Liquidators appointed to Wellington co-working company Digital Nomad

Monday, 16 September 2024

Liquidation papers have been filed for Wellington co-working space company Digital Nomad.

The company, which had co-working spaces around Wellington, on Monday filed liquidation papers for four separate companies: Digital Nomad, Digital Nomad Eva, Digital Nomad 330 Lambton Quay and Digital Nomad 76 Willis St.

Liquidator Jessica Kellow said the company faced difficulties getting enough tenants to stay viable. She was working with landlords and tenants to work out a solution meaning they could keep using the spaces.

Most of the company’s debt was to landlords, banks and director Vaughan Wilson.

Chamber of Commerce chief executive Simon Arcus told The Post that there were two things about the closure that concerned him.

“The first is that this isn’t a high street retail or hospitality store. It’s another type of enterprise in the city that found itself with its back to the wall,” Arcus said.

He was also worried that the situation Digital Nomad had found itself in was “a very physical illustration of the city economy getting smaller”.

“Stand back for a minute and ask what do Digital Nomad do? They provide space to other businesses and entrepreneurs in the city.

“Although the shared workspace market can have challenges, there’s a real possibility this is a story about economic contraction in Wellington.”

Arcus added that his thoughts were with Wilson, who had built the company from the ground up and believed in Wellington.

Digital Nomad had nine locations: 60 Cuba St, 3 Eva St, 76 and 131 Willis St, 330 Lambton Quay, 10 Brandon St, 22 Willeston St, 98 Customhouse Quay, and Waterloo Quay.

The Post in 2022 reported the company ran 10 co-working office spaces around the city and was about to open an 11th.