption of our relationship with these intermediaries could harm our abilities to promote our business. We may not recover the costs of our sales and marketing activities and these activities may not retain or attract members.
A significant interruption in the operations of our suppliers could potentially disrupt our operations.
We partially rely on third-party suppliers for certain equipment, furniture and other fixtures. We also depend on third-party suppliers to provide certain services to facilitate our daily operations, such as security services and maintenance services. We have limited control over the operations of third-party suppliers, and any significant interruption in their operations may adversely impact our operations. For example, a significant interruption in the operations of our internet service provider could impact the operations of our applications, malfunctioning of our security equipment could lead to safety issues of our spaces, and lighting disruptions could result in poor member experience.
Disruptions in the supply chain may result from weather-related events, natural disasters, trade restrictions, tariffs, border controls, acts of war, terrorist attacks, pandemics, third-party strikes or ineffective cross dock operations, work stoppages or slowdowns, shipping capacity constraints, supply or shipping interruptions or other factors beyond our control. If we cannot resolve the impact of the interruptions of operations of our third-party suppliers or service providers, our operations and financial results may be materially and adversely affected.
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In some cases, we may rely on a single source for procurement of construction materials or other supplies in a given region. Any disruption in the supply of certain materials could disrupt operations at our existing spaces or significantly delay our opening of a new space, which may harm our reputation and brand.
A large portion of our members are concentrated in major metropolitan areas and certain industries. An economic downturn in any of these areas or industries may result in reduction of our members and adversely affect our results of operations.
A significant portion of our existing and target member base consists of SMEs who may be disproportionately affected by adverse economic conditions. In addition, the concentration of our operations in specific cities magnifies the risk of localized economic conditions in those cities or the surrounding regions to any business.
In 2021, 2022 and 2023, we generated an important portion of our net revenue from our agile office spaces located in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. Adverse changes in general economic conditions or real estate markets as well as relevant regulatory environment in these cities may disproportionately affect our member base, occupancy rates and/or pricing.
In addition, our members are concentrated in certain industries, such as the technology, media and telecommunications industries. Adverse changes in those industries may affect the demand for agile office spaces of our members and further affect our operation results. Our business may also be affected by generally prevailing economic conditions in the markets where we operate, which can result in a general decline in real estate activity, reduce demand for occupancy and our services and exert downward pressure on pricing.
We face risks related to natural disasters, extreme weather conditions, health epidemics and other catastrophic incidents, which could significantly disrupt our operations.
China has experienced significant natural disasters, including earthquakes, extreme weather conditions, as well as health scares related to epidemic or pandemic diseases, and any similar event could materially impact our business in the future. If a disaster or other disruption occurred that affects the regions where we operate our business, the resulting loss of personnel and damage to property could materially and adversely affect our business. Even if we are not directly affected, such a disaster or disruption could affect the operations or financial condition of our ecosystem participants, which could harm our results of operations.
In addition, our business could be affected by public health epidemics, such as the outbreak of avian influenza, severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, Zika virus, Ebola virus, COVID-19 or other disease. For example, since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, many businesses and social activities in China and other countries and regions have been adversely affected. To contain the COVID-19 outbreak, the PRC government imposed strict measures across the country including, but not limited to, travel restrictions, mandatory quarantine requirements, temporary closure of business premises and postponed resumption of business. Our operations had been severely disrupted as a result of the pandemic. In particular, most of our space in China temporarily shut down from February 2020 to April 2020 as a result of government restrictions and regulations. We also experienced temporary shut-down and closure of unprofitable spaces as a result of the regional resurgence of COVID-19 cases in China, particularly during the year of 2022. Due to the economic downturn in China and worldwide caused by COVID-19, the demand for our spaces has been adversely affected. Furthermore, as some of our members are vulnerable to the COVID-19 outbreak and the slowdown of the macroeconomic conditions, they could not make payments in a timely manner or stopped renewing their leases, resulting in decreased occupancy rates. See “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects — A. Operating Results — Key Factors Affecting Our Results of Operations”
Since December 2022, many of the restrictive measures previously adopted by the PRC government at various levels to control the spread of the COVID-19 virus have been revoked or replaced with more flexible measures. As a result, there has recently been and may continue to be an increase in COVID-19 cases in China, which may lead to temporary interruptions to business operations. There remain significant uncertainties surrounding the COVID-19 outbreak, including with respect to the ultimate spread of the virus, the severity and duration of the pandemic and the further actions government authorities may take in response. While it is unknown how long these conditions will last and what the complete financial effect will be on us, we are closely monitoring the impact of COVID-19. Our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects could be materially and adversely affected to the extent that COVID-19 harms the Chinese and global economy in general.
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Our business and our reputation may be affected if our employees or members of our community or guests who enter our spaces behave badly.
Our emphasis on our values makes our reputation particularly sensitive to allegations of violations of community rules or applicable laws by employees, members, or guests who enter our spaces. If employees, members or guests violate our policies or engage in illegal or unethical behavior, or are perceived to do so, we may be subject to negative publicity and our reputation may be harmed. This behavior may also lead to existing members ceasing to use our spaces, which would adversely impact occupancy and revenue for the affected spaces.
We are exposed to risks relating to our cooperation with our business partners.
We select and rely on a number of business partners to provide various services such as corporate secretary and human resources, to facilitate more service options and better experience for our members. Due to the reliance on such business partners, any interruption of their operations, any failure of them to accommodate our fast-growing business scale, any termination or suspension of our partnership arrangements, any change in cooperation terms, or any deterioration of cooperative relationships with them may materially and adversely affect our brand image and impact our operations.
We have limited control over our business partners. Failure by third parties to provide satisfactory services or comply with laws and regulations could subject us to reputational harm based on their association with us and our brand. If we become subject to claims arising from services provided by our business partners, we may attempt to seek compensation from the relevant business partners. However, such compensation may be limited.
If no claim can be asserted against a business partner, or we cannot fully recover amounts claimed from business partners, we may be required to bear such losses and compensation at our own costs. This could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We may not effectively identify, pursue and consummate strategic alliances, investments or acquisitions.
We may from time to time engage in evaluations of, and discussions with, possible domestic and international acquisitions, investments or alliance candidates. We may also make investments in private or public entities, enter into strategic alliances or issue securities through our parent company or subsidiaries.
We may not identify suitable strategic alliances, investment or acquisition opportunities. Even when we identify an appropriate acquisition or investment target, we may not negotiate the acquisition or investment successfully, obtain financing for the proposed transaction, or integrate the relevant businesses into our existing operations.
Since we retain limited control over the companies in which we only have minority stake, we cannot ensure that these companies will always comply with applicable laws and regulations. Non-compliance of regulatory requirements by our investees may cause substantial harm to our reputation and the value of our investment.
In addition, particular complexities, regulatory or otherwise, may be associated with our expansion into new markets. We may not successfully implement our strategies beyond our current markets. If we cannot effectively address these challenges, our ability to execute acquisitions as part of our long-term strategy will be impaired, which could adversely affect our growth.
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We may not achieve the benefits we expect from recent and future investments and acquisitions and our operations may be materially and adversely affected by such investments and acquisitions.
We have made equity investments in or acquisitions of businesses that we believe may complement our existing business or may improve the experience of our members. We may make future investments in private or public entities, enter into strategic alliances or issue securities through our parent company or subsidiaries.
While we believe those initiatives may benefit our business long term, such decisions may adversely impact our short- or medium-term operating results. Furthermore, if the businesses we acquire or in which we invest do not subsequently achieve the synergies we expect or do not generate the financial and operational benefits we expect, our investments and acquisitions may not benefit our business strategy or generate sufficient revenues to offset the associated investment or acquisition costs.
Investments and acquisitions present financial, managerial and operational challenges, including difficulty in integrating our operations with businesses we acquire or in which we invest, potential disruption of our ongoing business and distraction of management attention and risks associated with offering new products and services or entering additional markets. For example, we invested in or acquired certain construction and decoration services providers and companies that provide value-added services to customers of agile office spaces.
We have limited experience in these new businesses and services and may fail to generate sufficient revenue or other value to justify our investments in these businesses and services. Our members may not respond favorably to our new services and solutions, which could damage our public image and market reputation and adversely affect our business.
In addition, investments and acquisitions could result in significant impairments to long-term investments, goodwill and other intangible assets. For example, we recognized RMB1,504.5 million and RMB43.0 million impairment loss related to goodwill and RMB13.5 million and RMB8.8 million impairment loss on intangible assets acquired from acquisitions for 2021 and 2022, respectively, and RMB25.6 million (US$3.6 million) impairment loss on long-term investments in 2023, as we believe the carrying value was no longer recoverable.
Certain industry data and information in this annual report were obtained from third-party sources and were not independently verified by us.
This annual report contains certain industry data and information from third-party sources. We have not independently verified the data and information contained in such third-party publications and reports. Data and information in such third-party publications and reports may use third-party methodologies, which may differ from the data collection methods used by us. In addition, these industry publications and reports generally indicate that the information is believed to be reliable, but do not guarantee the accuracy and completeness of such information.
Statistical data in these publications also include projections based on a number of assumptions. The agile office space industry may not grow at the rates projected by market data, or at all. If any of the assumptions underlying the market data is later found to be incorrect, actual results may differ from the projections based on these assumptions. Material slowdown of the agile office space industry against the projected rates may have materially and adversely affect our business and the market price of our Class A ordinary shares.
We may not adequately protect our intellectual property from unauthorized use by others.
Our trademarks and other intellectual property are critical to our business. Any of our intellectual property rights could be challenged, invalidated, circumvented or misappropriated, or such intellectual property may not be sufficient to provide us with competitive advantages. Risks include the following:
● | Our pending applications for intellectual property rights may not be approved; |
● | Our intellectual property rights may not be adequately protected; |
● | Our intellectual property rights could be challenged by third parties or found by a judicial authority to be invalid or unenforceable; |
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● | Third parties may claim that we are infringing their rights, and we may not be successful in defending these claims; and |
● | We may not enforce and defend our proprietary rights or prevent infringement or misappropriation, without substantial expense to us and a significant diversion of management time and attention from our business strategy. |
To protect our trademarks and other proprietary rights, we rely and expect to rely on a combination of protective agreements with our team members and third parties (including local or other strategic partners we may do business with), physical and electronic security measures, and trademark, copyright, patent and trade secret protection laws. If the measures we take to protect our proprietary rights do not prevent the use or misappropriation by third parties or such rights are diminished due to successful challenges, the value of our brand and other intangible assets may be diminished, materially and adversely affecting our ability to attract and retain members.
The proper functioning of our technology is essential to our business, and any difficulty experienced by such system would materially and adversely affect us.
We use a combination of proprietary technology and technology from third-party service providers to support our business and our member experience. For example, U Bazaar, which we developed in-house but also incorporates third-party and open-source software where appropriate, connects local spaces and develops and deepens connections among our members, both at a particular space and across our global network.
Third-party service providers may not support our products and services on commercially reasonable terms or at all. We may be subject to claims by third parties who maintain that our service providers’ technology infringes the third party’s intellectual property rights. Although our agreements with our third-party service providers often contain indemnities in our favor with respect to these eventualities, we may not be indemnified for these claims or we may not be successful in obtaining indemnification to which we are entitled.
If the technologies and systems that we use to manage the daily operations of our business or that we make available to our members malfunction, our ability to operate our business, retain existing members and attract new members may be impaired. We may not attract and retain sufficiently skilled and experienced professionals to operate and maintain these technologies and systems, and our product and service offerings may not continue to be, and new product and service offerings may not be, supported by the applicable third-party service providers on commercially reasonable terms or at all. Any harm to our members’ personal computers or other devices caused by our software, such as our apps, or other sources of harm, such as hackers or computer viruses, could adversely affect the member experience and our reputation.
We need to invest heavily on our technology to sustain and grow our business, and the uncertainties associated with the evolving customer needs and emerging industry standards create risks with respect to such investment. Our ongoing investment in technology may not generate the expected level of returns and failure to adopt new technologies to adapt to such changing environment may materially and adversely impact our business.
Our business generates and processes a large amount of data. The improper use or disclosure of such data by unauthorized persons could subject us to significant reputational, financial, legal and operational consequences.
We generate significant amount of proprietary, sensitive and otherwise confidential information relating to our business. We collect and store personal data regarding our members, including member names and billing data in our system. Privacy laws and regulations in PRC and other jurisdictions around the world govern the collection, protection and use of personal data. These laws and regulations are evolving and may be inconsistent from one jurisdiction to another.
Compliance with applicable privacy laws and regulations may lead to increases in our operating costs and adversely impact our ability to conduct our business and market our products and services to our members. Any failure by us or our third-party service providers to comply with applicable privacy laws, privacy policies or privacy-related contractual obligations may result in governmental enforcement actions, fines, litigation, other claims and adverse publicity.
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Similar to other companies, our information technology systems face the threat of cyber-attacks, such as security breaches, phishing scams, malware and denial-of-service attacks. Our systems or the systems of third parties that we use could experience unauthorized intrusions or inadvertent data breaches, which could result in the exposure or erosion of our proprietary information and/or members’ data. This data is maintained on our own systems as well as the systems of third-party service providers.
As methods used to obtain unauthorized access to systems or sabotage systems change frequently and may not be known until launched against us or the third parties on which we rely, we and our partners may be unable to anticipate these attacks or implement adequate preventative measures. In addition, any party who illegally obtains identification and password credentials could potentially gain unauthorized access to our systems or the systems of third parties on which we rely. If any such event occurs, we may have to spend significant capital and other resources to mitigate the impact of the event and to develop and implement protection to prevent such future events of that nature from occurring.
From time to time, employees make mistakes with respect to security policies that are not always immediately detected by compliance policies and procedures. These can include errors in software implementation or a failure to follow protocols and patch systems. Employee errors, even if promptly discovered and remediated, may disrupt operations or result in unauthorized disclosure of confidential information.
If a cybersecurity incident occurs, or is perceived to occur, we may be the subject of negative publicity and the perception of the effectiveness of our security measures and our reputation may be harmed. This could damage our relationships and result in the loss of existing or potential members. In addition, even if no compromise of member information occurs, we could incur significant fines or lose the opportunity to support electronic payments from members, which would limit the full effectiveness and efficiency of our payment processing.
The wide variety of payment methods that we accept subjects us to third-party payment processing-related risks.
We accept a variety of payment methods including WeChat Pay and Alipay through third-party payment processors. We pay these payment processors varying service fees, which may increase over time and raise our operating costs. We may also be subject to fraud, security breaches and other illegal activities in connection with the payment methods we offer.
We are subject to various rules, regulations and requirements, regulatory or otherwise, governing payment processing, which could change or be reinterpreted to make it difficult or impossible for us to comply with. For example, according to Announcement No.10 (2018) of the People’s Bank of China issued in July 2018 (“Announcement No.10”), companies that refuse to accept cash payment should rectify such non-compliance. According to People’s Bank of China’s interpretation of Announcement No.10, e-commence platforms, self-service counters and other companies:
● | that offer products and services online and in a cashier-less manner, |
● | whose entire customer purchase process does not involve payment or receipt of cash, and |
● | who have obtained consent from customers to use electronic payment methods, may use electronic payment methods instead of accepting cash. |
We believe that our cashier-less operation complies with Announcement No. 10. However, governmental authorities may not have the same interpretation. If we fail to comply with these rules or requirements, we may be subject to fines and higher transaction fees or no longer be able to offer certain payment methods, materially and adversely affecting our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We may experience significant complaints from members, or adverse publicity involving our spaces and services.
We face an inherent risk of complaints from our members. Most of the complaints from our members related to the facilities and services of our spaces. We take these complaints seriously and endeavor to reduce these complaints by implementing various remedial measures. Nevertheless, we may not successfully prevent or address all complaints.
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Any complaints or claims against us, even if meritless and unsuccessful, may divert management attention and other resources from our business and adversely affect our business. Members may lose confidence in us and our brand, which may adversely affect our business and results of operations. Furthermore, negative publicity including but not limited to negative online reviews on social media and crowd-sourced review platforms, industry findings or media reports related to agile office spaces industry, whether or not accurate, and whether or not concerning our spaces, can adversely affect our business, results of operations and reputation.
Pending or future litigation could have a material and adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We are subject to lawsuits from our competitors, individuals, or other entities against us, in matters relating to intellectual property rights and contractual disputes. The outcomes of actions we institute may not be successful or favorable to us. Lawsuits against us may also generate negative publicity that significantly harms our reputation, which may adversely affect our ability to expand our member base. In addition to the related cost, managing and defending litigation and related indemnity obligations can significantly divert management’s attention from operating our business. We may also need to pay damages or settle lawsuits with a substantial amount of cash.
As a publicly listed company, we may face additional exposure to claims and lawsuits. These claims could divert management time and attention away from our business and result in significant costs to investigate and defend, regardless of the merits of the claims. In some instances, we may elect or be forced to pay substantial damages if we are unsuccessful in our efforts to defend against these claims, which could harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Share-based compensation may have an impact on our future profit. Exercise of the share options granted will increase the number of our Class A ordinary shares, which may affect the market price of our Class A ordinary shares.
The Parent adopted share incentive plans in August 2019 and November 2020, which we respectively refer to as 2019 Plan and 2020 Plan in this annual report, to enhance our ability to attract and retain qualified individuals and align their interests with our growth and performance. The maximum aggregate numbers of ordinary shares we are authorized to issue pursuant to all awards under 2019 Plan are 15,028,567 ordinary shares (62,620 ordinary shares after retroactively adjusted to reflect the 20-to-1 share consolidation effected on April 21, 2022 and the 12-to-1 share consolidation effected on November 29, 2023). In November 2020, the Parent adopted the 2020 Plan, under which the Parent is authorized to issue a maximum number of 7,188,661 Class A ordinary shares (29,953 Class A ordinary shares after retroactively adjusted to reflect the 20-to-1 share consolidation effected on April 21, 2022 and the 12-to-1 share consolidation effected on November 29, 2023). Pursuant to the 2020 Plan, as amended and restated on May 6, 2021, August 2022, December 2023, and February 2024, the maximum aggregate number of shares that may be issued is 4,071,620 Class A ordinary shares. As of the date of this annual report, options to purchase an aggregate number of 783,366 Class A ordinary shares were granted and outstanding, including awards to purchase 28,625 Class A ordinary shares granted to replace the granted and outstanding awards under 2019 Plan.
We believe the granting of share-based awards helps us attract and retain key personnel and employees, and we expect to grant share-based compensation to employees in the future. As a result, our expenses associated with share-based compensation may increase, which may have an adverse effect on our results of operations.
A severe or prolonged downturn in the PRC or global economy could materially and adversely affect our business and our financial condition.
The global macroeconomic environment is facing challenges. Uncertainties remain over the long-term effects of the expansionary monetary and fiscal policies of the central banks and financial authorities of some of the world’s leading economies, including the United States and China. Unrest and terrorist threats in the Middle East, Europe and Africa and conflicts involving Ukraine, Syria and North Korea have also raised concerns. These concerns relate to regional instability and tension, as well as the relationship among China and other Asian countries, which may result in or intensify potential conflicts in relation to territorial disputes, and the trade disputes between the United States and China.
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For example, a growing trade dispute between the United States and China could adversely impact demand for our agile office spaces and services, our costs, our members, suppliers and business partners and China’s economy, which could materially and adversely affect our business, operating results and financial condition. It is unclear whether these challenges and uncertainties will be contained or resolved, and what effects they may have on the global political and economic conditions in the long term.
Economic conditions in China are sensitive to global economic conditions, changes in domestic economic and political policies and the expected or perceived overall economic growth rate in China. While the economy in China has grown significantly over the past decades, growth has been uneven, both geographically and among various sectors of the economy, and the rate of growth has been slowing in recent years. Although growth of China’s economy remained relatively stable, China’s economic growth may materially decline in the near future. Any severe or prolonged slowdown in the global or PRC economy may materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
If we fail to implement and maintain an effective system of internal controls to remediate our material weaknesses over financial reporting, we may be unable to accurately report our results of operations, meet our reporting obligations or prevent fraud, and investor confidence and the market price of our Class A ordinary shares may be materially and adversely affected.
