WeWork, the shared office provider once valued at $47bn (£37bn), has warned it is at risk of bankruptcy as employees continue to work from home.

Shares in the flexible workspace provider plunged after it said in a statement on Tuesday that “substantial doubt exists about the company’s ability to continue”.

David Tolley, interim chief executive of WeWork, blamed the firm’s woes on the oversupply of offices.

He said: “Excess supply in commercial real estate, increasing competition in flexible space and macroeconomic volatility drove higher member churn and softer demand than we anticipated, resulting in a slight decline in memberships.”

WeWork, which is backed by Japanese investment giant Softbank, was hit hard during Covid-19 as social distancing rules triggered a boom in homeworking.

The company is yet to make a profit, even as people have started returning to the office post-pandemic.