The young entrepreneurs working at Station F, the famous Parisian campus created by Xavier Niel, probably don’t know this. But the co-working space, where they can come and have a coffee, while refining their business plan, is under receivership. Not really encouraging for budding creators. Known as Afterplace, this site is part of a network whose other Parisian affiliates (Louvre, Beaubourg, Cnit la Défense, République and Lafayette) are looking for a buyer before June 12th. Only provincial franchisees are not concerned. Created in April 2013 under the name Anticafé by a young Ukrainian Leonid Goncharov, the concept of coffee co-working with time-based payment and various services (unlimited drinks and snacks, Wi-Fi, printers, etc.) progressed rapidly in the following years, with access to 14 locations, 80 employees and saw promoter Nexity enter its capital in 2019. Weakened by the gilets jaunes movement and then Covid, the chain appeared to be on its way out of its difficulties in mid-2022 when it began merging with Zalthabar, a company that specializes in parties and seminars, to become afterplace. This is clearly not the case, as Zalthbaar has also been placed in receivership recently. Leonid Goncharov, who sold most of his shares last year, called and said he did not understand this fall, even if customers had been deterred by rising prices. As for the current director, Didier Joband, he did not return calls to Capital.
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