In connection with the preparation and external audits of its consolidated financial statements included in this annual report, we identified the following material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting. Our independent registered public accounting firm has not conducted an audit of our internal control over financial reporting. The material weaknesses that have been identified relate to:
● | A lack of proper management approval and review on borrowing contract over certain amount, and |
● | Insufficient accounting personnel with appropriate experience and knowledge to address complex accounting matters in accordance with U.S. GAAP. |
As defined in the standards established by the PCAOB, a “material weakness” is a deficiency, or combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of the annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis.
To remedy the identified material weaknesses, we have adopted and plan to adopt further measures to improve our internal control over financial reporting. We plan to improve our management approval on all borrowing contracts over certain amount, and to enhance management review control over borrowing related accounting treatment by conducting monthly accounting record inspection. We plan to recruit staff with knowledge of U.S. GAAP and SEC regulations in our finance and accounting department. We also plan to enhance internal training and development programs for financial reporting personnel. When entering into complex transactions, we plan to utilize third-party consultant for accounting services as additional resources. See “Item 15. Controls and Procedures — Internal Control Over Financial Reporting.” However, we cannot assure you that these measures may fully address the material weaknesses and deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting or that we may conclude that they have been fully remediated.
The Parent is subject to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. Pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (“Section 404”), we have included a report from management on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting in our annual report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2023. Based on the assessment, our management has concluded that we did not maintain effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2023. In addition, once the Parent ceases to be an “emerging growth company” as such term is defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the “JOBS Act”), our independent registered public accounting firm must attest to and report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. As such, even if our management concludes that our internal control over financial reporting is effective, our independent registered public accounting firm, after conducting its own independent testing, may issue an adverse opinion on the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting if it is not satisfied with our internal controls or the level at which our controls are documented, designed, operated or reviewed, or if it interprets the relevant requirements differently from us. Our reporting obligations may significantly strain our management, operational and financial resources and systems for the foreseeable future. We may be unable to timely complete our evaluation testing and any required remediation.
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In documenting and testing our internal control procedures, to satisfy the requirements of Section 404, we may identify other weaknesses and deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting. If we fail to maintain the adequacy of our internal control over financial reporting, as these standards are modified, supplemented or amended, we may not conclude on an ongoing basis that we have effective internal control over financial reporting in accordance with Section 404. Our failure to achieve and maintain an effective internal control environment could result in material misstatements in our financial statements and impair our ability to comply with applicable financial reporting requirements and related regulatory filings on a timely basis. As a result, our businesses, financial condition, results of operations and prospects, as well as the trading price of the Class A ordinary shares, may be materially and adversely affected. Ineffective internal control over financial reporting could expose us to increased risk of fraud or misuse of corporate assets and subject us to potential delisting from Nasdaq, regulatory investigations and civil or criminal sanctions. We may also be required to restate our financial statements from prior periods.
If the interpretations, estimates or judgments used to prepare our financial statements are incorrect, we may restate our financial results, which could materially and adversely affect us.
We are subject to complex securities laws and regulations and accounting principles and interpretations. In preparing our financial statements, we must interpret accounting principles and guidance and make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities as of the dates of the financial statements, as well as the reported expenses incurred during the reporting periods. We base our interpretations, estimates and judgments on our historical experience and on various other factors that we believe are reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for the preparation of our financial statements.
Generally accepted accounting principles are subject to interpretation by the SEC, the Financial Accounting Standards Board and other bodies that create and interpret accounting principles and guidance. If any of these bodies disagrees with our accounting recognition, measurement or disclosure or our accounting interpretations, estimates or assumptions, this may significantly affect our reported results and may retroactively affect previously reported results.
In connection with its initial public offering, our predecessor company, Orisun Acquisition Corp. (“Orisun”), a special purpose acquisition company, issued 4,440,024 public warrants (the “Public Warrants”), 233,201 private placement warrants (the “Private Warrants”), and 333,002 warrants underlying a unit purchase option issued to the representative of the underwriters in the initial public offering (the “Representative Warrants,” and together with the Public Warrants and Private Warrants, the “Orisun Warrants”). For a description of the Orisun Warrants, please refer to (1) the prospectus filed in connection with Orisun’s initial public offering on August 5, 2019 (File No. 333-232356) and (2) the proxy statement filed in connection with the Business Combination on November 5, 2020 (File No. 333- 248191) (the “Proxy Statement”).
Orisun originally classified the Orisun Warrants as equity in its (1) audited consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2019, and the related consolidated statements of operations, stockholders’ equity (deficit), and cash flows for the year then ended, and the related notes included in its Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on March 30, 2020, and (2) unaudited consolidated balance sheet as of June 30, 2020, and the related consolidated statements of operations, stockholders’ equity (deficit), and cash flows for the six months then ended, and the related notes included in the Proxy Statement.
On April 12, 2021, the Staff of the SEC released the Staff Statement on Accounting and Reporting Considerations for Warrants Issued by Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (the “Statement”). In the Statement, the Staff of the SEC indicated that certain contractual provisions in many special purpose acquisition company warrant agreements may result in such warrants needing to be classified as a liability rather than as equity.
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We have reviewed the Statement and the Orisun Warrants with our independent auditors and management has concluded that the Private Warrants should be classified as liabilities measured at fair value, which will result in noncash gains or losses from changes in fair value reported each period in earnings. Additional guidance or new regulations or accounting principles and interpretations could be released that would require us to reclassify the Public Warrants and Representative Warrants as liabilities measured at fair value, with changes in fair value reported each period in earnings and/or require a restatement of our financial statements with respect to treatment of the Public Warrants and Representative Warrants.
Any restatement of our financial results could, among other potential adverse effects:
● | result in us incurring substantial costs; |
● | affect our ability to timely file our periodic reports or registration statements for securities until the restatement is completed; |
● | divert the attention of our management and employees from managing our business; |
● | result in material changes to our historical and future financial results; |
● | result in investors losing confidence in our operating results; |
● | subject us to securities class action litigation; and |
● | cause our share price to decline. |
We have limited insurance coverage for our operations.
The insurance industry in China remains at an early stage of development, and insurance companies in China currently offer limited business-related insurance products. Although we have purchased insurances including business disruption insurance and property insurance for our space, those insurances might not be able to cover all risks. Any uninsured risks may result in substantial costs and the diversion of resources, which could adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.
Risks Relating to Our Corporate Structure
We rely on contractual arrangements with the VIEs and their shareholders for a large portion of our operations. These arrangements may not be as effective as direct ownership in providing operational control. Any failure by the VIEs or their shareholders to perform their obligations under these contractual arrangements would materially and adversely affect our business.
We rely on contractual arrangements with the VIEs and their shareholders to operate our business in China. The revenues contributed by the VIEs constituted substantially all of our net revenue for 2021, 2022 and 2023.
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These contractual arrangements may not be as effective as direct ownership in providing us with control over the VIEs. For example, the VIEs and their shareholders could breach their contractual arrangements with the WFOEs by, among other things, failing to conduct their operations in an acceptable manner or taking other actions detrimental to our interests. If we had direct ownership of the VIEs, we would be able to exercise our rights as a shareholder to effect changes in the board of directors of the VIEs, which in turn could implement changes, subject to any applicable fiduciary obligations, at the management and operational level.
However, under our contractual arrangements, the Parent relies on the performance by the VIEs and their shareholders of their obligations under the contracts to be the primary beneficiary of the VIEs for accounting purposes. The shareholders of the consolidated VIEs may not act in the best interests of our company or may not perform their obligations under these contracts. Such risks exist throughout the period in which we intend to operate certain portions of our business through the contractual arrangements with the VIEs. One of the VIEs, Ucommune Venture, has 45 shareholders. As a result, we face increased risk that these shareholders may breach the VIE contracts or take other actions detrimental to our interests.
If the VIEs or their shareholders fail to perform their respective obligations under the contractual arrangements, we may incur substantial costs and expend additional resources to enforce such arrangements. If the shareholders of the VIEs refuse to transfer their equity interest in the VIEs to the WFOEs or the WFOEs’ designee if the WFOEs exercise the purchase option pursuant to these contractual arrangements, or if they otherwise act in bad faith, then we may have to take legal actions to compel the shareholders of the VIEs to perform their contractual obligations.
If any third parties claim any interest in such shareholders’ equity interests in the VIEs, the WFOEs’ ability to exercise shareholders’ rights or foreclose the share pledge according to the contractual arrangements may be impaired. If these or other disputes between the shareholders of the VIEs and third parties were to impair our contractual arrangements with the VIEs, the Parent’s ability to consolidate the financial results of the VIEs would be affected, which would in turn materially and adversely affect our business, operations and financial condition.
The shareholders of the VIEs may have actual or potential conflicts of interest with the Parent, our subsidiaries and the VIEs, which may materially and adversely affect our business and financial condition.
We are not aware of any conflicts between the shareholders of the VIEs and the Parent, our subsidiaries and the VIEs. However, the shareholders of the VIEs may have actual or potential conflicts of interest with the Parent, our subsidiaries or the VIEs in the future. These shareholders may refuse to sign or breach, or cause the VIEs to breach, or refuse to renew, the existing contractual arrangements the WFOEs have with them and the VIEs, which would materially and adversely affect our contractual arrangements with the VIEs and receive economic benefits from them. For example, the shareholders could cause our agreements with the VIEs to be performed in a manner adverse to us by, among other things, failing to remit payments due under the contractual arrangements to us on a timely basis.
We cannot assure you that when conflicts of interest arise any or all of these shareholders will act in the best interests of our company or such conflicts will be resolved in our favor, particularly given the relatively large number of shareholders that Ucommune Venture has. We do not have any arrangements to address potential conflicts of interest between these shareholders and our company. If we cannot resolve any conflict of interest or dispute between us and these shareholders, we would rely on legal proceedings, which could result in disruption of our business and subject us to substantial uncertainty as to the outcome of any such legal proceedings.
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Our contractual arrangements are governed by PRC law. These contracts are interpreted in accordance with PRC law, and any disputes would be resolved in accordance with PRC legal procedures.
Our contractual arrangements are governed by and interpreted in accordance with PRC law, and disputes arising from the contractual arrangements will be resolved through arbitration in China. We may face uncertainties in enforcing the contractual arrangements. Meanwhile, very limited precedents and formal guidance exist as to how contractual arrangements in the context of a VIE should be interpreted or enforced under PRC law. There remain uncertainties regarding the ultimate outcome of such arbitration should legal action become necessary.
Under PRC law, rulings by arbitrators are final, parties cannot appeal the arbitration results in courts except that parties may apply for a cancellation of such rulings before an intermediate people’s court at the place where the arbitration commission is located under certain circumstances. If the losing parties fail to carry out the arbitration awards within a prescribed time limit, the prevailing parties may only enforce the arbitration awards in PRC courts, which would require additional expenses and delay. If we are unable to enforce these contractual arrangements, or if we suffer significant delays or other obstacles in the process of enforcing these contractual arrangements, our ability to conduct our business would be negatively affected.
Substantial uncertainties in the PRC foreign investment legal regime may significantly impact our corporate structure and operations.
On March 15, 2019, the PRC National People’s Congress adopted the Foreign Investment Law, which came into effect as of January 1, 2020 and replaced the existing laws regulating foreign investment in the PRC: the Sino-Foreign Equity Joint Venture Enterprise Law, the Sino-Foreign Cooperative Joint Venture Enterprise Law and the Wholly Foreign-Invested Enterprise Law. As a result, the Foreign Investment law became the legal foundation for foreign investment in the PRC. The Implementation Regulation of the Foreign Investment Law came into effect as of January 1, 2020, which clarified and elaborated the relevant provisions of the Foreign Investment Law.
The Foreign Investment Law stipulates three forms of foreign investment. However, the Foreign Investment Law does not explicitly stipulate the contractual arrangements as a form of foreign investment. The Foreign Investment Law stipulates that foreign investment includes “foreign investors invest through any other methods under laws, administrative regulations or provisions prescribed by the State Council.”
Future laws, administrative regulations or provisions prescribed by the State Council may regard contractual arrangements as a form of foreign investment, and whether our contractual arrangement will be recognized as foreign investment, whether our contractual arrangement will be deemed to be in violation of the foreign investment access requirements and how the above-mentioned contractual arrangement will be handled are uncertain. We may ultimately need to unwind the contractual arrangements and/or dispose of the VIEs or their subsidiaries, which could have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Contractual arrangements in relation to the VIEs may be subject to scrutiny by the PRC tax authorities and they may determine that we or the VIEs owe additional taxes, which could negatively affect our financial condition and the value of your investment.
Under PRC laws and regulations, arrangements and transactions among related parties may be subject to audit or challenge by the PRC tax authorities within ten years after the taxable year when the transactions are conducted. We could face material and adverse tax consequences if the PRC tax authorities determine that the VIE contractual arrangements were not entered into on an arm’s-length basis. This could result in an impermissible reduction in taxes under applicable PRC laws, rules and regulations, and adjust the income of the VIEs in the form of a transfer pricing adjustment.
A transfer pricing adjustment could result in a reduction of expense deductions recorded by the VIEs for PRC tax purposes, which could in turn increase their tax liabilities without reducing our PRC subsidiaries’ tax expenses. In addition, the PRC tax authorities may impose late payment fees and other penalties on the VIEs for the adjusted but unpaid taxes under applicable regulations. Our financial position could be materially and adversely affected if the tax liabilities of the VIEs increase or if they are required to pay late payment fees and other penalties.
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The Parent and our subsidiaries may lose the ability to use, or otherwise benefit from, the licenses, approvals and assets held by the VIEs, which could severely disrupt our business, render us unable to conduct some or all of our business and constrain our growth.
The Parent and our subsidiaries rely on contractual arrangements with the VIEs to use, or otherwise benefit from, certain foreign restricted licenses and permits that we need or may need in the future as our business continues to expand, such as the internet content provider license (the “ICP license”) held by one of the VIEs.
The contractual arrangements contain terms that obligate the VIEs’ shareholders to ensure the valid existence of the VIEs and restrict the disposal of material assets of the VIEs. If the VIEs’ shareholders breach these contractual arrangements and voluntarily liquidate the VIEs, or the VIEs declare bankruptcy and all or part of their assets become subject to liens or rights of third-party creditors, or are otherwise disposed of without our consent, we may be unable to conduct some or all of our business or otherwise benefit from the assets held by the VIEs.
If the VIEs undergo a voluntary or involuntary liquidation proceeding, their shareholders or unrelated third-party creditors may claim rights to some or all of the assets of the VIEs, hindering our ability to operate our business and constrain our growth. The foregoing risks could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
The Parent’s dual-class share structure with different voting rights may adversely affect the value and liquidity of the Class A ordinary shares.
We cannot predict whether the Parent’s dual-class share structure with different voting rights will result in a lower or more volatile market price of the Class A ordinary shares, in adverse publicity, or other adverse consequences. Certain index providers have announced restrictions on including companies with multiple-class share structures in certain of their indices. For example, in July 2017, FTSE Russell announced that it plans to require new constituents of its indices to have greater than 5% of the company’s voting rights in the hands of public stockholders, and S&P Dow Jones announced that it will no longer admit companies with multiple-class share structures to certain of its indices.
In 2017, MSCI, a leading stock index provider, opened public consultations on their treatment of no-vote and multi-class structures and temporarily barred new multi-class listings from certain of its indices. In October 2018, MSCI announced its decision to include equity securities “with unequal voting structures” in its indices and to launch a new index that specifically includes voting rights in its eligibility criteria. Because of the Parent’s dual-class structure, we will likely be excluded from these indices and other stock indices that take similar actions.
Given the sustained flow of investment funds into passive strategies that seek to track certain indices, exclusion from certain stock indices would likely preclude investment by many of these funds and could make our Class A ordinary shares less attractive to investors. In addition, several shareholder advisory firms have announced their opposition to the use of multiple class structures and the Parent’s dual-class structure may cause shareholder advisory firms to publish negative commentary about our corporate governance, adversely affecting the market price and liquidity of the Class A ordinary shares.
The Parent’s dual-class share structure with different voting rights will limit your ability to influence corporate matters and could discourage others from pursuing any change of control transactions that holders of the Parent’s Class A ordinary shares may view as beneficial.
The Parent has adopted a dual-class share structure such that our ordinary shares consist of Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares. In respect of matters requiring the votes of shareholders, each Class A ordinary share is entitled to one vote and each Class B ordinary share is entitled to 55 votes. Each Class B ordinary share is convertible into one Class A ordinary share at any time by the holder thereof. Class A ordinary shares are not convertible into Class B ordinary shares under any circumstances. The Parent’s dual-class share structure with different voting rights will limit your ability to influence corporate matters and could discourage others from pursuing any change of control transactions that you, as the holders of the Parent’s Class A ordinary shares, may view as beneficial.
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Certain of the existing shareholders of the Parent have substantial influence over our company, and their interests may not be aligned with the interests of our other stockholders.
Dr. Daqing Mao, our founder, and his wife, Angela Bai, together hold approximately 91.55% of the voting power of our company as of March 31, 2024 due to the Parent’s dual-class share structure. For more information, see “Item 6. Directors, Senior Management and Employees — E. Share Ownership.” Dr. Mao is expected to retain significant influence over our business, including decisions regarding mergers, consolidations, liquidations and the sale of all or substantially all of our assets, election of directors and other significant corporate actions.
This concentration of ownership may also discourage, delay or prevent a future change of control, which could deprive our shareholders of an opportunity to receive a premium for their shares as part of a sale of our company and might reduce the price of our Class A ordinary shares. Dr. Mao may pursue corporate opportunities independent of us, and the sale of his shares could constitute a change of control under our debt instruments.
You may face difficulties in protecting your interests, and your ability to protect your rights through U.S. courts may be limited, because we are incorporated under Cayman Islands law.
Our ultimate holding company is the Parent which is an exempted company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands. The Parent’s corporate affairs are governed by its memorandum and articles of association, as amended and restated from time to time, the Companies Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands (the “Companies Act”) and the common law of the Cayman Islands. The rights of shareholders to take action against our directors, actions by our minority shareholders and the fiduciary duties of our directors to us under Cayman Islands law are to a large extent governed by the common law of the Cayman Islands. The common law of the Cayman Islands is derived in part from comparatively limited judicial precedent in the Cayman Islands as well as from the common law of England, the decisions of whose courts are of persuasive authority, but are not binding, on a court in the Cayman Islands.
The rights of our shareholders and the fiduciary duties of our directors under Cayman Islands law are not as clearly established as they would be under statutes or judicial precedent in some jurisdictions in the United States. In particular, the Cayman Islands have a less developed body of securities laws than the United States. Some U.S. states, such as Delaware, have more fully developed and judicially interpreted bodies of corporate law than the Cayman Islands. In addition, Cayman Islands companies may not have standings to initiate a shareholder derivative action in a federal court of the United States.
Shareholders of Cayman Islands exempted companies such as ours have no general rights under Cayman Islands law to inspect corporate records (except for our memorandum and articles of association, special resolutions which have been passed by our shareholders, our register of mortgages and charges, and a list of our current directors) or to obtain copies of lists of shareholders of these companies. Our directors have discretion under our articles of association to determine whether or not, and under what conditions, our corporate records may be inspected by our shareholders, but are not obliged to make them available to our shareholders. This may make it more difficult for you to obtain the information needed to establish any facts necessary for a shareholder motion or to solicit proxies from other shareholders in connection with a proxy contest.
Our Class A ordinary shares are listed in Nasdaq Capital Market. As a result, our public shareholders may have more difficulty in protecting their interests in the face of actions taken by our management, users of the board of directors or controlling shareholders than they would as public shareholders of a company incorporated in the United States. For a discussion of significant differences between the provisions of the Companies Act and the laws applicable to companies incorporated in the United States and their shareholders, see “Item 10. Additional Information — B. Memorandum and Articles of Association — Differences in Corporate Law.”
Certain judgments obtained against us by our shareholders may not be enforceable.
Our ultimate holding company is incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands. We have most of our operations in China and substantially all of our operations are outside of the United States. Most of our assets are located in China, and substantially all of our assets are located outside of the United States. In addition, all our senior executive officers reside within China for a significant portion of the time and most are PRC nationals. Substantially all of the assets of these persons are located outside the United States.
