Workspace reports a confident third quarter despite ‘work from home’ orders
Workspace Group reported a “strong demand” from customers, as the workspace rides out the Covid variant storms.
London’s leading provider of flexible offices reported that customer demand remained strong with an average in the quarter of 831 enquiries per month (Q3 2020/21: 672) and 117 lettings per month (Q3 2020/21: 109).
The growth has continued, with 487 enquiries and 248 viewings in the first two weeks of January.
Utilisation of business centres by customers fell back following the work from home guidance issued by the Government in December, but picked up in the first two weeks of January for Workspace. It is currently running at 43 per cent of pre-Covid levels, compared to 55 per cent of pre-Covid levels reached in November 2021.
Like-for-like occupancy has continued to improve in the third quarter, up one per cent to 86.6%, reflecting demand from both new customers and existing customer expansions.
Following this demand, the flexible office space acquired The Busworks in Islington for £45m in November 2021. This off-market acquisition was funded from existing facilities and provides 104,000 sq. ft. of net lettable space across two conjoined warehouse buildings on 1.6 acres.
£225m of cash and available facilities provides the group financial flexibility to continue to invest in the project pipeline and acquisition opportunities
Graham Clemett, chief exec, commented on the results: “It has been a good quarter, with continued positive momentum in occupancy and pricing. We are seeing strong demand for our space, with good levels of enquiries, viewings and lettings despite the renewed work from home guidance issued by the Government in December.’
“Our performance in the third quarter and early signs of trading in the fourth show that SMEs are looking through the current short-term uncertainty to choose the right space for their business longer-term. They are looking for flexible terms and attractive, sustainable office space in well-connected locations and Workspace is ideally placed to continue to capture this demand.”