JustCo Shares Sink 34% Below IPO Price Despite CEO, DBS Purchases

Shares of Singapore flexible workspace operator JustCo have slid 34 percent below their IPO price less than three weeks after their SGX debut, despite open-market purchases by founder and chief executive Kong Wan Sing and price-stabilisation buying by DBS.

The stock closed at S$0.625 on Monday, compared with the S$0.94 offer price for its 22 May mainboard listing, deepening a post-debut slump that had seen the GIC- and Frasers Property-backed company end its first trading day 17.6 percent below the IPO level.

Kong bought 500,000 JustCo shares on the open market across two transactions on 3 and 4 June, according to a filing with the Singapore Exchange, spending a combined S$339,143.75 ($263,423) at an average price of S$0.678 per share.

“If you analyse the business in more detail, I think you’ll appreciate that there is substantial value in the company that is not immediately obvious from a simple earnings-based assessment,” the CEO told the Business Times.

Stabilising Ceases

The purchases lifted Kong’s direct holding in JustCo to 812,500 shares from 312,500 shares, while his total interest — including deemed interests through his wife, Liu Lu, and private vehicle Sing Long Investments — rose to 90.5 million shares, or 18.5 percent of the company.

DBS, which served as stabilising manager for the offering, announced on 2 June that it had purchased a total of 5.3 million JustCo shares since the company’s listing and had ceased price stabilisation action with effect from the close of trading that day.

The bank said the purchases fully covered the shares over-allotted in connection with the offering, meaning it would not exercise the over-allotment option granted by Sing Long Investments to the joint bookrunners and underwriters.

JustCo had raised S$100 million ($78 million) from the IPO, which comprised 32.1 million offering shares and a cornerstone tranche. The public and international offering was 3.4 times subscribed, with nine cornerstone investors committing to an aggregate 74.3 million shares, equal to 70 percent of the total offering.

The weak aftermarket performance has continued despite Kong’s share purchases and the DBS support mechanism, with investors appearing to remain wary of the company’s valuation and ability to translate its expansion plans into sustained earnings.

JustCo swung to a net profit of $2.7 million in 2025 after losses of $10.1 million in 2024 and $12.5 million in 2023, while revenue climbed to $144.2 million last year from $128.2 million a year earlier, according to its prospectus.

Founded in 2011, JustCo operates 54 flexible workspace centres across 12 Asia Pacific cities including Singapore, Bangkok, Tokyo, Seoul, Melbourne and Sydney, with 37,500 workstations spanning 1.9 million square feet (176,516 square metres) of net lettable area.

JustCo has said IPO proceeds will go towards strategic investments and capital expenditure in existing and new markets, while the company is also exploring expansion beyond offices into co-living, including accommodation and living spaces with shared amenities.

CBD Squeeze

JustCo’s share-price weakness contrasts with a Singapore office market that has continued to tighten, with Cushman & Wakefield saying first-quarter CBD Grade A rents rose 1.4 percent from the previous quarter to S$11.36 per square foot per month — the strongest quarterly growth since the third quarter of 2022.

Vacancy fell to 4.1 percent from 4.4 percent at the end of 2025, marking a fourth straight quarter of tightening, as occupiers continued to favour newer, higher-specification buildings.

The consultancy pointed to a structural shortage of quality space, with new CBD Grade A completions expected to average just 400,000 square feet annually in 2026 and 2027, less than half the 10-year annual net demand average of 900,000 square feet.

While that backdrop could support demand for flexible and fitted-out space, including offerings from operators like JustCo, public investors have so far taken a more cautious view of the company’s listed equity than of the underlying office leasing market.