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As a result, it may be difficult or impossible for you to bring an action against us or against these individuals in the United States if your rights have been infringed under the U.S. federal securities laws or otherwise. Even if you are successful in bringing an action of this kind, the laws of the Cayman Islands and of China may render you unable to enforce a judgment against our assets or the assets of our directors and officers. For more information regarding the relevant laws of the Cayman Islands and China, see “Enforceability of Civil Liabilities.” section, which is in the registration statement on Form F-1 on Form F-3 (File No. 333-257664), as amended, filed with the SEC.
Risks Relating to Doing Business in China
Changes in China’s economic, political or social conditions or government policies could materially and adversely affect our business.
Substantially all of our assets and operations are in China. Accordingly, our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may be influenced to a significant degree by political, economic and social conditions in China generally.
In recent years, the Chinese government has implemented measures emphasizing the utilization of market forces for economic reform, the reduction of state ownership of productive assets, and the establishment of improved corporate governance in business enterprises. Meanwhile, the government still owns a substantial portion of productive assets in China. In addition, the Chinese government plays a significant role in regulating industry development through industrial policies. The Chinese government also exercises significant control over China’s economic growth by allocating resources, setting monetary policy and providing preferential treatment to particular industries or companies.
While the Chinese economy has experienced significant growth over past decades, growth has been uneven, both geographically and among various sectors of the economy. Any adverse changes in economic conditions in China, in the policies of the Chinese government or in the laws and regulations in China could materially and adversely affect the overall economic growth of China. Such developments could adversely affect our business and operating results, reducing demand for our services and adversely affecting our competitive position.
The Chinese government has implemented various measures to encourage economic growth and guide the allocation of resources. Some of these measures may benefit the overall Chinese economy, but may have a negative effect on us. For example, our financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected by government control over capital investments or changes in tax regulations.
In the past the Chinese government has implemented certain measures, including interest rate adjustments, to control the pace of economic growth. These measures may cause decreased economic activity in China, which may adversely affect our business and operating results. In addition, since many of our members are concentrated in major metropolitan areas, an economic downturn in any of these areas may materially and adversely affect our business.
Uncertainties with respect to the PRC legal system could adversely affect us.
The PRC legal system is a civil law system based on written statutes. Unlike the common law system, prior court decisions under the civil law system may be cited for reference but have limited precedential value. Since the late 1970s, the PRC government began to promulgate a comprehensive system of laws and regulations governing economic matters in general. The overall effect of legislation since then has significantly enhanced the protection afforded to various forms of foreign investments in China. However, these laws and regulations may not sufficiently cover all aspects of economic activities in China. In addition, as many of these laws and regulations are relatively new and continue to evolve, the interpretation and enforcement of them involve uncertainties. Moreover, the implementation of new rules, laws and regulations may significantly affect the industry in which we operate, which could affect the value of our securities, such as causing our securities to significantly decline in value or become worthless.
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Since PRC administrative and court authorities have significant discretion in interpreting and implementing statutory provisions and contractual terms, it may be difficult to evaluate the outcome of administrative and court proceedings and the level of legal protection we obtain. These uncertainties may affect our judgment on the relevance of legal requirements and our ability to enforce our contractual rights or tort claims. We may also not be aware of our violation of any of government policies and rules until after the violation occurs. In addition, the regulatory uncertainties may be exploited through unmerited or frivolous legal actions or threats in attempts to extract payments or benefits from us. Any administrative and court proceedings in China may be protracted, resulting in substantial costs and diversion of resources and management attention. As a result, we cannot assure you that sufficient legal protection as anticipated would be available to you and us.
The Chinese government exerts substantial influence over the manner in which we must conduct our business activities and may intervene or influence our operations at any time, which could result in a material change in our operations and the value of our Class A ordinary shares.
The Chinese government has exercised and continues to exercise substantial control over virtually every sector of the Chinese economy through regulation and state ownership. Our ability to operate in China may be harmed by changes in its laws and regulations, including those relating to securities regulation, data protection, cybersecurity and mergers and acquisitions and other matters. The central or local governments of these jurisdictions may impose new, stricter regulations or interpretations of existing regulations that would require additional expenditures and efforts on our part to ensure our compliance with such regulations or interpretations.
Government actions in the future could significantly affect economic conditions in China or particular regions thereof, and could require us to materially change our operating activities or divest ourselves of any interests we hold in Chinese assets. Our business may be subject to various government and regulatory interference in the provinces in which we operate. We may incur increased costs necessary to comply with existing and newly adopted laws and regulations or penalties for any failure to comply. Our operations could be adversely affected, directly or indirectly, by existing or future laws and regulations relating to our business or industry.
Given recent statements by the Chinese government indicating an intent to exert more oversight and control over offerings that are conducted overseas and/or foreign investment in China-based issuers, any such action could significantly limit or completely hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer securities to investors and cause the value of such securities to significantly decline or be worthless.
The General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the General Office of the State Council jointly issued the Opinions on Severely Cracking Down on Illegal Securities Activities According to Law (the “Opinions”), which were made available to the public on July 6, 2021. The Opinions emphasized the need to strengthen the administration over illegal securities activities, and the need to strengthen the supervision over overseas listings by Chinese companies. Effective measures, such as promoting the construction of relevant regulatory systems, will be taken to deal with the risks and incidents of China-related overseas listed companies. As of the date of this annual report, we have not received any inquiry, notice, warning, or sanctions from PRC government authorities in connection with the Opinions.
On June 10, 2021, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China (the “SCNPC”), promulgated the PRC Data Security Law, which became effective in September 2021. The PRC Data Security Law imposes data security and privacy obligations on entities and individuals carrying out data activities, and introduces a data classification and hierarchical protection system based on the importance of data in economic and social development, and the degree of harm it will cause to national security, public interests, or legitimate rights and interests of individuals or organizations when such data is tampered with, destroyed, leaked, illegally acquired or used. The PRC Data Security Law also provides for a national security review procedure for data activities that may affect national security and imposes export restrictions on certain data an information.
In early July 2021, regulatory authorities in China launched cybersecurity investigations with regard to several China-based companies that are listed in the United States. The Chinese cybersecurity regulator announced on July 2 that it had begun an investigation of Didi Global Inc. (NYSE: DIDI) and two days later ordered that the company’s app be removed from smartphone app stores. On July 5, 2021, the Chinese cybersecurity regulator launched the same investigation on two other internet platforms, China’s Full Truck Alliance of Full Truck Alliance Co. Ltd. (NYSE: YMM) and Boss of KANZHUN LIMITED (Nasdaq: BZ).
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On August 17, 2021, the State Council promulgated the Regulations on the Protection of the Security of Critical Information Infrastructure (the “Regulations”), which took effect on September 1, 2021. The Regulations supplement and specify the provisions on the security of critical information infrastructure as stated in the Cybersecurity Review Measures. The Regulations provide, among others, that protection department of certain industry or sector shall notify the operator of the critical information infrastructure in time after the identification of certain critical information infrastructure.
On August 20, 2021, the SCNPC promulgated the Personal Information Protection Law of the PRC (the “Personal Information Protection Law”), which became effective in November 2021. As the first systematic and comprehensive law specifically for the protection of personal information in the PRC, the Personal Information Protection Law provides, among others, that (1) an individual’s consent shall be obtained to use sensitive personal information, such as biometric characteristics and individual location tracking, (2) personal information operators using sensitive personal information shall notify individuals of the necessity of such use and the impact on the individual’s rights, and (3) where personal information operators reject an individual’s request to exercise his or her rights, the individual may file a lawsuit with a People’s Court.
On November 14, 2021, the CAC promulgated the draft Regulations on the Administration of Cyber Data Security (Draft for Comments) (the “Draft CAC Regulation”), which has not yet become effective. The Draft CAC Regulation provides that data processors that conduct the following activities must apply for cybersecurity review: (1) merger, reorganization or spin-off of online platform operators holding a large amount of data resources related to national security, economic development or public interests, which may have an adverse effect on national security; (2) data processors that handle personal information of more than one million users intending to list their securities on a foreign stock exchange; (3) data processors intending to list their securities on a stock exchange in Hong Kong which may have an adverse effect on national security; and (4) other data processing activities that may have an adverse effect on national security.
On December 28, 2021, the CAC, jointly with other 12 governmental authorities, promulgated the revised Cybersecurity Review Measures, which became effective on February 15, 2022. According to the Cybersecurity Review Measures, critical information infrastructure operators that intend to purchase internet products and services which may have an adverse effect on national security must apply for cybersecurity review. Meanwhile, online platform operators holding personal information of over one million users that intend to list their securities on a foreign stock exchange must apply for cybersecurity review.
Given that the above mentioned newly promulgated laws, regulations and policies were recently promulgated or issued, and have not yet taken effect (as applicable), their interpretation, application and enforcement are subject to substantial uncertainties. We are of the view that such requirement for cybersecurity review under the Draft CAC Regulation, if effective in the current form, and revised Cybersecurity Review Measures, are not applicable to us, primarily because, as of the date of the annual report: (1) we have not received any notice or determination from competent PRC governmental authorities identifying us as a critical information infrastructure operator; (2) we do not hold or process personal information of over one million users; and (3) we have not received any investigation, notice, warning, or sanctions from applicable government authorities in relation to national security. However, the relevant PRC government agencies could reach a different conclusion, applicable laws, regulations or interpretations could change and we could be required to obtain such approvals in the future.
See “— We may be liable for improper use or appropriation of personal information provided by our customers” and “— Recent regulatory development in China may exert more oversight and control over listings and offerings that are conducted overseas. The approval of and the filing with the CSRC or other PRC government authorities may be required in connection with our future offerings under PRC law, and, if required, we cannot predict whether or for how long we will be able to obtain such approval or complete such filing.”
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If the PRC government determines that the contractual arrangements constituting part of the VIE structure do not comply with PRC regulations, or if these regulations change or are interpreted differently in the future our securities may decline in value or become worthless.
We face material risks relating to our corporate structure. Investors in our Class A ordinary shares are not purchasing equity interests in the consolidated VIEs domiciled in China but instead are purchasing equity interests in the Parent, our ultimate Cayman Islands holding company. The Parent is not a Chinese operating company but a Cayman Islands holding company with operations conducted by our subsidiaries and through contractual arrangements with VIEs based in China, and this structure involves unique risks to investors. The VIE structure is used to provide investors with exposure to foreign investment in China-based companies where Chinese law prohibits direct foreign investment in the operating companies, and investors may never hold equity interests in the Chinese operating companies. Current PRC laws and regulations impose certain restrictions or prohibitions on foreign ownership of companies that engage in VATSs and certain other businesses. We currently conduct our VATS business through Beijing U Bazaar, including value-added online services for our members. We also plan to engage in VATS business and other businesses which may subject to foreign investment restrictions through Ucommune Venture in the future. The VIE structure would afford us greater flexibility in expanding our business scope and implementing our business strategies in compliance with PRC laws and regulations in the future as our business expands. Chinese regulatory authorities could disallow this structure, which would likely result in a material change in our operations and/or a material change in the value of the securities we are registering for sale, including that it could cause the value of such securities to significantly decline or become worthless. If the PRC government deems that our contractual arrangements with the consolidated VIEs domiciled in China do not comply with PRC regulatory restrictions on foreign investment in the relevant industries, or if these regulations or the interpretation of existing regulations change or are interpreted differently in the future, we could be subject to severe penalties or be forced to relinquish our interests in those operations.
The Parent, our subsidiaries and our investors do not have an equity ownership in, direct foreign investment in, or control through such ownership or investment of the VIEs. The contractual arrangements with respect to the VIEs are not equivalent to an equity ownership in the business of the VIEs. Any references in this annual report to control or benefits that accrue to us because of the VIEs are limited to, and subject to conditions for consolidation of, the VIEs under U.S. GAAP. Consolidation of VIEs under U.S. GAAP generally occurs if the Parent or our subsidiaries (1) have an economic interest in the VIEs that provides significant exposure to potential losses or benefits from the VIEs and (2) have power over the most significant economic activities of the VIEs. For accounting purposes, the Parent will be the primary beneficiary of the VIEs. In addition, the contractual agreements governing the VIEs have not been tested in a court of law.
It is uncertain whether any new PRC laws or regulations relating to VIE structures will be adopted or if adopted, what they would provide. PRC regulatory authorities could disallow this structure, which would materially and adversely affect our operations and the value of our Class A ordinary shares, and could cause the value of such securities to significantly decline or become worthless. If the PRC government determines that the contractual arrangements constituting part of the VIE structure do not comply with PRC regulations, or if these regulations change or are interpreted differently in the future, our securities may decline in value or become worthless. In addition, to the extent cash is located in the PRC or within a PRC domiciled entity and may need to be used to fund operations outside of the PRC, the funds may not be available due to limitations placed on us by the PRC government. To the extent cash in the business is in the PRC or a PRC entity, the funds may not be available to fund operations or for other use outside of the PRC due to interventions in or the imposition of restrictions and limitations on the ability of the Parent, our subsidiaries or the VIEs by the PRC government to transfer cash. See “— Risks Relating to our Corporate Structure.”
Regulation and censorship of information disseminated over the internet in China may adversely affect our business and reputation and subject us to liability for information displayed on our website.
The PRC government has adopted regulations governing internet access and the distribution of news and other information over the internet. Under these regulations, internet content providers and internet publishers may not post or display over the internet content that, among other things, violates PRC laws and regulations, impairs the national dignity of China, or is reactionary, obscene, superstitious, fraudulent or defamatory. Failure to comply with these requirements may result in the revocation of licenses to provide internet content and other licenses, and the closure of the concerned websites or other internet platforms.
The website or platform operator may also be held liable for such censored information displayed on or linked to the websites or platforms. If our website or internet platform violates any such requirements, we may be penalized by relevant authorities, and our operations or reputation could be adversely affected.
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Fluctuations in exchange rates could have a material and adverse effect on our results of operations and the value of your investment.
The conversion of Renminbi into foreign currencies, including U.S. dollar, is based on rates set by the People’s Bank of China. Renminbi has fluctuated against U.S. dollar and other currencies, at times significantly and unpredictably. The value of Renminbi against U.S. dollar and other currencies may fluctuate due to changes in political and economic conditions and the foreign exchange policy adopted by the PRC government. We cannot assure you that Renminbi will not appreciate or depreciate significantly in value against the U.S. dollar in the future. It is difficult to predict how market forces, international relations especially the trade tensions between U.S. and China, or government policies of PRC or U.S. may impact the exchange rate between Renminbi and U.S. dollar.
A significant majority of our net revenue and costs are denominated in Renminbi. The Parent is a holding company and relies on dividends paid by our subsidiaries in China for our cash needs. Any significant revaluation of Renminbi may materially and adversely affect our results of operations and financial position reported in Renminbi when translated into U.S. dollars, and the value of, and any dividends payable on, the ordinary shares in U.S. dollars. For example, to the extent that we need to convert U.S. dollars into Renminbi for our operations, appreciation of the Renminbi against the U.S. dollar would have an adverse effect on the Renminbi amount we would receive. Conversely, if we decide to convert our Renminbi into U.S. dollars to make payments for dividends on our ordinary shares or for other business purposes, appreciation of the U.S. dollar against the Renminbi would negatively affect the U.S. dollar amount.
Any lack of requisite approvals, licenses or permits applicable to our business may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
In accordance with the laws and regulations in jurisdictions in which we operate, we must maintain various approvals, licenses and permits to operate our business, including but not limited to business license, fire prevention as-built acceptance check and filing for our spaces, and value-added telecommunications license and other approvals, licenses and permits. These approvals, licenses and permits require satisfactory compliance with, among other things, the applicable laws and regulations.
Based on PRC laws and regulations in effect as of the date of this annual report and the legal advice of our PRC legal counsel, Jingtian & Gongcheng, and subject to different interpretations of these laws and regulations that may be adopted by PRC authorities, our subsidiaries and the VIEs have obtained the following licenses and approvals necessary to operate in China as of the date of this annual report: (1) each of our subsidiaries and the VIEs has obtained a business license; (2) Beijing U Bazaar, through which we conduct our VATS business, including value-added online services for our members, has obtained a value-added telecommunications license for internet information service and online data processing and transactions; (3) Beijing Dongyi Yuanda Architectural Decoration Engineering Co., Ltd and Guangdong Wanhe Construction Engineering Co., Ltd, which engage in construction services, have obtained certificates for construction qualification and safety production licenses; and (4) most of our self-operated model spaces have completed the required as-built acceptance check on fire prevention or fire safety filing. However, a small number our self-operated model spaces have not completed such as-built acceptance check on fire prevention or fire safety filing.
We cannot assure you that our subsidiaries and the VIEs will be able to maintain existing licenses, permits and approvals or that the government authorities will not subsequently require our subsidiaries and the VIEs to obtain any additional licenses, permit and approvals. If our subsidiaries and the VIEs fail to obtain the necessary licenses, permits and approvals or inadvertently conclude that any permissions or approvals are not required, or if applicable laws, regulations, or interpretations change and our subsidiaries or the VIEs are required to obtain such permissions or approvals in the future, our subsidiaries and the VIEs may be subject to fines, confiscation of revenues generated from incompliant operations or the suspension of relevant operations. Our subsidiaries and the VIEs may also experience adverse publicity arising from such non-compliance with government regulations that negatively impact our brand. Our subsidiaries and the VIEs may experience difficulties or failures in obtaining the necessary approvals, licenses and permits for new spaces or new service offerings.
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If our subsidiaries and the VIEs fail to obtain the material licenses, our expansion plans may be delayed. In addition, our subsidiaries and the VIEs may not obtain, renew and/or convert all of the approvals, licenses and permits required for our existing business upon their expiration in a timely manner or at all, which could adversely affect our operations.
A small number of spaces under of our self-operated model have not completed the required as-built acceptance check on fire prevention or fire safety filing. Our spaces that fail to complete such as-built acceptance check on fire prevention as required by relevant laws and regulations may be ordered by the relevant government authorities to cease business. As a result, we may be subject to fines ranging from RMB30,000 to RMB300,000 per space, and our spaces that fail to complete such fire safety filing as required may be subject to fines of up to RMB5,000 per space.
Based on relevant laws and regulations and our consultation with relevant government authorities, and as advised by our PRC counsel, the maximum amount of potential fines arising from the incompletion of the required as-built acceptance check on fire prevention and fire safety filing is approximately RMB0.6 million, as of the date of this annual report. However, we have not received any material fines or penalties for such non-compliance.
We have taken several steps to strengthen our management over fire prevention or fire safety, including:
● | consulting with local regulatory authorities for completing the required as built acceptance checks on fire prevention or fire safety filings; |
● | equipping the relevant spaces with proper fire safety facilities, equipment and safety signs; |
● | engaging several fire safety consulting institutions to conduct fire safety inspection on the fire safety equipment and system of the -relevant spaces; and |
● | implementing our fire safety internal control policy in accordance with applicable laws and regulations and providing fire safety related training to our employees. |
The custodians or authorized users of our controlling non-tangible assets, including stamps and seals, may fail to fulfill their responsibilities, or misappropriate or misuse these assets.
Under PRC law, legal documents for corporate transactions, including agreements and contracts, are executed using the stamps or seals of the signing entity or with the signature of a legal representative whose designation is registered and filed with relevant PRC industry and commerce authorities. To secure the use of our stamps and seals, we have established internal control procedures and rules for using these stamps and seals.
When we use the stamps and seals, responsible personnel will apply through our office automation system and authorized employees will verify and approve the application in accordance with our internal control procedures and rules. In order to maintain the physical security of our stamps, we generally store them in secured locations accessible only to authorized employees.
Although we monitor such authorized employees, the procedures may not be sufficient to prevent all instances of abuse or negligence. Our employees could abuse their authority by entering into a contract not approved by us or seeking to gain control of one of our subsidiaries or consolidated VIEs. If any employee obtains, misuses or misappropriates our stamps and seals or other controlling non-tangible assets, we could experience disruption to our operations, and we may have to take corporate or legal actions, which could involve significant time and resources to resolve and divert management from our operations.
Our operations depend on the performance of the mobile based systems, telecommunications networks and digital infrastructure in China.
Our operations rely heavily on mobile based systems, telecommunications networks and digital infrastructure. Almost all access to the internet in China is maintained through state-owned telecommunication operators under the administrative control and regulatory supervision of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (“MIIT”). We primarily rely on a limited number of telecommunication service providers to provide data communications capacity through local telecommunications lines and internet data centers to host our servers.
