Before new CEO Dara Khosrowshahi can set an Uber IPO date, he has to make sure the company can still operate in London after it lost its license there...
London's transportation regulator denied Uber's renewal license application, according to a Sept. 22, 2017, TechCrunch report. The report also said that the regulator views Uber's conduct and approach to business as "lacking in corporate responsibility."
The regulators were concerned that Uber used software in the past to subvert law enforcement.
Uber can continue to operate in London until its appeals have run out, which could take a year or longer, according to The Guardian.
And to navigate the political turmoil and keep its 40,000 drivers active, Uber hired its first UK chair...
UK Chair Hired to Battle London Ban Before the Uber IPO
Uber appointed Laurel Powers-Freeling as the company's first UK chair, according to an Oct. 27 Reuters report. With a background as a senior advisor at the Bank of England, Uber is hoping Powers-Freeling can help keep its 40,000 drivers on the road.
The first hearing for the London regulatory appeal is scheduled for Dec. 11.
Losing the London market would be a significant blow for Uber's revenue, as Uber London Ltd. netted $49 million in 2016, according to Bloomberg.
Here's what it means for the Uber IPO date...
What We Know About Uber's Current IPO Plans
Khosrowshahi says that he wants to concentrate on making the company profitable before it goes public.
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He originally projected Uber would go public between 2019 and 2021.
But investors that want to buy Uber stock may get their chance sooner rather than later...
You see, Uber's board passed a resolution on Oct. 3 to have the company go public by 2019. This is much sooner than former CEO Travis Kalanick ever planned on going public. In 2016, Kalanick said there may not be an Uber IPO until 2026, according to Business Insider.
And with this idealistic IPO time frame, Khosrowshahi has a lot of work ahead of him...
Uber has faced as many as seven different scandals over the past year, which means it has a long way to go to regain the trust of customers, its employees, and law enforcement. The setback in London is a prime example of how Uber's scandals have hurt the company.
In addition to the allegations of deceiving regulators, the company has faced sexual harassment charges, allegations of stealing technology from Google, and an overseas case of ignoring recalls on company-leased vehicles.
Who Is Dara Khosrowshahi?
The good news is that Khosrowshahi may be just the leader to correct Uber's mistakes. He came to Uber as the former CEO of Expedia Inc. (Nasdaq: EXPE), where the company's share price surged 473.81% after Khosrowshahi became CEO in 2005.
But even if Uber manages to solve its scandal problem, it still may not be a wise investment when the company finally has its IPO.
Instead of deciding to buy Uber stock, there is a safer way to profit from any of Uber's potential success without having to invest in a risky IPO...
How You Can Make Money from Uber's Growth Today
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As Uber grows, it will need more office space.
And because Uber's headquarters are in San Francisco, it will need to pay a lot of money to rent properties in the city and expand its campus.
According to Investopedia, San Francisco is the second most expensive city in the United States, with the average home costing $820,000 inside the city. That also means business space comes at a premium.
That creates a backdoor strategy for making money from the ride-hailing app without owning a single share of Uber stock. This strategy involves a lot less risk, because you'll avoid the volatile price swings that accompany public offerings.
Through extensive research, we found a real estate investment trust (REIT) that leases space to Uber.
In 2013, Uber signed a lease with Hudson Pacific Properties Inc. (NYSE: HPP) for an 88,134-square-foot space in San Francisco. The ride-hailing app grew so fast that it leased another 130,434 square feet in 2014 at the San Francisco location, according to BizJournals.com.
If Uber wants to create a campus like Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) or Facebook Inc. (Nasdaq: FB) after a successful IPO, it could lease one of Hudson's other San Francisco properties, Rincon Center, which has over 580,000 square feet.
Uber is also locked into that lease until 2024, which means seven more years of revenue from just one business. Uber accounts for 3.2% of Hudson Pacific's revenue, according to FactSet.
Hudson also has another huge tech client, Netflix Inc. (Nasdaq: NFLX), which just signed a lease for a 91,000-square-foot space in January.
And that solid revenue stream has analysts bullish on HPP stock...
Of the analysts who cover HPP, 75% recommended it as a "Buy" or "Overweight" in October. On Aug. 3, brokerage firm D.A. Davidson & Co. placed a "Buy" rating on HPP with a one-year price target of $43.00.
From yesterday's (Nov. 6) opening price of $34.38 per share, that's a potential profit of 25.07%. On top of that, HPP also pays its shareholders a dividend of $0.25, which is a yield of 2.89%.
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