With its IPO bid now being withdrawn, WeWork Co’s IPO prospectus has been mocked and vilified for its eyebrow-raising calculations, loose corporate governance, and bizarre internal dealings with its CEO and co-founder Adam Neumann — who, as of 24 September, is stepping down as CEO amid growing pressure.

But proptech consultant and speaker Antony Slumbers has said non–real estate commentators who have fiercely criticised the company are guilty of failing to recognise its importance, and what is, “if not unique, then extraordinary about it”.

In a LinkedIn blog post (prior to the delayed IPO in September), Slumbers praises WeWork for being a remarkable, super-innovative and forward-thinking operator that has fundamentally changed the real estate industry, regardless of whether it ends up failing as a business during the next downturn or not. Recognising that WeWork’s preliminary IPO document has a number of glaring problems, Slumbers suggests the company also