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We have limited access to alternative networks or services in the event of disruptions, failures or other problems with China’s internet infrastructure or the fixed telecommunications networks provided by telecommunications service providers. With the expansion of our business, we may need to upgrade our technology and infrastructure to keep up with the increasing traffic on our apps. The digital infrastructure and the telecommunications networks in China may not support the demands associated with the growth in digital usage.
In addition, we have no control over the costs of the services provided by telecommunication service providers. If the prices we pay for telecommunications and digital services rise significantly, our results of operations may be materially and adversely affected. Furthermore, if data access fees or other charges to mobile members increase, our member traffic may decline and our business may be harmed.
We may rely on dividends and other distributions on equity paid by our PRC subsidiaries to fund any cash and financing requirements we may have, and any limitation on the ability of our PRC subsidiaries to make payments to us could materially and adversely affect our ability to conduct our business.
Our ultimate Cayman Islands holding company, the Parent, relies principally on dividends and other distributions on equity from our PRC subsidiaries for our cash requirements, including for services of any debt we may incur.
Our PRC subsidiaries’ ability to distribute dividends is based upon their distributable earnings. PRC regulations permit a PRC subsidiary to pay dividends to its shareholders only out of its accumulated profits, if any, determined in accordance with PRC accounting standards and regulations. In addition, each of our PRC subsidiaries and the VIEs is required to set aside at least 10% of its after-tax profits each year, if any, to fund a statutory reserve until such reserve reaches 50% of its registered capital.
Each of our PRC subsidiaries as a Foreign Invested Enterprise (“FIE”), is also required to further set aside a portion of its after-tax profits to fund the employee welfare fund, although the amount to be set aside, if any, is determined at its discretion. These reserves are not distributable as cash dividends.
If our PRC subsidiaries incur debt in the future, the instruments governing the debt may restrict their ability to pay dividends or make other payments to us. Any limitation on the ability of our PRC subsidiaries to distribute dividends or other payments to their shareholders could materially and adversely limit our ability to grow, make investments or acquisitions that could be beneficial to our business, pay dividends or otherwise fund and conduct our business.
In addition, the Enterprise Income Tax Law and its implementation rules provide that a withholding tax rate of up to 10% will be applicable to dividends payable by Chinese companies to non-PRC-resident enterprises unless otherwise exempted or reduced according to treaties or arrangements between the PRC central government and governments of other countries or regions where the non-PRC resident enterprises are incorporated.
PRC regulation of loans to and direct investment in PRC entities by offshore holding companies and governmental control of currency conversion may delay us from using the proceeds of securities offerings, to make loans or additional capital contributions to our PRC subsidiaries, which could materially and adversely affect our liquidity and our ability to fund and expand our business.
Any funds we transfer to our PRC subsidiaries, either as shareholder loans or as an increase in registered capital, are subject to approval by or registration with relevant governmental authorities in China. According to the relevant PRC regulations on FIEs in China, capital contributions to our PRC subsidiaries are subject to the information report requirement with the Ministry of Commerce (“MOFCOM”) or their respective local branches and registration with a local bank authorized by SAFE. In addition, any foreign loan procured by our PRC subsidiaries cannot exceed statutory limits and is required to be registered with SAFE or its respective local branches.
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As an offshore holding company, the Parent may use the proceeds of our offshore fund-raising activities to provide loans or make capital contributions to our PRC subsidiaries or provide loans to the consolidated VIEs, in each case subject to the satisfaction of applicable regulatory requirements. Any medium or long-term loan to be provided by us to the VIEs must be registered with the National Development and Reform Commission (“NDRC”) and SAFE or its local branches. Before we or our offshore entities provide loans to our onshore entities (i.e., our PRC subsidiaries and VIE entities), the borrower must make filings with the SAFE or its local counterparts in accordance with relevant PRC laws and regulations. In addition, for loans provided by us or our offshore entities to our PRC subsidiaries or VIE entities with a term of more than one year, the borrower must also obtain a certificate of registration from the NDRC before obtaining such loan, and report relevant information to the NDRC afterward. We may not complete such registrations on a timely basis, with respect to future capital contributions or foreign loans by us to our PRC subsidiaries. If we fail to complete such registrations, our ability to use the proceeds of securities offering, and to capitalize our PRC operations may be negatively affected, which could adversely affect our liquidity and our ability to fund and expand our business.
In August 2020, Ucommune Venture entered into a loan agreement with Ucommune Group Holdings (Hong Kong) Limited (“Ucommune HK”), under which Ucommune HK agreed to provide loans of up to a total of US$60 million to Ucommune Venture and Ucommune Venture could drawdown the loans in multiple tranches (up to an aggregate of US$60 million) within three years from the date of the first drawdown. Thereafter, both parties entered into two supplement agreements in January 2021 and March 2021. As of the date of this annual report, Ucommune HK has provided a total of US$51.9 million in loans to Ucommune Venture, of which US$8.2 million have been repaid, under such loan agreements since the completion of our Business Combination in November 2020, using proceeds from the Parent’s previous PIPE financing and follow-on offerings. Such loans were included in intercompany loans, and disclosed as roll-forwards of the investment in subsidiaries and VIEs. Ucommune Venture has completed the filing procedure with Beijing Foreign Exchange Management Department, a local branch of SAFE, but has not yet made the registration with the NDRC.
The disciplinary measures, such as regulatory talk, credit discipline and public criticism, might be imposed on such enterprises for such non-compliance. As of the date of this annual report, we have not received any inquiry, notice, warning or sanction form the NDRC in relation to this loan.
On March 30, 2015, SAFE promulgated the Circular on Reforming the Management Approach Regarding the Foreign Exchange Capital Settlement of Foreign-Invested Enterprises (“SAFE Circular 19”), which took effect on June 1, 2015. SAFE Circular 19 launched a nationwide reform of the administration of the settlement of the foreign exchange capital of FIEs and allows FIEs to settle their foreign exchange capital at their discretion. However, SAFE Circular 19 prohibits FIEs from using the Renminbi funds converted from their foreign exchange capital for expenditures beyond their business scopes, providing entrusted loans or repaying loans between nonfinancial enterprises.
SAFE issued the Circular on Reforming and Regulating Policies on the Control over Foreign Exchange Settlement of Capital Accounts (“SAFE Circular 16”), effective in June 2016. Pursuant to SAFE Circular 16, enterprises registered in China may convert their foreign debts from foreign currency to Renminbi on a discretionary basis. SAFE Circular 16 provides an integrated standard for conversion of foreign exchange under capital account items (including but not limited to foreign currency capital and foreign debts) on a discretionary basis which applies to all enterprises registered in China.
SAFE Circular 16 reiterates the principle that Renminbi converted from foreign currency-denominated capital of a company may not be directly or indirectly used for purposes beyond its business scope or prohibited by PRC laws or regulations, while such converted Renminbi shall not be provided as loans to its non-affiliated entities. As this circular is relatively new, its interpretation and application and any other future foreign exchange related rules remain uncertain.
Violations of these Circulars could result in severe monetary or other penalties. SAFE Circular 19 and SAFE Circular 16 may significantly limit our ability to use Renminbi converted from the net proceeds of securities offering, to fund the establishment of new entities in China by the VIEs, to invest in or acquire any other PRC companies through our PRC subsidiaries, or to establish new consolidated VIEs in China, which may adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
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Governmental control of currency conversion may limit our ability to utilize our net revenue effectively and our ability to transfer cash between our PRC subsidiaries and us, across borders, and to investors and affect the value of your investment.
The PRC government imposes controls on the convertibility of the Renminbi into foreign currencies and, in certain cases, the remittance of currency out of China. We receive substantially all of our net revenue in Renminbi. Under our current corporate structure, the Parent, as our ultimate Cayman Islands holding company, primarily relies on dividend payments from our PRC subsidiaries to fund any cash and financing requirements we may have.
Under PRC foreign exchange regulations, payments of current account items, including profit distributions, interest payments and trade and service-related foreign exchange transactions, can be made in foreign currencies without prior approval of SAFE by complying with certain procedural requirements. Under existing exchange restrictions, without prior approval of SAFE, cash generated from the operations of our PRC subsidiaries in China may be used to pay dividends.
However, approval from or registration with appropriate government authorities is required where Renminbi is to be converted into foreign currency and remitted out of China to pay capital expenses such as the repayment of loans denominated in foreign currencies. As a result, we need to obtain SAFE approval to use cash generated from the operations of our PRC subsidiaries and VIEs to pay off their respective debt in a currency other than Renminbi owed to entities outside China, or to make other capital expenditure payments outside China in a currency other than Renminbi.
The PRC government may at its discretion restrict access to foreign currencies for current account transactions in the future. If the foreign exchange control system prevents us from obtaining sufficient foreign currencies to satisfy our foreign currency demands, we may not pay dividends in foreign currencies to our investors.
PRC regulations relating to the establishment of offshore special purpose companies by PRC residents may subject our PRC resident beneficial owners or our PRC subsidiaries to liability or penalties, limit our ability to inject capital into our PRC subsidiaries, limit our PRC subsidiaries’ ability to increase its registered capital or distribute profits to us, or may otherwise adversely affect us.
In July 2014, SAFE promulgated the Circular on Relevant Issues Concerning Foreign Exchange Control on Domestic Residents’ Offshore Investment and Financing and Roundtrip Investment Through Special Purpose Vehicles (“SAFE Circular 37”), to replace the Notice on Relevant Issues Concerning Foreign Exchange Administration for Domestic Residents’ Financing and Roundtrip Investment Through Offshore Special Purpose Vehicles (“SAFE Circular 75”), which ceased to be effective upon the promulgation of SAFE Circular 37.
SAFE Circular 37 requires PRC residents (including PRC individuals and PRC corporate entities) to register with SAFE or its local branches in connection with their direct or indirect offshore investment activities. SAFE Circular 37 applies to our shareholders who are PRC residents and may apply to any offshore acquisitions that we make in the future.
Under SAFE Circular 37, PRC residents who make, or have prior to the implementation of SAFE Circular 37 made, direct or indirect investments in offshore special purpose vehicles must register such investments with SAFE or its local branches. In addition, any PRC resident who is a direct or indirect shareholder of a special purpose vehicle must update its filed registration with the local branch of SAFE with respect to that special purpose vehicle, to reflect any material change.
If our shareholders who are PRC residents or entities fail to make the required registration or to update the previously filed registration, our PRC subsidiaries may be prohibited from distributing their profits and any proceeds from any reduction in capital, share transfer or liquidation to us, and we may be restricted in our ability to contribute additional capital to our PRC subsidiaries. On February 13, 2015, SAFE promulgated a Notice on Further Simplifying and Improving Foreign Exchange Administration Policy on Direct Investment (“SAFE Notice 13”), which became effective on June 1, 2015.
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Under SAFE Notice 13, applications for foreign exchange registration of inbound foreign direct investments and outbound overseas direct investments, including those required under SAFE Circular 37, will be filed with qualified banks instead of SAFE. The qualified banks will directly examine the applications and accept registrations under the supervision of SAFE.
We have requested PRC residents who we know hold direct or indirect interests in us to make the necessary applications, filings and registrations as required under SAFE Circular 37. We believe that most of these shareholders have completed the initial foreign exchange registrations with relevant banks. However, these individuals may not continue to make required filings or updates in a timely manner, or at all.
We may not know the identities of all PRC residents holding direct or indirect interest in our company. Any failure or inability by such individuals to comply with SAFE regulations may subject us to fines or legal sanctions, restrict our cross-border investment activities, and limit our PRC subsidiaries’ ability to distribute dividends to us. As a result, our business and our ability to make distributions to you could be materially and adversely affected.
Furthermore, as these foreign exchange regulations are still relatively new and their interpretation and implementation have been evolving, it is unclear how these regulations, and any future regulation concerning offshore or cross-border transactions, will be interpreted, amended and implemented by the relevant government authorities. For example, we may be subject to a more stringent review and approval process with respect to our foreign exchange activities, such as remittance of dividends and foreign-currency-denominated borrowings, which may adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
If we decide to acquire a PRC domestic company, we or the owners of such company, as the case may be, may not obtain the necessary approvals or complete the necessary filings and registrations required by the foreign exchange regulations. This may restrict our ability to implement our acquisition strategy and could adversely affect our business and prospects.
We face uncertainty with respect to indirect transfers of equity interests in PRC resident enterprises by their non-PRC holding companies.
On February 3, 2015, the State Administration of Taxation (the “SAT”), issued the Public Notice Regarding Certain Corporate Income Tax Matters on Indirect Transfer of Properties by Non-Tax Resident Enterprises (“SAT Bulletin 7”). SAT Bulletin 7 extends its tax jurisdiction to transactions involving the transfer of taxable assets through offshore transfer of a foreign intermediate holding company.
In addition, SAT Bulletin 7 has introduced safe harbors for internal group restructurings and the purchase and sale of equity through a public securities market. SAT Bulletin 7 also brings challenges to both foreign transferor and transferee (or other person who is obligated to pay for the transfer) of taxable assets, as such persons need to determine whether their transactions are subject to these rules and whether any withholding obligation applies.
On October 17, 2017, the SAT issued the Announcement of the State Administration of Taxation on Issues Concerning the Withholding of Non-resident Enterprise Income Tax at Source (“SAT Bulletin 37”), which came into effect on December 1, 2017. SAT Bulletin 37 further clarifies the practice and procedure of the withholding of non-resident enterprise income tax.
Where a non-resident enterprise transfers taxable assets indirectly by disposing of the equity interests of an overseas holding company, which is an Indirect Transfer, the non-resident enterprise as either transferor or transferee, or the PRC entity that directly owns the taxable assets, may report such Indirect Transfer to the relevant tax authority. Using a “substance over form” principle, the PRC tax authority may disregard the existence of the overseas holding company if it lacks a reasonable commercial purpose and was established for the purpose of reducing, avoiding or deferring PRC tax.
As a result, gains derived from such Indirect Transfer may be subject to PRC enterprise income tax, and the transferee or other person who pays for the transfer is obligated to withhold the applicable taxes currently at a rate of 10% for the transfer of equity interests in a PRC resident enterprise. Both the transferor and the transferee may be subject to penalties under PRC tax laws if the transferee fails to withhold the taxes and the transferor fails to pay the taxes.
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We face uncertainties as to the reporting and other implications of certain past and future transactions where PRC taxable assets are involved, such as offshore restructuring, sale of the shares in our offshore subsidiaries and investments. Our company may be subject to filing obligations or taxed if our company is transferor in such transactions and may be subject to withholding obligations if our company is transferee in such transactions, under SAT Bulletin 7 and/or SAT Bulletin 37.
For transfer of shares in our company by investors who are non-PRC resident enterprises, our PRC subsidiaries may be requested to assist in the filing under SAT Bulletin 7 and/or SAT Bulletin 37. As a result, we may be required to expend valuable resources to comply with SAT Bulletin 7 and/or SAT Bulletin 37 or to request that the relevant transferors from whom we purchase taxable assets comply with these circulars, or establish that our company should not be taxed under these circulars, which may materially and adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
Certain PRC regulations may make it more difficult for us to pursue growth through acquisitions.
The Regulations on Mergers and Acquisitions of Domestic Enterprises by Foreign Investors (the “M&A Rules”), adopted by six PRC regulatory agencies in 2006 and amended in 2009, and some other regulations and rules concerning mergers and acquisitions established additional procedures and requirements that could make merger and acquisition activities by foreign investors more time consuming and complex. The Anti-Monopoly Law of the PRC also requires that MOFCOM be notified in advance of any concentration of undertaking if certain thresholds are triggered.
In addition, the Circular of the General Office of the State Council on the Establishment of Security Review System for the Merger and Acquisition of Domestic Enterprises by Foreign Investors that became effective in March 2011, and the Rules on Implementation of Security Review System for the Merger and Acquisition of Domestic Enterprises by Foreign Investors issued by MOFCOM that became effective in September 2011 specify that mergers and acquisitions by foreign investors that raise “national defense and security” concerns and mergers and acquisitions through which foreign investors may acquire de facto control over domestic enterprises that raise “national security” concerns are subject to strict review by MOFCOM. The rules prohibit any activities attempting to bypass a security review, including by structuring the transaction through a proxy or contractual control arrangement.
We may grow our business by acquiring complementary businesses. Complying with the requirements of the above-mentioned regulations and other relevant rules to complete such transactions could be time consuming. Any required approval processes, including obtaining approval from MOFCOM or its local counterparts may delay or inhibit our ability to complete such transactions, which could affect our ability to expand our business or maintain our market share.
Failure to comply with PRC regulations regarding the registration requirements for employee stock incentive plans may subject the PRC plan participants or us to fines and other legal or administrative sanctions.
In February 2012, SAFE promulgated the Notices on Issues Concerning the Foreign Exchange Administration for Domestic Individuals Participating in Stock Incentive Plan of Overseas Publicly Listed Company, replacing rules promulgated in 2007. Pursuant to these rules, PRC citizens and non-PRC citizens who reside in China for a continuous period of not less than one year who participate in any stock incentive plan of an overseas publicly listed company, subject to certain exceptions, are required to register with SAFE through a domestic qualified agent, which could be the PRC subsidiaries of such overseas-listed company, and complete certain other procedures. In addition, an overseas-entrusted institution must handle matters in connection with the exercise or sale of stock options and the purchase or sale of shares and interests.
We and our executive officers and other employees who are PRC citizens or who reside in the PRC for a continuous period of not less than one year and who have been granted options are subject to these regulations. Failure to complete the SAFE registrations may subject them to fines and legal sanctions, and additional restrictions may limit their ability to exercise their stock options or remit proceeds gained from the sale of their stock into the PRC. We also face regulatory uncertainties that could restrict our ability to adopt incentive plans for our directors, executive officers and employees under PRC law.
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The SAT has also issued relevant rules and regulations concerning employee share incentives. Under these rules and regulations, our employees working in the PRC who participate in the stock incentive plan will be subject to PRC individual income tax upon exercise of the share options. The PRC subsidiaries have obligations to file documents with respect to the granted share options with relevant tax authorities and to withhold individual income taxes for their employees upon exercise of the share options. If employees fail to pay or the PRC subsidiaries fail to withhold their individual income taxes according to relevant rules and regulations, we may face sanctions imposed by the competent governmental authorities.
We may be subject to liability for placing advertisements with content that is deemed inappropriate or misleading under PRC laws.
PRC laws and regulations prohibit advertising companies from producing, distributing or publishing any advertisement with content that violates PRC laws and regulations, impairs the national dignity of the PRC, involves designs of the PRC national flag, national emblem or national anthem or the music of the national anthem, is considered reactionary, obscene, superstitious or absurd, is fraudulent, or disparages similar products. We cannot assure you that all the content contained in our advertisements is true and accurate as required by, and complies in all respects with, these advertising laws and regulations especially given the uncertainty in the interpretation of these PRC laws and regulations.
The foregoing regulations include the Advertising Law of the People’s Republic of China and the Interim Measures for the Administration of Internet Advertising. If we violate applicable PRC advertising laws and regulations, we may be subject to penalties and our reputation may be harmed, which may negatively affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
Under PRC advertising laws and regulations, we must monitor the advertising content shown on our platform to ensure that such content is true, accurate and in full compliance with applicable laws and regulations. In addition, where special government review is required for specific types of advertisements prior to posting, such as advertisements relating to pharmaceuticals, medical instruments, agrochemicals and veterinary pharmaceuticals, we must confirm that such review has been performed and approval has been obtained from competent governmental authority.
Violation of these laws and regulations may subject us to penalties, including fines, confiscation of our advertising income, orders to cease dissemination of the advertisements and orders to publish an announcement correcting the misleading information. In circumstances involving serious violations, PRC governmental authorities may force us to terminate our advertising operation or revoke our licenses.
Third parties provide us with a majority of the advertisements shown on our platform. Although we have implemented manual monitoring systems and made significant efforts to ensure that the advertisements shown on our platform are in full compliance with applicable laws and regulations, the content contained in such advertisements may not be true and accurate as required by the advertising laws and regulations.
Although we have not been subject to material penalties or administrative sanctions in the past for the advertisements shown on our platform, if we violate PRC advertising laws and regulations, we may be subject to penalties and our reputation may be harmed, which may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. We may also be subject to claims by customers misled by information on our apps, website or other portals on which we place our advertisements.
We may not recover our losses from advertisers by enforcing the indemnification provisions in the contracts, which may divert management’s time and other resources from our business to defend against these infringement claims. As a result, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.
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Our employment practices may be adversely impacted under the labor contract law of the PRC.
The PRC National People’s Congress promulgated the Labor Contract Law which became effective on January 1, 2008 and was amended on December 28, 2012, and the State Council promulgated implementing rules for the labor contract law on September 18, 2008. The labor contract law and the implementing rules impose requirements concerning, among others, the execution of written contracts between employers and employees, the time limits for probationary periods, and the length of employment contracts.
The interpretation and implementation of these regulations are evolving, our employment practices may violate the labor contract law and related regulations and we could be subject to penalties, fines or legal fees as a result. If we violate relevant laws and regulations, we may be subject to severe penalties or incur significant legal fees in connection with labor law disputes or investigations, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected.
We may be subject to additional contributions of social insurance and housing fund and late payments and fines imposed by relevant governmental authorities.
PRC laws and regulations require us to pay various statutory employee benefits, including pensions, housing fund, medical insurance, work-related injury insurance, unemployment insurance and maternity insurance to designated government agencies for the benefit of our employees. The relevant government agencies may examine whether an employer has made adequate payments of the requisite statutory employee benefits, and employers who fail to make adequate payments may be subject to late payment fees, fines and/or other penalties.
Under the Social Insurance Law and the Regulations on the Administration of Housing Fund, PRC subsidiaries shall register with local social insurance agencies and register with applicable housing fund management centers and establish a special housing fund account in an entrusted bank. As of the date of this annual report, we have not made adequate contributions to the above employee benefits for some of our employees.
Government authorities could require us to pay the outstanding amount and impose late fees or fines on us. If we fail to make the outstanding social insurance and housing fund contributions within the prescribed time frame, we may be subject to fines and late payment fees, and our financial condition may be adversely affected.
If we are classified as a PRC resident enterprise for PRC enterprise income tax purposes, such classification could result in unfavorable PRC tax consequences to us and our non-PRC shareholders.
Under the PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law and its implementation rules, an enterprise established outside of the PRC with its “de facto management body” within the PRC is considered a “resident enterprise” and will be subject to the enterprise income tax on its global income at the rate of 25%. The implementation rules define the term “de facto management body” as the body that exercises full and substantial control and overall management over the business, productions, personnel, accounts and properties of an enterprise.
In 2009, the SAT issued a circular, known as SAT Circular 82, which provides certain specific criteria for determining whether the “de facto management body” of a PRC-controlled enterprise that is incorporated offshore is located in China. Although this circular applies only to offshore enterprises controlled by PRC enterprises or PRC enterprise groups, not those controlled by PRC individuals or foreigners, the criteria set forth in the circular may reflect the SAT’s general position on how “de facto management body” should be applied in determining the tax resident status of all offshore enterprises.
According to SAT Circular 82, an offshore incorporated enterprise controlled by a PRC enterprise or a PRC enterprise group will be regarded as a PRC tax resident by virtue of having its “de facto management body” in China, and will be subject to PRC enterprise income tax on its global income only if all of the following conditions are met:
● | the primary location of the day-to-day operational management is in the PRC; |
● | decisions relating to the enterprise’s financial and human resource matters are made or are subject to approval by organizations or personnel in the PRC; |
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● | the enterprise’s primary assets, accounting books and records, company seals, and board and shareholder resolutions are located or maintained in the PRC; and |
● | at least 50% of voting board members or senior executives habitually reside in the PRC. |
We believe our company is not a PRC resident enterprise for PRC tax purposes. However, the tax resident status of an enterprise is subject to determination by the PRC tax authorities and uncertainties remain with respect to the interpretation of the term “de facto management body.” If the PRC tax authorities determine that our company is a PRC resident enterprise for enterprise income tax purposes, we would be subject to PRC enterprise income tax on our worldwide income at the rate of 25%. Furthermore, we would be required to withhold a 10% tax from dividends we pay to our shareholders that are non-resident enterprises.
In addition, non-resident enterprise shareholders may be subject to PRC tax on gains realized on the sale or other disposition of the ordinary shares, if such income is treated as sourced from within the PRC. Furthermore, if we are deemed a PRC resident enterprise, dividends paid to our non-PRC individual shareholders and any gain realized on the transfer of the ordinary shares by such shareholders may be subject to PRC tax at a rate of 20% (which, in the case of dividends, may be withheld at source by us).
These rates may be reduced by an applicable tax treaty, but it is unclear whether non-PRC shareholders of our company would be able to claim the benefits of any tax treaties between their country of tax residence and the PRC in the event that we are treated as a PRC resident enterprise. Any such tax may reduce the returns on your investment in the Class A ordinary shares.
Our securities will be delisted and be prohibited from trading in the over-the-counter market in the United States under the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act if the SEC subsequently determines our audit work is performed by auditors that the PCAOB is unable to inspect or investigate completely. The delisting of our securities, or the threat of their being delisted, may materially and adversely affect the value of your investment.
Trading in our securities on U.S. markets, including the over-the-counter market, may be prohibited under the HFCAA if the PCAOB determines that it is unable to inspect or investigate completely our auditor for two consecutive years. On December 16, 2021, the PCAOB issued the HFCAA Determination Report to notify the SEC of its determinations that the PCAOB was unable to inspect or investigate completely registered public accounting firms headquartered in mainland China and Hong Kong (the “2021 Determinations”). As of the date of this annual report, our auditor is not included in the 2021 Determinations.
In August 2022, the PCAOB, the CSRC and the Ministry of Finance of the PRC signed the Statement of Protocol, which establishes a specific and accountable framework for the PCAOB to conduct inspections and investigations of PCAOB-governed accounting firms in mainland China and Hong Kong. On December 15, 2022, the PCAOB announced that it was able to conduct inspections and investigations completely of PCAOB-registered public accounting firms headquartered in mainland China and Hong Kong in 2022. The PCAOB vacated its previous 2021 Determinations accordingly. As a result, we do not expect to be identified as a “Commission-Identified Issuer” under the HFCAA for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 after we file our annual report on Form 20-F for such fiscal year. However, whether the PCAOB will continue to conduct inspections and investigations completely to its satisfaction of PCAOB-registered public accounting firms headquartered in mainland China and Hong Kong is subject to uncertainty and depends on a number of factors out of our, and our auditor’s, control, including positions taken by authorities of the PRC. The PCAOB is expected to continue to demand complete access to inspections and investigations against accounting firms headquartered in mainland China and Hong Kong in the future and states that it has already made plans to resume regular inspections. The PCAOB is required under the HFCAA to make its determination on an annual basis with regards to its ability to inspect and investigate completely accounting firms based in the mainland China and Hong Kong. The possibility of being a “Commission-Identified Issuer” and risk of delisting could continue to adversely affect the trading price of our securities. Should the PCAOB again encounter impediments to inspections and investigations in mainland China or Hong Kong as a result of positions taken by any authority in either jurisdiction, the PCAOB will make determinations under the HFCAA as and when appropriate.
Our current auditor, Marcum Asia CPAs LLP, the independent registered public accounting firm that issues the audit report included elsewhere in this annual report, as an auditor of companies that are traded publicly in the United States and a firm registered with the PCAOB, is subject to laws in the United States pursuant to which the PCAOB conducts regular inspections to assess its compliance with the applicable professional standards. Marcum Asia CPAs LLP is headquartered in Manhattan, New York, and has been inspected by the PCAOB on a regular basis. As of the date of this annual report, our current auditor is not among the firms listed on the 2021 Determinations.
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If, in the future, we have been identified by the SEC for two consecutive years as a “Commission-Identified Issuer” whose registered public accounting firm is determined by the PCAOB that it is unable to inspect or investigate completely because of a position taken by one or more authorities in China, the SEC may prohibit our securities from being traded on a national securities exchange or in the over-the-counter trading market in the United States. If our securities are prohibited from trading in the United States, there is no certainty that we will be able to list on a non-U.S. exchange or that a market for our securities will develop outside of the United States. Such a prohibition would substantially impair your ability to sell or purchase our securities when you wish to do so, and the risk and uncertainty associated with delisting would have a negative impact on the price of our securities. Also, such a prohibition would significantly affect our ability to raise capital on terms acceptable to us, or at all, which would have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition, and prospects.
We may be liable for improper use or appropriation of personal information provided by our customers.
Our business involves collecting and retaining certain internal and customer data. We also maintain information about various aspects of our operations as well as regarding our employees. The integrity and protection of our customer, employee and company data is critical to our business. Our customers and employees expect that we will adequately protect their personal information. We are required by applicable laws to keep strictly confidential the personal information that we collect, and to take adequate security measures to safeguard such information.
The PRC Criminal Law, as amended by its Amendment 7 (effective on February 28, 2009) and Amendment 9 (effective on November 1, 2015), prohibits institutions, companies and their employees from selling or otherwise illegally disclosing a citizen’s personal information obtained in performing duties or providing services or obtaining such information through theft or other illegal ways. On November 7, 2016, the SCNPC issued the Cyber Security Law of the PRC (the “Cyber Security Law”), which became effective on June 1, 2017. Pursuant to the Cyber Security Law, network operators must not, without users’ consent, collect their personal information, and may only collect users’ personal information necessary to provide their services. Providers are also obliged to provide security maintenance for their products and services and shall comply with provisions regarding the protection of personal information as stipulated under the relevant laws and regulations.
The Civil Code of the PRC (issued by the PRC National People’s Congress on May 28, 2020 and effective from January 1, 2021) provides legal basis for privacy and personal information infringement claims under the Chinese civil laws. PRC regulators, including the CAC, MIIT and the Ministry of Public Security, have been increasingly focused on regulation in data security and data protection.
The PRC regulatory requirements regarding cybersecurity are evolving. For instance, various regulatory bodies in China, including the CAC, the Ministry of Public Security and the State Administration for Market Regulation (the “SAMR,” formerly the State Administration for Industry and Commerce of the People’s Republic of China, the “SAIC”), have enforced data privacy and protection laws and regulations with varying and evolving standards and interpretations. In April 2020, the Chinese government promulgated Cybersecurity Review Measures, which came into effect on June 1, 2020. According to the Cybersecurity Review Measures, operators of critical information infrastructure must pass a cybersecurity review when purchasing network products and services which do or may affect national security.
In July 2021, the CAC and other related authorities released the draft amendment to the Cybersecurity Review Measures for public comments through July 25, 2021, which became effective on February 15, 2022. The Cybersecurity Review Measures propose the following key changes:
● | companies who are engaged in data processing are also subject to the regulatory scope; |
● | the CSRC is included as one of the regulatory authorities for purposes of jointly establishing the state cybersecurity review working mechanism; |
● | the online platform operators holding more than one million users individual information and seeking a listing outside China shall file for cybersecurity review with the Cybersecurity Review Office; and |
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● | the risks of core data, material data or large amounts of personal information being stolen, leaked, destroyed, damaged, illegally used or transmitted to overseas parties and the risks of critical information infrastructure, core data, material data or large amounts of personal information being influenced, controlled or used maliciously shall be collectively taken into consideration during the cybersecurity review process. |
We may become subject to enhanced cybersecurity review. Certain internet platforms in China have been reportedly subject to heightened regulatory scrutiny in relation to cybersecurity matters. As of the date of this annual report, we have not been informed by any PRC governmental authority of any requirement that we file for a cybersecurity review. However, if we are deemed to be a critical information infrastructure operator or a company that is engaged in data processing and holds personal information of more than one million users, we could be subject to PRC cybersecurity review.
As there remains significant uncertainty in the interpretation and enforcement of relevant PRC cybersecurity laws and regulations, we could be subject to cybersecurity review, and if so, we may not be able to pass such review in relation to our securities offerings. In addition, we could become subject to enhanced cybersecurity review or investigations launched by PRC regulators in the future. Any failure or delay in the completion of the cybersecurity review procedures or any other non-compliance with the related laws and regulations may result in fines or other penalties, including suspension of business, website closure, removal of our app from the relevant app stores, and revocation of prerequisite licenses, as well as reputational damage or legal proceedings or actions against us, which may have material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
On June 10, 2021, the SCNPC promulgated the PRC Data Security Law, which became effective in September 2021. The PRC Data Security Law imposes data security and privacy obligations on entities and individuals carrying out data activities, and introduces a data classification and hierarchical protection system based on the importance of data in economic and social development, and the degree of harm it will cause to national security, public interests, or legitimate rights and interests of individuals or organizations when such data is tampered with, destroyed, leaked, illegally acquired or used. The PRC Data Security Law also provides for a national security review procedure for data activities that may affect national security and imposes export restrictions on certain data an information.
As uncertainties remain regarding the interpretation and implementation of these laws and regulations, we cannot assure you that we will comply with such regulations in all respects and we may be ordered to rectify or terminate any actions that are deemed illegal by regulatory authorities. We may also become subject to fines and/or other sanctions which may have material adverse effect on our business, operations and financial condition.
While we take various measures to comply with all applicable data privacy and protection laws and regulations, our current security measures and those of our third-party service providers may not always be adequate for the protection of our customer, employee or company data. We may be a target for computer hackers, foreign governments or cyber terrorists in the future.
Unauthorized access to our proprietary internal and customer data may be obtained through break-ins, sabotage, breach of our secure network by an unauthorized party, computer viruses, computer denial-of-service attacks, employee theft or misuse, breach of the security of the networks of our third-party service providers, or other misconduct. Because the techniques used by computer programmers who may attempt to penetrate and sabotage our proprietary internal and customer data change frequently and may not be recognized until launched against a target, we may be unable to anticipate these techniques.
Unauthorized access to our proprietary internal and customer data may also be obtained through inadequate use of security controls. Any of such incidents may harm our reputation and adversely affect our business and results of operations. In addition, we may be subject to negative publicity about our security and privacy policies, systems, or measurements. Any failure to prevent or mitigate security breaches, cyber-attacks or other unauthorized access to our systems or disclosure of our customers’ data, including their personal information, could result in loss or misuse of such data, interruptions to our service system, diminished customer experience, loss of customer confidence and trust, impairment of our technology infrastructure, and harm our reputation and business, resulting in significant legal and financial exposure and potential lawsuits.
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Recent regulatory development in China may exert more oversight and control over listings and offerings that are conducted overseas. The approval of and the filing with the CSRC or other PRC government authorities may be required in connection with our future offerings under PRC law, and, if required, we cannot predict whether or for how long we will be able to obtain such approval or complete such filing.
On August 8, 2006, six PRC regulatory agencies jointly adopted M&A Rules, which came into effect on September 8, 2006 and were amended on June 22, 2009. The M&A Rules include, among other things, provisions that purport to require that an offshore special purpose vehicle formed for the purpose of an overseas listing of securities in a PRC company obtain the approval of the CSRC prior to the listing and trading of such special purpose vehicle’s securities on an overseas stock exchange. On September 21, 2006, the CSRC published on its official website procedures regarding its approval of overseas listings by special purpose vehicles. However, substantial uncertainty remains regarding the scope and applicability of the M&A Rules to offshore special purpose vehicles. While the application of the M&A Rules remains unclear, we believe that the CSRC approval was not required in the context of our Business Combination, follow-on public offering or Warrants offerings of the Parent under the M&A Rules, because (1) our WFOEs were incorporated as a wholly foreign-owned enterprise by means of foreign direct investments rather than by merger with or acquisition of any PRC domestic companies owned by PRC companies or individuals as defined under the M&A Rules; (2) no explicit provision in the M&A Rules clearly classifies the contractual arrangements among Ucommune Technology, VIEs and VIEs’ shareholders as an acquisition falling under the M&A Rules; and (3) the CSRC has not issued any definitive rule or interpretation concerning whether Business Combination, follow-on public offering or Warrants offerings like ours under this annual report are subject to this regulation. However, there can be no assurance that the relevant PRC government agencies, including the CSRC, would reach the same conclusion.
On July 6, 2021, the General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the General Office of the State Council jointly issued the Opinions, which emphasized the need to strengthen administration over illegal securities activities and supervision of overseas listings by China-based companies. The Opinions proposed promoting regulatory systems to deal with risks facing China-based overseas-listed companies, and provided that the State Council will revise provisions regarding the overseas issuance and listing of shares by companies limited by shares and will clarify the duties of domestic regulatory authorities.
On February 17, 2023, the CSRC promulgated the Trial Measures of the Overseas Listing Trial Measures and the related guidelines, which became effective on March 31, 2023. The Overseas Listing Trial Measures has comprehensively improved and reformed the existing regulatory regime for overseas offering and listing of securities by PRC domestic companies and regulates both direct and indirect overseas offering and listing of securities by PRC domestic companies by adopting a filing-based regulatory regime. According to the Overseas Listing Trial Measures, PRC domestic companies that seek to offer and list securities in overseas markets, either in direct or indirect means, are required to fulfill the filing procedure with the CSRC and report relevant information. The CSRC provided further notice related to the Overseas Listing Trial Measures that companies that have already been listed on overseas stock exchanges prior to March 31, 2023 are not required to make immediate filings for its listing, but are required to make filings for subsequent offerings in accordance with the Overseas Listing Trial Measures, i.e., to file with the CSRC within three business days after the closing of such subsequent offerings. See “Item 4. Information on the Company - Regulation — Regulations Relating to Mergers and Acquisitions and Overseas Listing.” As we had been listed on Nasdaq prior to March 31, 2023, we are not required to make immediate filing with the CSRC in connection with our listing on Nasdaq. However, we could be subject to the filing requirements with the CSRC if we conduct subsequent offerings.
We cannot assure you that we or the VIEs can complete the filing procedures, obtain the approvals or complete other compliance procedures in a timely manner, or at all, or that any completion of filing or approval or other compliance procedures would not be rescinded. Any such failure would subject us to sanctions by the CSRC or other PRC regulatory authorities. These regulatory authorities may impose restrictions and penalties on the operations in China, significantly limit or completely hinder our ability to launch any new offering of our securities, limit our ability to pay dividends outside of China, delay or restrict the repatriation of the proceeds from future capital raising activities into China, or take other actions that could materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects, as well as the trading price of our Class A ordinary shares. Furthermore, the PRC government authorities may further strengthen oversight and control over listings and offerings that are conducted overseas. Any such action may adversely affect our operations and significantly limit or completely hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer securities to you and cause the value of such securities to significantly decline or be worthless.
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On December 27, 2021, NDRC and MOFCOM jointly issued the Special Administrative Measures for Entry of Foreign Investment (Negative List) (2021 Version) (the “Negative List”), which became effective and replaced the previous version on January 1, 2022. According to the Negative List, domestic enterprises engaging in businesses in which foreign investment is prohibited shall obtain approval from the relevant authorities before offering and listing their shares on an overseas stock exchange. In addition, certain foreign investors shall not be involved in the operation or management of the relevant enterprise, and shareholding percentage restrictions under relevant domestic securities investment management regulations shall apply to such foreign investors. Since none of our PRC subsidiaries engages in businesses in which foreign investment is prohibited, we believe that we are not required to obtain such approval under the Negative List. However, the above mentioned newly promulgated laws, regulations and policies were recently promulgated or issued, and have not yet taken effect (as applicable), their interpretation, application and enforcement are subject to substantial uncertainties, and uncertainties remain regarding the interpretation and implementation of the new rules and regulations.
The regulations also established additional procedures and requirements that are expected to make merger and acquisition activities in China by foreign investors more time-consuming and complex, including requirements in some instances that MOFCOM be notified in advance of any change-of-control transaction in which a foreign investor takes control of a PRC domestic enterprise, or that the approval from MOFCOM be obtained in circumstances where overseas companies established or controlled by PRC enterprises or residents acquire affiliated domestic companies. We may grow our business in part by acquiring other companies operating in our industry. Complying with the requirements of the new regulations to complete such transactions could be time-consuming, and any required approval processes, including approval from MOFCOM, may delay or inhibit our ability to complete such transactions, which could affect our ability to expand our business or maintain our market share.
Risks Relating to Being a Public Company and Our Securities
The market price of our Class A ordinary shares has recently declined significantly, and our Class A ordinary shares could be delisted from Nasdaq or trading could be suspended.
The listing of the Parent’s Class A ordinary shares on the Nasdaq Capital Market is contingent on the Parent’s compliance with the Nasdaq Capital Market’s conditions for continued listing. On July 21, 2023, we announced that Parent received written notification (the “Notification Letter”) from the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (“Nasdaq”) that we were not in compliance with the minimum bid price requirement of US$1.00 per share under the Nasdaq Listing Rules. In accordance with Nasdaq Listing Rules, the Parent must regain compliance within 180 calendar days, or until January 17, 2024. To regain compliance, the Parent’s Class A ordinary shares must have a closing bid price of at least US$1.00 for a minimum of 10 consecutive business days. In the event the Parent does not regain compliance by January 17, 2024, the Parent may be eligible for additional time to regain compliance or may face delisting. On November 29, 2023, the Parent effected a 12-to-1 share consolidation in order to cure the deficiency, and on December 14, 2023, the Parent regained compliance. See “Item 4. Information on the Company — A. History and Development of the Company — Nasdaq Notification Letter.”
The Parent cannot assure you that the Parent will not receive other deficiency notifications from Nasdaq in the future. A decline in the closing price of our Class A ordinary shares could result in a breach of the requirements for listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market. If the Parent does not maintain compliance, Nasdaq could commence suspension or delisting procedures in respect of our Class A ordinary shares. The commencement of suspension or delisting procedures by an exchange remains at the discretion of such exchange and would be publicly announced by the exchange. If a suspension or delisting were to occur, there would be significantly less liquidity in the suspended or delisted securities. In addition, our ability to raise additional necessary capital through equity or debt financing would be greatly impaired. Furthermore, with respect to any suspended or delisted ordinary shares, we would expect decreases in institutional and other investor demand, analyst coverage, market making activity and information available concerning trading prices and volume, and fewer broker-dealers would be willing to execute trades with respect to such ordinary shares. A suspension or delisting would likely decrease the attractiveness of our Class A ordinary shares to investors, may constitute a breach under certain of our credit facilities, constitute an event of default under certain of our securities (including our agreements with JAK Opportunities LLC) and cause the trading volume of our Class A ordinary shares to decline, which could result in a further decline in the market price of our Class A ordinary shares.
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Because we do not expect to pay dividends in the foreseeable future, you must rely on a price appreciation of the Class A ordinary shares for a return on your investment.
We currently intend to retain most, if not all, of our available funds and any future earnings to fund the development and growth of our business. As a result, we do not expect to pay any cash dividends in the foreseeable future. Therefore, you should not rely on an investment in the Class A ordinary shares as a source for any future dividend income.
A large, active trading market for our securities may not develop and the trading price for our securities may fluctuate significantly.
Our Class A ordinary shares and the warrants to purchase up to 9,736 Class A ordinary shares at a price of US$2,760.00 per share expiring on November 17, 2025 (the “Prior Warrants”) are listed on The Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbols “UK” and “UKOMW,” respectively. The warrants to purchase up to 23,663 Class A ordinary shares at a price of US$972.00 per share expiring on February 2, 2026 (the “New Warrants”), unit purchase options (the “UPOs”), warrants to purchase Class A ordinary shares upon the exercise of the UPOs (the “UPO Warrants”), rights to convert to Class A ordinary shares upon the exercise of the UPOs (the “UPO Rights”), Debenture and JAK Warrants of the Parent (each as defined below) are not listed on Nasdaq or any national securities exchange or market. We cannot assure you that a liquid public market for our securities will develop. If a large, active public market for our securities does not develop, the market price and liquidity of our securities may be materially and adversely affected. As a result, investors in our securities may experience a significant decrease in the value of our securities.
Warrants and UPOs are exercisable for, and UPO Rights are convertible into, our Class A ordinary shares, which may increase the number of Class A ordinary shares eligible for future resale in the public market and result in dilution to our shareholders.
As of December 31, 2023, there were outstanding warrants (including Prior Warrants, New Warrants and JAK Warrants) to purchase up to an aggregate of 12,273,757 Class A ordinary shares at exercise prices, which were immediately exercisable. As of December 31, 2023, there were outstanding 333,002 UPOs exercisable for 1,388 Class A ordinary shares, 333,002 UPO Warrants to purchase an additional 694 Class A ordinary shares, and 333,002 UPO Rights to convert to an additional 139 Class A ordinary shares.
As of March 31, 2024, there were outstanding warrants (including Prior Warrants, New Warrants and JAK Warrants) to purchase up to an aggregate of 12,248,757 Class A ordinary shares, which were immediately exercisable. As of March 31, 2024, there were outstanding 333,002 UPOs exercisable for 1,388 Class A ordinary shares, 333,002 UPO Warrants to purchase an additional 694 Class A ordinary shares, and 333,002 UPO Rights to convert to an additional 139 Class A ordinary shares.
The Parent may offer and issue additional shares, warrants, rights, units and other securities in the future. To the extent the outstanding warrants or UPOs or future warrants are exercised, or the outstanding UPO Rights or Debenture or future rights or units are converted, additional Class A ordinary shares will be issued, which will result in dilution to holders of our Class A ordinary shares and increase the number of shares eligible for resale in the public market. Sales of substantial numbers of such shares in the public market or the fact that such warrants or UPOs may be exercised could adversely affect the market price of our Class A ordinary shares.
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The trading prices of the Class A ordinary shares and the Prior Warrants are likely to be volatile, which could result in substantial losses to investors.
The trading prices of the Class A ordinary shares and the Prior Warrants are likely to be volatile and could fluctuate widely due to factors beyond our control. This may happen because of broad market and industry factors, including the performance and fluctuation of the market prices of other companies with operations located mainly in China that have listed their securities in the United States. In addition to market and industry factors, the price and trading volume for the Class A ordinary shares and the listed warrants may be highly volatile for factors specific to our own operations, including the following:
● | variations in our net revenue, earnings and cash flows; |
● | announcements of new investments, acquisitions, strategic partnerships or joint ventures by us or our competitors; |
● | announcements of new offerings and expansions by us or our competitors; |
● | changes in financial estimates by securities analysts; |
● | detrimental adverse publicity about us, our shareholders, affiliates, directors, officers or employees, our business model, our services or our industry; |
● | announcements of new regulations, rules or policies relevant for our business; |
● | additions or departures of key personnel; |
● | release of lock-up or other transfer restrictions on our outstanding equity securities or sales of additional equity securities; and |
● | potential litigation or regulatory investigations. |
Any of these factors may result in large and sudden changes in the volume and price at which the Class A ordinary shares will trade.
In the past, shareholders of public companies have often brought securities class action suits against those companies following periods of instability in the market price of their securities. If we were involved in a class action suit, it could divert a significant amount of our management’s attention and other resources from our business and require us to incur significant expenses to defend the suit, which could harm our results of operations.
Any such class action suit, whether or not successful, could harm our reputation and restrict our ability to raise capital in the future. In addition, if a claim is successfully made against us, we may be required to pay significant damages, which could materially and adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
The sale or availability for sale of substantial amounts of Class A ordinary shares could adversely affect their market price.
Sales of substantial amounts of the Class A ordinary shares in the public market, or the perception that these sales could occur, could adversely affect the market price of the Class A ordinary shares and could materially impair our ability to raise capital through equity offerings in the future. Shares held by our existing shareholders may also be sold in the public market in the future subject to the restrictions in Rule 144 and Rule 701 under the Securities Act and the applicable lockup agreements.
We cannot predict what effect, if any, market sales of securities held by our significant shareholders or any other holders or the availability of these securities for future sale will have on the market price of the Class A ordinary shares. See “Shares Eligible for Future Sale” for a more detailed description of the restrictions on selling our securities, which is in the registration statement on Form F-1 on Form F-3 (File No. 333-257664), as amended, filed with the SEC.
In addition, certain holders of our existing shareholders are entitled to certain registration rights. Registration of these shares under the Securities Act of 1933 (the “Securities Act”), would result in these shares becoming freely tradable without restriction under the Securities Act immediately upon the effectiveness of the registration. Sales of these registered shares in the public market, or the perception that such sales could occur, could cause the price of our Class A ordinary shares to decline.
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Techniques employed by short sellers may drive down the market price of the Class A ordinary shares.
Short selling is the practice of selling securities that the seller does not own but rather has borrowed from a third party with the intention of buying identical securities back at a later date to return to the lender. The short seller hopes to profit from a decline in the value of the securities between the sale of the borrowed securities and the purchase of the replacement shares, as the short seller expects to pay less in that purchase than it received in the sale.
As it is in the short seller’s interest for the price of the security to decline, many short sellers publish, or arrange for the publication of, negative opinions regarding the relevant issuer and its prospects to create negative market momentum and generate profits for themselves after selling a security short. These short attacks have, in the past, led to selling of shares in the market.
Public companies that have substantially all of their operations in China have been the subject of short selling. Much of the scrutiny and negative publicity has centered on allegations of a lack of effective internal control over financial reporting resulting in financial and accounting irregularities and mistakes, inadequate corporate governance policies or a lack of adherence thereto and, in many cases, allegations of fraud. As a result, many of these companies are now conducting internal and external investigations into the allegations and, in the interim, are subject to shareholder lawsuits and/or SEC enforcement actions.
It is not clear what effect such negative publicity could have on us. If we were to become the subject of any unfavorable allegations, whether such allegations are proven to be true or untrue, we could have to expend significant resources to investigate such allegations and/or defend ourselves.
While we would strongly defend against any such short seller attacks, we may be constrained in the manner in which we can proceed against the relevant short seller by principles of freedom of speech, applicable state law or issues of commercial confidentiality. Such a situation could be costly and time-consuming, and could distract our management from growing our business. Even if such allegations are ultimately proven to be groundless, allegations against us could severely impact our business, and any investment in the Class A ordinary shares could be greatly reduced or even rendered worthless.
If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, the market price for the Class A ordinary shares and trading volume could decline.
The trading market for the Class A ordinary shares will depend in part on the research and reports that securities or industry analysts publish about us or our business. If research analysts do not establish and maintain adequate research coverage or if one or more of the analysts who covers us downgrades the Class A ordinary shares or publishes inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, the market price for the Class A ordinary shares would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts ceases coverage of our company or fails to publish reports on us regularly, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which, in turn, could cause the market price or trading volume for the Class A ordinary shares to decline.
Our management will have broad discretion over the use of any net proceeds from the exercise of Warrants and you may not agree with how we use the proceeds, and the proceeds may not be invested successfully.
Our management will have broad discretion as to the use of any net proceeds from the exercise of Warrants and could use them for purposes other than those contemplated as of the date of this annual report and in ways that do not necessarily improve our results of operations or enhance the value of our Class A ordinary shares.
Accordingly, you will be relying on the judgment of our management with regard to the use of any proceeds from the exercise of Warrants on a cash basis and you will not have the opportunity, as part of your investment decision, to assess whether the proceeds are being used appropriately. The proceeds could be invested in a way that does not yield a favorable, or any, return for you.
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The Parent’s memorandum and articles of association contain anti-takeover provisions that could materially and adversely affect the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares.
The Parent has adopted an amended and restated memorandum and articles of association that contains provisions to limit the ability of others to acquire control of our company or cause us to engage in change-of-control transactions. These provisions could deprive our shareholders of an opportunity to sell their shares at a premium over prevailing market prices by discouraging third parties from seeking to obtain control of our company in a tender offer or similar transaction.
Our Board of Directors has the authority, subject to any resolution of the shareholders to the contrary, to issue preferred shares in one or more series and to fix their designations, powers, preferences, privileges, and relative participating, optional or special rights and the qualifications, limitations or restrictions, including dividend rights, conversion rights, voting rights, terms of redemption and liquidation preferences, any or all of which may be greater than the rights associated with our Class A ordinary shares. Preferred shares could be issued quickly with terms calculated to delay or prevent a change in control of our company or make removal of management more difficult. If our Board of Directors decides to issue preferred shares, the price of our Class A ordinary shares may fall and the voting and other rights of the holders of our Class A ordinary shares may be materially and adversely affected.
The Parent is an emerging growth company within the meaning of the Securities Act and may take advantage of certain reduced reporting requirements.
The Parent is an “emerging growth company,” as defined in the JOBS Act, and we may take advantage of certain exemptions from requirements applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, most significantly, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 as long as the Parent remains an emerging growth company. As a result, if we elect not to comply with such auditor attestation requirements, our investors may not have access to certain information they may deem important.
The Parent is a foreign private issuer within the meaning of the rules under the Exchange Act, and as such we are exempt from certain provisions applicable to U.S. domestic public companies.
Because the Parent qualifies as a foreign private issuer under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), we are exempt from certain provisions of the securities rules and regulations in the United States that are applicable to U.S. domestic issuers, including:
● | the rules under the Exchange Act requiring the filing with the SEC of quarterly reports on Form 10-Q or current reports on Form 8-K; |
● | the sections of the Exchange Act regulating the solicitation of proxies, consents or authorizations in respect of a security registered under the Exchange Act; |
● | the sections of the Exchange Act requiring insiders to file public reports of their stock ownership and trading activities and liability for insiders who profit from trades made in a short period of time; and |
● | the selective disclosure rules by issuers of material nonpublic information under Regulation FD. |
We are required to file an annual report on Form 20-F within four months of the end of each fiscal year. In addition, we intend to publish our results on a half-year basis as press releases, distributed pursuant to the rules and regulations of Nasdaq. Press releases relating to financial results and material events will also be furnished to the SEC on Form 6-K.
However, the information we are required to file with or furnish to the SEC will be less extensive and less timely compared to that required to be filed with the SEC by U.S. domestic issuers. As a result, you may not be afforded the same protections or information that would be made available to you were you investing in a U.S. domestic issuer.
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As the Parent is an exempted company incorporated in the Cayman Islands, we are permitted to adopt certain home country practices in relation to corporate governance matters that differ significantly from the Nasdaq corporate governance listing standards; these practices may afford less protection to shareholders than they would enjoy if we complied fully with the Nasdaq corporate governance listing standards.
As the Parent is an exempted company with limited liability incorporated in the Cayman Islands listed on Nasdaq, the Parent is subject to the Nasdaq corporate governance listing standards. However, Nasdaq rules permit a foreign private issuer like the Parent to follow the corporate governance practices of its home country. Certain corporate governance practices in the Cayman Islands, which is its home country, may differ significantly from the Nasdaq corporate governance listing standards.
The Parent has relied on home country practice with respect to its corporate governance. The Parent does not have a majority of independent directors serving on its Board of Directors, its audit committee composed entirely of only two independent directors and it has not established a nominating committee and a compensation committee composed entirely of independent directors. For details, please refer to “Management - Committees of our Board of Directors.” As a result, the Parent’s shareholders may be afforded less protection than they otherwise would enjoy under the Nasdaq corporate governance listing standards applicable to U.S. domestic issuers.
The obligations associated with being a public company involve significant expenses and require significant resources and management attention, which may divert from our business.
We expect to incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses as a public company. As the Parent is a public company, we are subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. The Exchange Act requires the filing of annual and current reports with respect to a public company’s business and financial condition. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 requires, among other things, that a public company establish and maintain effective internal control over financial reporting. The Nasdaq rules also impose various requirements on the corporate governance practices of public companies.
In addition, as a result of the Parent becoming a public company, we have increased the number of independent directors and adopted policies regarding internal controls and disclosure controls and procedures. Operating as a public company will make it more difficult and more expensive for us to obtain director and officer liability insurance, and we may be required to accept reduced policy limits and coverage or incur substantially higher costs to obtain the same or similar coverage. As a result, it may be difficult for us to attract and retain qualified people to serve on our Board of Directors, our board committees or as executive officers.
After the Parent is no longer an “emerging growth company,” we may incur significant expenses and devote substantial management effort toward ensuring compliance with the requirements of Section 404 and the other rules and regulations of the SEC.
There can be no assurance we will not be a passive foreign investment company (“PFIC”), for any taxable year, which could result in adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences to U.S. Holders of our Class A ordinary shares or warrants.
In general, a non-U.S. corporation is a PFIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes for any taxable year in which (1) 75% or more of its gross income consists of passive income (including interest income) or (2) 50% or more of the value of its assets (generally determined based on an average of the quarterly values of the assets) is attributable to assets that produce, or are held for the production of, passive income. For purposes of the above calculations, we will be treated as earning our proportionate share of the income of, and owning our proportionate share of the assets of, any other corporation in which we own, directly or indirectly, 25% (by value) of the stock.
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Based upon the manner in which we operate our business, the composition and characterization of our income and assets and the value of our assets, we believe that it is reasonable to take a position that we were not classified as a PFIC for our taxable year ended December 31, 2023. However, the application of the PFIC rules is subject to uncertainty in several respects, and we cannot assure you we will not be classified as a PFIC for the current taxable year or future taxable years. The value of the assets of our Parent for purposes of the PFIC determination will generally be determined by reference to the market price of our Class A ordinary shares, which could fluctuate significantly. Our market capitalization fluctuated significantly during the taxable year ended December 31, 2023. If our market capitalization does not increase or continues to decline, we may be or become classified as a PFIC for the current or future taxable years. If we are treated as a “controlled foreign corporation” (see “— If a U.S. Holder is treated as owning at least 10% of our ordinary shares, such U.S. Holder may be subject to adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences.” below), the value of the assets owned by our subsidiaries and consolidated VIEs will be determined by reference to the adjusted tax basis of such assets for U.S. federal income tax purposes, which may increase the likelihood that we are a PFIC. Because we do not currently track adjusted tax basis for U.S. federal income tax purposes, we may not be able to determine whether we are a PFIC in future taxable years. In addition, our PFIC status depends on the manner in which we operate our workspace business (and the extent to which our income from workspace membership continues to qualify as active for PFIC purposes). The Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) may challenge the composition and characterization of our assets or income or the valuation of our assets, goodwill and other unbooked intangibles, which may result in our company being, or becoming classified as, a PFIC for the current or future taxable years. Furthermore, it is not entirely clear how the contractual arrangements between us, the VIEs and their nominal shareholders are treated for purposes of the PFIC rules, and we may be or become a PFIC if the VIEs are not treated as owned by us. Because of these uncertainties, there can be no assurance we will not be classified as a PFIC for the current taxable year, or will not be classified as a PFIC in the future taxable years.
If we were a PFIC for any taxable year during which a U.S. Holder (as defined below) owns our Class A ordinary shares or warrants, certain adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences could apply to such U.S. Holder. See “Item 10. Additional Information — Taxation — Material U.S. Federal Income Taxation Considerations — Passive Foreign Investment Company.”
If a U.S. Holder is treated as owning at least 10% of our ordinary shares, such U.S. Holder may be subject to adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences.
If a U.S. Holder (as defined below in “Item 10. Additional Information — Taxation — Material U.S. Federal Income Taxation Considerations”) is treated as owning, directly, indirectly or constructively, at least 10% of the value or voting power of our ordinary shares, such U.S. Holder may be treated as a “United States shareholder” with respect to each “controlled foreign corporation” in our group, if any. Generally, a non-U.S. corporation is deemed as a controlled foreign corporation if more than 50% of its stock (by voting power or value) of is owned (directly, indirectly or constructively) by United States shareholders. We will generally be classified as a controlled foreign corporation if more than 50% of our outstanding shares, measured by reference to voting power or value, are owned (directly, indirectly or by attribution) by United States shareholders. If our group includes one or more U.S. subsidiaries, certain of our non-U.S. subsidiaries could be treated as controlled foreign corporations, regardless of whether we are treated as a controlled foreign corporation. In addition, we are likely classified as a controlled foreign corporation, in which case a United States shareholder of a controlled foreign corporation may be required to annually report and include in its U.S. taxable income its pro rata share of “Subpart F income,” “global intangible low-taxed income” and investments in U.S. property by controlled foreign corporations, regardless of whether we make any distributions. An individual that is a United States shareholder with respect to a controlled foreign corporation generally would not be allowed certain tax deductions or foreign tax credits that would be allowed to a United States shareholder of a U.S. corporation. Failure to comply with these reporting obligations may subject a United States shareholder to significant monetary penalties and may prevent the statute of limitations with respect to such shareholder’s U.S. federal income tax return for the year for which reporting was due from starting. We cannot provide any assurances that we will assist our investors in determining whether any of our non-U.S. subsidiaries are treated as a controlled foreign corporation or whether such investor is treated as a United States shareholder with respect to any of such controlled foreign corporations. Further, we cannot provide any assurances that we will furnish to any United States shareholder information that may be necessary to comply with the reporting and tax paying obligations described in this risk factor. U.S. Holders should consult their tax advisors regarding the potential application of these rules to their investment in our Class A ordinary shares.
The Parent is a “controlled company” within the meaning of the Nasdaq listing requirements and, as a result, we will qualify for, and may rely on, exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements. You will not have the same protections afforded to stockholders of companies that are subject to such requirements.
The Parent is a “controlled company” as defined under the rules of the Nasdaq since Dr. Daqing Mao and his spouse, Angela Bai, beneficially own, when combined, more than 50% of our total voting power. As long as the Parent remains a controlled company under this definition, we are permitted to elect to rely on certain exemptions from corporate governance rules, including:
● | an exemption from the rule that a majority of our Board of Directors must be independent directors; |
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● | an exemption from the rule that the compensation of our chief executive officer must be determined or recommended solely by independent directors; and |
● | an exemption from the rule that our director nominees must be selected or recommended solely by independent directors. |
Although we currently do not intend to rely on the “controlled company” exemptions under the Nasdaq listing rules, we could elect to rely on those exemptions in the future. As a result, you may not have the same protection afforded to shareholders of companies that are subject to these corporate governance requirements.
ITEM 4. INFORMATION ON THE COMPANY
In this Item, “we,” “us,” “our company,” “our” or “Ucommune” refers to Ucommune International Ltd, a Cayman Islands company, its subsidiaries and the consolidated VIEs.
A. History and Development of the Company
Ucommune International Ltd has been our ultimate holding company since November 2020 after the completion of the Business Combination. Ucommune International Ltd was incorporated in the Cayman Islands on June 16, 2020 as an exempted company with limited liability.
We commenced our operations in April 2015 through Ucommune Venture. In August 2018, we established Beijing U Bazaar.
We underwent a series of restructuring transactions, which primarily included the following:
● | In September 2018, Ucommune Group Holdings was incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands. |
● | In December 2018, Ucommune HK was incorporated under the laws of Hong Kong. |
● | In January 2019, Ucommune Technology, was incorporated in the PRC as a wholly owned subsidiary of Ucommune HK. |
● | In May 2019, Ucommune Technology entered into a series of contractual arrangements with Ucommune Venture as well as its shareholders, and the contractual arrangements were renewed in July 2019 and in November 2019. |
● | In May 2019, Ucommune Technology entered into a series of contractual arrangements with Beijing U Bazaar as well as its shareholder. In June 2023, in connection with the transfer of equity interests in Beijing U Bazaar, new contractual arrangements on substantially similar terms were entered into to replace the previous ones. Under the contractual arrangements Ucommune Technology entered into with Ucommune Venture and Beijing U Bazaar, respectively, the Parent is the primary beneficiary of such entities and their respective subsidiaries for accounting purposes. |
In May 2019, we acquired Melo Inc., a holding company incorporated under the laws of Delaware. Beijing Melo, a company engaging in smart office systems development, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Melo Inc. We believe the acquisition strengthens our technology capability and enables us to provide advanced office solutions to our members. On January 30, 2019, Beijing Melo entered into a series of contractual arrangements with Weixue Tianxia, a company incorporated in the PRC in December 2017, as well as its shareholders, under which the Parent is the primary beneficiary of Weixue Tianxia for accounting purposes. On December 30, 2023, Beijing Melo, Weixue Tianxia and the shareholders of Weixue Tianxia entered into an agreement to terminate such contractual arrangements. On December 30, 2023, the shareholders of Weixue Tianxia transferred 80% and 20% of the equity interests in Weixue Tianxia to Zhimo Zhao, our director, and one of our employees, respectively.
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Business Combination
On November 17, 2020, we consummated a business combination pursuant to a merger agreement with Orisun Acquisition Corp. and certain other parties. Upon completion of the Business Combination, the combined company, or Ucommune International Ltd, remains as the surviving publicly traded entity. Following the business combination, Ucommune Group Holdings became a wholly owned subsidiary of Ucommune International Ltd.
Starting from November 17, 2020, the Class A ordinary shares of the Parent are listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “UK” and the Prior Warrants of the Parent, are listed on Nasdaq under the symbol “UKOMW.”
The Parent is regarded as the primary beneficiary of each of Ucommune Venture and Beijing U Bazaar their respective subsidiaries. The Parent treats them as our consolidated affiliated entities under U.S. GAAP, and have consolidated the financial results of these entities in our consolidated financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP.
In this annual report, each of Ucommune Technology and Beijing Melo is referred to as our WFOE and each of Ucommune Venture and Beijing U Bazaar is referred to as the VIE. For more details and risks related to the VIE structure, please see “— C. Organizational Structure — Contractual Arrangements with the VIEs and Their Respective Shareholders” and “Item 3. Key Information — D. Risk Factors — Risks Relating to Our Corporate Structure.”
Our principal executive offices are located at Floor B1, Tower D, No. 2 Guang Hua Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing, People’s Republic of China. Our telephone number at this address is +8610 6506-7789. The Parent’s registered office in the Cayman Islands is located at Maples Corporate Services Limited, PO Box 309, Ugland House, Grand Cayman, KY1-1104, Cayman Islands. The Parent’s agent for service of process in the United States is Cogency Global Inc., located at 122 East 42nd Street, 18th Floor, New York, NY 10168.
The SEC maintains a website at www.sec.gov that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding registrants that make electronic filings with the SEC. Investors should contact us for any inquiries through the address and telephone number of our principal executive office. Our principal website is https://www.ucommune.com/. The information contained on our website is not a part of this annual report.
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Five-year Cooperation with Hexa Group
In October 2021, we started a five-year cooperation with Hexa Group, an Australian property developer, to jointly develop the “Hexa Space-Ucommune” co-working project located in Melbourne, Australia, adding another international market to our geographic footprint in addition to Hong Kong and Singapore. The cooperation was terminated in December 2022.
Registration Statements
On February 2, 2021, the Parent completed a follow-on offering of 20,577 Class A ordinary shares and warrants to purchase 20,577 Class A ordinary shares at a combined offering price of US$972.00 for one Class A ordinary share and one firm warrant to purchase one Class A ordinary share (after retroactively adjusted to reflect the 12-to-1 share consolidation effected on November 29, 2023) (the “base offering”). The warrants will expire on February 2, 2026. The underwriter in this offering exercised its option in full to purchase an additional 740,740 warrants at an offering price of US$2.40 per warrant to purchase from us an additional 3,087 warrants shares (after retroactively adjusted to reflect the 12-to-1 share consolidation effected on November 29, 2023), which closed concurrently with the base offering.
On March 18, 2021, the Parent filed a registration statement on Form F-1 (File No. 333-254442), as amended, related to (1) the resale from time to time of certain Class A ordinary shares, (2) the issuance by the Parent of certain Class A ordinary shares upon the exercise of Prior Warrants and New Warrants, (3) the issuance by the Parent of (i) the UPOs, (ii) the UPO Warrants, (iii) the UPO Rights, (iv) Class A ordinary shares upon the exercise of the UPO Warrants and (v) Class A ordinary shares upon the conversion of the UPO Rights. The registration statement became effective on March 22, 2021. On July 2, 2021, the Parent withdrew such registration statement.
On July 2, 2021, the Parent filed a registration statement on Form F-1 (File No. 333-257664), registering the securities described in the foregoing paragraph, together with additional securities. On March 11, 2022, the Parent filed a pre-effective amendment to such registration on Form F-3, and registered Class A ordinary shares issuable upon the conversion of the Debenture and exercise of the JAK Warrants, among other things. The registration statement became effective on July 22, 2022.
On August 16, 2022, the Parent filed a registration statement on Form F-3 (File No. 333-266899), which was declared effective on September 20, 2022, to offer Class A ordinary shares, preferred shares, debt securities, warrants, rights and units of an aggregate offering price of up to US$300,000,000.
UK Wisdom Limited
On June 4, 2021, UK Wisdom Limited, a blank check company incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company, publicly filed a registration statement in connection with a contemplated initial public offering of 5,000,000 units. The Parent owns an 85% equity interest, and Mao Daqing, our founder, director and controlling shareholder owns a 15% interest, in Ucommune Talent Limited, the sponsor of UK Wisdom Limited. On November 21, 2022, as the registration statement had been on file for more than nine months and had not yet become effective, the SEC ordered that the registration statement be declared abandoned.
Nasdaq Notification Letter
On January 24, 2022, the Parent received a written notification letter from the Nasdaq that the Parent is not in compliance with the minimum bid price requirement set forth in Nasdaq Rules for continued listing on Nasdaq. Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a)(2) requires listed securities to maintain a minimum bid price of US$1.00 per share, and Listing Rule 5810(c)(3)(A) provides that a failure to meet the minimum bid price requirement exists if the deficiency continues for 30 consecutive business days. Based on the closing bid price of the Parent’s Class A ordinary shares for the 30 consecutive business days from December 8, 2021 to January 21, 2022, the Parent no longer meets the minimum bid price requirement.
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On April 21, 2022, the Parent effected a 20-to-1 share consolidation in order to cure the deficiency. On May 6, 2022, Nasdaq confirmed that for the last 10 consecutive business days, from April 22, 2022 to May 5, 2022, the closing bid price of the Parent’s Class A ordinary shares was at US$1.00 per share or greater. Accordingly, the Parent has regained compliance with Listing Rule 5550(a)(2) and this matter has been closed.
On July 21, 2023, the Parent received a written notification letter from the Nasdaq that the Parent is not in compliance with the minimum bid price requirement set forth in Nasdaq Rules for continued listing on Nasdaq. Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a)(2) requires listed securities to maintain a minimum bid price of US$1.00 per share, and Listing Rule 5810(c)(3)(A) provides that a failure to meet the minimum bid price requirement exists if the deficiency continues for 30 consecutive business days. Based on the closing bid price of the Parent’s Class A ordinary shares for the 30 consecutive business days from June 6, 2023 to July 20, 2023, the Parent no longer meets the minimum bid price requirement.
On November 29, 2023, the Parent effected a 12-to-1 share consolidation in order to cure the deficiency. On December 14, 2023, Nasdaq confirmed that for the last 10 consecutive business days, from November 30, 2023 through December 13, 2023, the closing bid price of the Parent’s Class A ordinary shares was at US$1.00 per share or greater. Accordingly, the Parent has regained compliance with Listing Rule 5550(a)(2) and this matter has been closed.
Debenture and Warrants Offering
On January 26, 2022, the Parent completed a private placement pursuant to a securities purchase agreement (the “Securities Purchase Agreement”), with JAK Opportunities LLC (the “Purchaser”), for the offering of:
● | A US$3,000,000 principal amount 8% senior convertible debenture of the Parent (the “Debenture”). The Debenture matures on January 25, 2023 and pays interest in cash at the rate of 8.0% per annum, payable quarterly on January 1, April 1, July 1 and October 1, beginning on April 1, 2022. The Parent may also elect to pay accrued interest in Class A ordinary shares at a rate of 12.0% per annum, assuming a conversion rate equal to the lesser of (1) the conversion price then in effect or (2) the average of the volume weighted average price of Class A ordinary shares for the five consecutive trading days ending on the applicable interest payment date. The Debenture is convertible at the option of the Purchaser into Class A ordinary shares equal to 125% of the principal amount of the Debenture at an initial conversion price equal to the lesser of (1) US$1.00, subject to certain adjustments, and (2) 100% of the lowest daily volume weighted average price of Class A ordinary shares during the ten consecutive trading days prior to the conversion date; |
● | A series A warrant of the Parent (the “Series A Warrant”) to purchase up to a number of Class A ordinary shares equal to an aggregate exercise price of $3,750,000, with an exercise price of US$4.05 per Class A ordinary share. The Series A Warrant is exercisable immediately and expires on January 26, 2029; |
● | A series B warrant of the Parent (the “Series B Warrant”) to purchase up to a number of Class A ordinary shares equal to 125% of an aggregate exercise price of $15,000,000, with an exercise price of US$1.00 per 1.25 Class A ordinary shares (equivalent to an exercise price of US$0.80 per Class A ordinary share), each exercise of which entitles the Series B Warrant holder to deduct 10% from the exercise price. The exercise price shall be subject to a one-time downward adjustment to match the lowest volume weighted average price of the Class A ordinary shares on the ten consecutive trading days immediately following the date on which the registration statement registering the Class A ordinary shares underlying the Debenture and JAK Warrants becomes effective (the “Effective Date”). The Series B Warrant is exercisable immediately and expires on the twelve-month anniversary of the Effective Date; and |
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● | A series C warrant of the Parent (the “Series C Warrant,” and together with the Series A Warrant and Series B Warrant, the “JAK Warrants”) to purchase up to a number of Class A ordinary shares equal to an aggregate exercise price of $18,750,000, with an exercise price of US$4.05 per Class A ordinary share. 50% of Series C Warrant vested upon issuance, and 50% of the Series C Warrant shall vest proportionately based on the number of Series B Warrants exercised. The Series C Warrant shall expire on the seven-year anniversary of Effective Date. |
Under the Securities Purchase Agreement, the Parent agreed not to undertake any action which (1) alters or changes the rights, preferences or privileges of the Debenture as a class, (2) results in the company incurring any debt incurred not in the ordinary course of the business, or (3) alters or amends our amended and restated articles of association. The Parent also agreed to maintain a minimum net cash position in cash or marketable securities of no less than US$1.0 million as long as the Debenture is outstanding. In addition, the Parent granted the Purchaser a 36-month right to participate in certain future financings, up to a level of 25%.
Subject to our compliance with certain conditions, the Parent may redeem the Debenture in cash at 120% premium. Upon any optional redemption, the Parent is obligated to issue the Purchaser Series A Warrants to purchase a number of Class A ordinary shares equal to 60% of the principal amount of the Debenture subject to optional redemption, divided by the then conversion price.
The Debenture contains certain events of default (including, but not limited to, default in payment of principal or interest; breaches of covenants, agreements, representations or warranties; an event of default under the transaction documents in connection with the offering; receipt of a deficiency or non-compliance notice from, or ineligibility from listing or quotation for trading on, Nasdaq; changes in control and fundamental transactions; certain bankruptcy events; certain payment defaults with respect to indebtedness; and the entering or filing of certain monetary judgments against us), subject to waiver by the Purchaser. Upon an event of default, the outstanding principal amount of the Debenture for a premium, plus liquidated damages, interest and other amounts owing in respect thereof through the date of acceleration, shall become, at the Purchaser’s election, immediately due and payable in cash. The Parent is also subject to certain negative covenants under the Debenture, including but not limited to, the incurrence of indebtedness, liens on assets, amendment of charter documents, repayment or repurchase of securities or certain debt, the payment of dividends and affiliate transactions.
The conversion price of the Debenture and the exercise price of the JAK Warrants are subject to adjustments upon certain events, including stock splits, stock dividends, subsequent equity transactions (other than specified exempt issuances), subsequent rights offerings and fundamental transactions. If we fail to timely deliver the Class A ordinary shares upon any conversion of the Debenture or exercise of the JAK Warrants, the Parent will be subject to certain liquidated damages and buy-in provisions. The Purchaser shall not have the right to exercise any portion of the Warrants or convert any portion of the Debenture if such exercise and/or conversion would result in the Purchaser and its affiliates beneficially owning more than 4.99% (or, upon election of the Purchaser, 9.99%) of the Parent’s outstanding ordinary shares immediately after giving effect to the issuance of ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise and/or conversion.
Pursuant to a registration rights agreement (the “January 2022 Registration Rights Agreement”), between the Parent and the Purchaser, dated January 26, 2022, the Parent agreed to file a registration statement registering the resale of the Class A ordinary shares underlying the Debenture and the JAK Warrants 60 days from the date of the January 2022 Registration Rights Agreement. The Parent also agreed to have the registration statement declared effective within 120 days from the date of the January 2022 Registration Rights Agreement. In addition, the Parent agreed to pay the purchaser, as partial liquidated damages, a fee of 2.0% of the purchaser’s subscription amount per month in cash upon the occurrence of certain events, including our failure to file or have the registration statement declared effective within agreed period.
Concurrently with the execution of the Securities Purchase Agreement, Debenture, JAK Warrants and January 2022 Registration Rights Agreement, the Parent entered into a lock-up agreement (the “January 2022 Lock-Up Agreement”), with (1) the Parent’s directors and officers who beneficially own over one million Class A ordinary shares and (2) the Parent’s shareholders beneficially owned 10% or more of the Parent’s shares. Until 60 days after the Effective Date, the signatories agreed not offer, sell, contract to sell, hypothecate, pledge or otherwise dispose of (or enter into any transaction which is designed to, or might reasonably be expected to, result in the disposition whether by actual disposition or effective economic disposition due to cash settlement or otherwise), directly or indirectly, or establish or increase a put equivalent position or liquidate or decrease a call equivalent position with respect to, any Class A ordinary shares or securities convertible, exchangeable or exercisable into, Class A ordinary shares beneficially owned, held or hereafter acquired by any such signatory.
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The Securities Purchase Agreement, Debenture, JAK Warrants were amended on March 1, 2022, August 29, 2022, October 25, 2022, January 24, 2023, June 7, 2023 and January 30, 2024 to set and amend the Floor Price. Following the 12-to-1 share consolidation effected on November 29, 2023, the Floor Price per Class A ordinary share, par value of US$0.024 each (each an “Ordinary Share”) has been automatically adjusted to US$15.6, and effective on December 21, 2023, the exercise price of the Warrants has been automatically adjusted to US$3.37 per Ordinary Share pursuant to the mechanism provided under Section 3(a)(ii) of the JAK Warrants.
Based on the amendment agreements dated January 30, 2024, the Parent and the Purchaser amended and restated the Termination Date for purposes of the Series B Warrant to December 31, 2024 for the Ordinary Shares issuable upon exercise of the Series B Warrant that are registered under the registration statement on Form F-3 of the Parent (File No. 333-257664) (the “F-3 Registration Statement”), and to 12 months following the effectiveness of a registration statement to be filed under the Securities Act registering the remaining unregistered Ordinary Shares issuable upon exercise of the Series B Warrant for such remaining Ordinary Shares. With respect to the Ordinary Shares issuable upon exercise of each of the Warrants that are registered under the F-3 Registration Statement, the Floor Price was amended and restated to US$3.37 per Ordinary Share. . While the JAK Warrants remain outstanding, the Parent will not issue Class A ordinary shares or Class A ordinary share equivalents at a price per share or with a conversion or exercise price per share, as applicable, that is below the Floor Price without the prior written consent of the Purchaser.
On August 1, 2023, we fully repaid the remaining principal amount plus interests accrued and unpaid under the Debenture.
Extraordinary General Meeting for Reverse Share Split and Voting Ratio Change
On March 16, 2022, the Parent announced an extraordinary general meeting (the “April EGM”) to be held at 10 A.M. on April 21, 2022, Beijing time, to effect a share consolidation of 20 ordinary shares with par value of US$0.0001 each in the Parent’s issued and unissued share capital into one ordinary share with par value of US$0.002 each of the Parent (the “2022 Share Consolidation”). At the April EGM, the Parent’s shareholders approved the 2022 Share Consolidation. As a result, the 2022 Share Consolidation became effective at 5 P.M. on April 21, 2022, U.S. Eastern time, and the Class A ordinary shares began trading on a post-share consolidation basis on the Nasdaq Capital Market when the market opened on the next business trading day under the same symbol “UK” but under a new CUSIP number of G9449A 209. No fractional shares were issued in connection with the 2022 Share Consolidation. All fractional shares were rounded up to the whole number of shares. Immediately following the 2022 Share Consolidation, the authorized share capital of the Company became US$50,000.00 divided into 25,000,000 ordinary shares of par value of US$0.002 each, comprising (1) 20,000,000 Class A ordinary shares of par value of US$0.002 each and (2) 5,000,000 Class B ordinary shares of par value of US$0.002 each.
On August 2, 2022, the Parent announced an extraordinary general meeting (the “August EGM”) to be held at 10 A.M. on August 19, 2022, Beijing time, to change the voting power of the Class B ordinary shares of par value of US$0.002 each from fifteen (15) votes for each Class B ordinary share to thirty-five (35) votes for each Class B ordinary share (the “Voting Ratio Change”). On August 9, 2022, the Parent announced the adjournment of the August EGM to 10 A.M. on August 24, 2022, Beijing time. At the August EGM, the Parent’s shareholders approved the Voting Ratio Change. As a result, with immediate effect, each Class A ordinary shares, par value of US$0.002 each, of the Parent was entitled to one (1) vote on all matters subject to vote at general and special meetings of the Parent and each Class B ordinary share was entitled to thirty-five (35) votes on all matters subject to vote at general and special meetings of the Parent.
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On October 13, 2023, the Parent announced an extraordinary general meeting (the “November EGM”) to be held at 10 A.M. on November 29, 2023, Beijing time. At the November EGM, the Parent’s shareholders approved:
(1) | an increase of authorized share capital from US$50,000.00 divided into 25,000,000 ordinary shares of par value of US$0.002 each, comprising (i) 20,000,000 Class A ordinary shares of par value of US$0.002 each and (ii) 5,000,000 Class B ordinary shares of par value of US$0.002 each, to US$600,000.00 divided into 300,000,000 ordinary shares of par value of US$0.002 each, comprising (i) 240,000,000 Class A ordinary shares of par value of US$0.002 each and (ii) 60,000,000 Class B ordinary shares of par value of US$0.002 each, by creating additional 220,000,000 authorized but unissued Class A ordinary shares and 55,000,000 authorized but unissued Class B ordinary shares (the “Increase of Share Capital”); |
(2) | a share consolidation of 12 ordinary shares with par value of US$0.002 each in the Parent’s issued and unissued share capital into one ordinary share with par value of US$0.024 (the “2023 Share Consolidation”), so that the authorized share capital of the Parent will be US$600,000.00 divided into 25,000,000 ordinary shares of par value of US$0.024 each, comprising (i) 20,000,000 Class A ordinary shares of par value of US$0.024 each and (ii) 5,000,000 Class B ordinary shares of par value of US$0.024 each; and |
(3) | an amendment of the Parent’s memorandum and articles of association currently in effect to (i) reflect the Increase of Share Capital and the 2023 Share Consolidation and (ii) change the voting power of the Class B ordinary shares of par value of US$0.024 each (the “Class B Ordinary Shares”) from thirty-five (35) votes for each Class B Ordinary Share to fifty-five (55) votes for each Class B Ordinary Share. |
Holders of Class B ordinary shares approved such variation of rights of Class B ordinary shares on October 10, 2023 pursuant to the Current M&A. As a result, with immediate effect, each Class A ordinary shares, par value of US$0.024 each, of the Parent is entitled to one (1) vote on all matters subject to vote at general and special meetings of the Parent and each Class B Ordinary Share is entitled to fifty-five (55) votes on all matters subject to vote at general and special meetings of the Parent.
The 2023 Share Consolidation became effective at 5 P.M. on November 29, 2023, U.S. Eastern time. As a result of the 2023 Share Consolidation, each 12 pre-split ordinary shares outstanding automatically combined and converted to one issued and outstanding ordinary share without any action on the part of the shareholders, and the terms of the outstanding warrants, unit purchase options and awards under share incentive plans of the Parent were adjusted automatically without any action on the part of the holders of those warrants, unit purchase options and awards under share incentive plans.
Beginning with the opening of trading on November 30, 2023, U.S. Eastern time, the Parent’s Class A ordinary shares began trading on a post-share consolidation basis on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the same symbol “UK” but under a new CUSIP number of G9449A 134. No fractional shares were issued in connection with the share consolidation. All fractional shares were rounded up to the whole number of shares.
B. Business Overview
We are a leading agile office space provider in China in terms of the number of spaces, aggregate managed area and number of cities covered. Beyond physical spaces, we have built a technology-driven platform consisting of U Bazaar, a smart office system, IoT solutions and a data management system, Udata, to foster a vibrant Ucommune community by offering U Plus services to satisfy member needs.
We launched our first space in September 2015, and have since expanded our operations into 53 cities as of December 31, 2023. We operate our spaces under the following two models:
Self-operated Model. We have two categories of spaces under our self-operated model. We disposed of the subsidiary responsible for U studio category in December 2022 and terminated related operations, where we leased scattered and small office spaces with area generally less than 200 m2 each from landlords and built the spaces using our proprietary SOP.
● | U Space, under which we enter into leases with landlords for spaces with area generally over 200 m2 each, and design and build the spaces using our proprietary SOP. |
● | U Design, under which we provide one-stop customized services from location selection to daily operations in accordance with the specifications of our members. |
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Fees received under our self-operated model, including for U Space and U Design, pursuant to member service contracts are recognized as workspace membership revenue. Fees charged to members for ancillary services under our self-operated model, such as printing and copying, are recognized as other services revenue.
Asset-light Model. We provide space design and build as well as management services to develop and manage agile office spaces for landlords who bear most of the capital investments to build out and launch new spaces. We have two categories under our asset-light model.
● | U Brand, under which we primarily charge landlords management fees for branding, consulting and operating services. |
● | U Partner, under which we share revenue with landlords. |
Fees received under U Brand category are recognized as other services revenue. Fees received under U Partner category are recognized as workspace membership revenue.
With our large-scale agile office space network, we consistently seek opportunities to provide U Plus services to improve the experience of our members and to build a vibrant Ucommune community serving wider groups of members beyond physical spaces.
To offer various U Plus services, we cooperate with third-party business partners and have strategically invested in enterprises engaging in a wide range of services.
Our investees extend our offerings and their businesses grow with our expansion. Cooperating with over 700 business partners, we provide a comprehensive suite of U Plus services, including:
● | individual services, such as catering, fitness, healthcare, training and entertainment, |
● | general corporate services, such as corporate secretary, human resources, legal, finance, IT support and tax services, |
● | design and build services, |
● | incubation and corporate venturing services, |
● | advertising and branding services, and |
● | related services to serve our community. |
We plan to evaluate investment opportunities, including acquiring local agile office brands with strong regional influence to expand our coverage, and companies that may support the integration of industrial chain resources for refining our one-stop space upgrade service. We may also make investments in private or public entities, enter into strategic alliances or issue securities through our parent company or subsidiaries.
In addition, we plan to explore corporate venturing. We expect the wide coverage of services provided by our investees to satisfy the evolving needs of our members. Meanwhile, we expect our investees’ businesses to grow with us.
Agile Office Space Services
Member Base for Agile Office Space Services
We provide agile office space services to enterprise and individual members on a regular or as-needed basis.
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Enterprise Members
Our unique and comprehensive network of agile office spaces covering economically vibrant regions, including all the tier-1 and new tier-1 cities in China, provides our enterprise members with flexible and cost-efficient office space solutions, particularly for their geographic expansion, helping them to rapidly achieve scale and enhance productivity. As of December 31, 2023, we had approximately 39,130 enterprise members ranging from large enterprises to SMEs.
Our enterprise member base is diverse in terms of size, industry and geography with a healthy mix of large enterprise members and SME members.
— Large enterprise members
Large enterprise members are enterprise members with 100 or more employees. Compared to SME members, large enterprise members generally occupy more workstations and enter into leases with longer terms, which offer better visibility on our future revenue. Under long-term leases for dedicated spaces of more than 100 workstations, we usually conduct large-scale customization to suit member needs.
— SME members
SME members are enterprise members with fewer than 100 employees. Our SME members are a significant driver of the growth of our business. As our SME members grow, they typically rely on us to access more workstations and extensively utilize our suite of corporate services.
For SME members that occupy more than 20 workstations, we can conduct moderate customization such as rearranging the furniture and opening the partitions between offices, to better satisfy member needs. In addition, SMEs often lack channels and negotiating power when they seek to purchase general corporate services. As our members, they enjoy discounted rates for general corporate services and employee benefits provided by our business partners in U Bazaar.
We take pride in helping our SME members succeed. We often host events and activities in our spaces to assist SMEs members to resolve problems they encounter during different development stages of the SMEs.
We invite successful investors to our spaces to meet with SME members and provide them with the opportunities to connect with these investors and to seek advice. We also utilize our advertising, marketing and branding capabilities to promote SMEs members to help them attract users and improve brand awareness.
Individual Members
Our individual members consist primarily of employees of our enterprise members and freelancers. As of December 31, 2023, we had approximately 1,166,170 individual members. A large portion of our individual members using workstations have bachelor’s or master’s degrees and their annual incomes are higher than per capita disposable income in China.
They generally spend an average of eight hours in our spaces during a typical working day, providing us with opportunities to offer services to help their career advancement and improve the quality of their personal lives. As of December 31, 2023, approximately 19,120 of our individual members were using workstations.
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Our Operating Models
As of December 31, 2023, we had 95 spaces across 53 cities of which 79 spaces were in operation, providing approximately 29,850 workstations to our members, and 16 spaces were under decoration or preparation for decoration. The following table sets forth some of our operating metrics as of the dates indicated:
As of December 31, 2021 | As of December 31, 2022 | As of December 31, 2023 | ||||||||||
Number of cities | 65 | 75 | 53 | |||||||||
Number of Spaces | 273 | 207 | 95 | |||||||||
Number of spaces under self-operated model(1) | 108 | 77 | 26 | |||||||||
Number of spaces under asset-light model | 165 | 130 | 69 | |||||||||
Managed area (m2)(2) | 865,150 | 743,060 | 466,330 | |||||||||
Managed area under self-operated model | 242,335 | 130,230 | 51,830 | |||||||||
Managed area under asset-light model | 622,815 | 612,830 | 414,500 | |||||||||
Number of spaces in operation | 220 | 174 | 79 | |||||||||
Number of workstations of spaces in operation(2) | 62,580 | 51,040 | 29,850 | |||||||||
Number of members(2) | 1,176,970 | 1,193,930 | 1,205,310 | |||||||||
Number of individual members | 1,141,780 | 1,156,350 | 1,166,170 | |||||||||
Number of individual members using workstations | 44,580 | 27,430 | 19,120 | |||||||||
Number of enterprise members | 35,180 | 37,580 | 39,130 | |||||||||
Occupancy rate for all spaces in operation | 70 | % | 51 | % | 62 | % | ||||||
Occupancy rate for mature spaces | 76 | % | 52 | % | 58 | % |
Notes:
(1) | As spaces under U Studio category were small offices, we counted one or more small offices operated under U Studio category in one building as one space. As of December 31, 2020 and 2021, we cooperated with 132 and 132 landlords counted by property ownership certificate, respectively, under U Studio category. We disposed of the subsidiary responsible for U studio category in December 2022 and terminated related operations. |
(2) | Approximate number subject to rounding adjustments. |
(3) | As spaces under U Studio category were small offices, we leased the entire space to members instead of leasing all or some of the workstations therein. Therefore, the number of workstations under U Studio category was counted by dividing the managed area of our spaces in operation under U Studio category by the average area per workstation of 4.5 m2. |
Based on different operating models and revenue sources, we categorize our spaces into two models:
Self-operated Model
The self-operated model has two categories, namely U Space and U Design. We disposed of the subsidiary responsible for U studio category in December 2022 and terminated related operations, where we leased small office spaces scattered in commercial office buildings, conducted moderate alterations and provided streamlined operating services to members.
U Space
U Space is the core of our brand and community. We built our initial member base under U Space and built our brand awareness from here. Under this model, we enter into long-term leases with landlords. On average, the length of our leases under the U Space category is approximately nine years.
We design and build the space and then directly lease the space and workstations to our members. We bear the cost of leasing office buildings or floors from the landlords and expenses on design and build and operation of the spaces.
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We generate revenue by directly leasing spaces to members and charging monthly rent in the form of membership service fees or office workstation rental fees. We also generate revenue by leasing storefronts, restaurants and workstations to our business partners who occupy our spaces to provide services to our members. As of December 31, 2023, we had 11 spaces under the U Space category, all of which were spaces in operation with approximately 6,310 workstations available for members.
U Design
For members who wish to bring the Ucommune experience to their own office spaces, we provide an option of customizing an office space according to the specifications of our members. We provide one-stop services to our members, from advisory services on location selection, design and build services, to delivery and operation services.
We provide the services under this model on an as-needed basis, and we generate revenue from services actually provided, such as operating fees, advisory fees and fees related to design and build of the spaces. As of December 31, 2023, we had 15 spaces under U Design category, including 14 spaces in operation with approximately 1,450 workstations available for members.
Asset-light Model
The asset-light model has two categories, namely U Brand and U Partner. Under both subcategories, we are responsible for operating the spaces and we can deliver our members the same quality services that we provide in U Space. As we expand rapidly into other cities and countries under the asset-light model, we can provide our members with spaces in more geographical locations.
As of December 31, 2023, we had 69 spaces under the asset-light model with managed area of approximately 414,500 m2, representing 89% of the aggregate managed area of approximately 466,330 m2 of all spaces. In 2023, we launched 12 new spaces under our asset-light model with managed area of approximately 21,680 m2. In 2021, 2022 and 2023, we generated operating profit from the subsidiary that operates agile office spaces under our asset-light model. We intend to focus on expanding our asset-light business as one of our major growth drivers.
U Brand
Under this model, landlords engage us to design and build spaces in accordance with our standards and landlords bear the associated costs. Alternatively, landlords can deliver us fully furnished spaces that meet our standards of design and functions. As such, U Brand does not require us to incur significant capital investments to build and launch new spaces. Under this model, our revenue consists of:
● | consultation fees relating to branding, design and build services, |
● | management fees for operating services, and |
● | under certain contracts, incentive fees based on the financial performance of the spaces. |
As of December 31, 2023, we had 39 spaces under the U Brand category, including 33 spaces in operation with approximately 14,200 workstations available for members.
U Partner
We are making substantial effort in exploring a new operation category, U Partner, and launched our first space under U Partner category in July 2019. Under this model, we enter into partnerships with landlords, where the landlords offer the right to use spaces and we operate and manage the spaces under our brand. The landlords deliver us fully furnished spaces that meet our standards of design and functions. If the landlords engage us to design and build the spaces, we charge separate service fees for providing such services.
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We generate revenue under a revenue sharing mechanism with landlords. As of December 31, 2023, we had 30 spaces under the U Partner category, including 21 spaces in operation with approximately 7,510 workstations available for members.
Our Space Offerings
We aim to provide one-stop office space solutions to members. We provide our members with offices and workstations to help ensure that they can find the most suitable office solutions from our spaces.
● | Standard workstations: Standard workstations are dedicated workstations in shared offices. |
● | On-demand workstations: On-demand workstations are flexible workstations in open spaces. Members who do not need to use workstations every day can book on-demand workstations in our agile office spaces on as-needed basis. |
● | Private offices and customized offices: Private offices and customized offices are independent enclosed office spaces that are customized depending on the needs and scale of the members. |
Our spaces offering includes certain basic services and amenities free of charge, including high-speed internet access, reception services, package handling, security services, office furniture and stationery, lounge and common area and shared kitchen and pantry.
Our spaces also feature various smart functions that aim to improve our members’ experience. Facial-recognition and smart monitoring systems are available in the majority of our spaces. As of December 31, 2023, cloud access control had been installed in approximately 90% of our spaces; and approximately 70% of our conference rooms were equipped with smart conferencing systems, featuring screen casting and video conferencing. Our members can host video conferences across departments and geographical locations.
Our spaces are equipped with air quality sensors, as well as temperature and humidity sensors that generate significant data into our data analytics platform to help with operational and space improvement. Our smart operating systems, connected to power panels and lights in our spaces, can control lights, air conditioners and other devices automatically based on feedback from the sensors in our spaces.
We also provide our members with cloud-based printing services. Members can upload the documents to our smart office system, and print from printers of their choice in our spaces by logging into their user accounts and scanning QR codes to process payment for printing.
Our Smart Platform
Our members can access our service offerings through U Bazaar in a quick and convenient way. U Bazaar is integrated with our smart office system, IoT devices and other technology capabilities to create a seamless working experience for our members in and beyond physical spaces. For more details of U Bazaar and our smart platform, see “— Technology.”
Our members can also enjoy various enterprise-level and individual-level services provided by us and our business partners and investees through U Bazaar and our smart platform. For more details, see “— U Plus Services.”
Development and Management of our Agile Office Spaces
Sourcing
We established our brand by opening Ucommune spaces in centrally located business districts in tier-1 cities. In selecting potential locations for our spaces, we focus on demographics, population density, GDP growth and the surrounding neighborhood. We select locations to cater to the needs and business goals of our target members. We plan to implement our sourcing strategy while we grow in tier-1 cities and expand into new tier-1 cities in China and overseas.
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We have strong working relationships and a successful track-record cooperating with China’s leading commercial real estate developers and owners as well as local governments, as we can address their concerns and challenges in today’s changing environment. Real estate developers and owners seek to enter into long-term leases with customers to generate steady income, which makes agile office space a natural fit for their business models. Local governments hope to support new start-ups to attract young working professionals to cities and space providers, contributing to urban transformation.
Our strong brand and operating capabilities and integrated community of large member base make us a valuable partner for these landlords. Our spaces also bring more foot traffic to surrounding office buildings and shopping malls and improve the neighborhood where our spaces are located. The foregoing factors allow us to address landlord needs and enable us to secure long-term leases at prime locations at favorable rental rates, effectively lowering our real estate procurement costs.
Design and Build
Our design capabilities are the foundation of our unified and highly identifiable brand. Our spaces feature innovative design with aesthetics, high efficiencies and broad functionalities.
The most significant feature of our design capability is the combination of standardization and modularization with artistic design. Our proprietary SOP refines our design and build process to the finest details, allowing us to create and execute design plans in an orderly and efficient manner at lower costs. Our SOP stipulates details such as the size of workstations, capacities of electricity, layout of air conditioners and area of common space. Our ongoing effort in improving and modularizing our design and build is the key to our high scalability.
With a team of over 30 experienced architects and designers as of December 31, 2023, we have built strong in-house design-and-build capabilities. Our architects and designers were trained in the world’s top-tier architecture firms and are knowledgeable about China’s local markets. They have rich experience in designing agile office spaces and can deliver a three-dimension design in a short time with the use of advanced software and modelling technology. Certain design plans of our spaces have been published in renowned architecture websites and received positive feedback. With our enhanced design and build capabilities, we plan to provide customers with prefabricated office design products.
Our design and build capabilities enable us to reduce the time from taking possession of a new space to making the space ready for leasing to members. It typically takes us about three to five months to open a U Space, compared to the industry average of approximately six months.
We also have long-term relationships with reputable third-party contractors able to deliver high-quality construction, build and project management. We give our construction contractors detailed design and execution plans, and designate quality vendors for major materials and equipment and supervise the build process by conducting periodic and ad hoc inspections to help ensure the space under construction can meet our standards. As leading agile office space provider in China, we can obtain favorable terms from our contractors, such as extension of construction warranty from 12 months to 24 months for our projects in China.
Based on factors including redevelopment costs, location and standards of decoration and office facilities, we have developed three product lines based on different design standards, i.e., premium, superior and standard, which can satisfy the various needs and different budgets of our members.
— Premium Product Line
Our premium product line serves as flagship Ucommune spaces and are critical to our branding. As our top product line, it features premium facilities and decor. We usually design the space with a customized theme and redevelop the entire space in accordance with the design. As of December 31, 2023, we had four spaces under our premium product line, all of which are spaces in operation with approximately 2,250 workstations available for members.
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— Superior Product Line
We develop the superior product line with high-end facilities and decor. As of December 31, 2023, we had nine spaces under our superior product line, all of which were in operation with approximately 4,790 workstations available for members.
— Standard Product Line
We develop our standard product line by utilizing the original facilities and decor and conduct necessary modelling. Our goal is to complete the redevelopment of the properties in a cost-efficient manner while ensuring the proper functioning of our working spaces. As of December 31, 2023, we had 82 spaces under our standard product line, including 66 spaces in operation with approximately 36,100 workstations available for members.
Management
Our management team has a deep understanding of and rich experience in operating chain commercial real estate space, such as hotels and serviced apartments. Combined with our refined SOP on agile office space operations, we have significantly streamlined and simplified the operation of our spaces while maintaining our superior services that our members expect.
Led by our management team, we have an experienced operating and community management team including, among others, more than 142 operating staff with hotel operation or other service industry experience. We offer training to our operating staff on various a