Flexible office group IWG lost a tenth of its stock market value today, after it warned investors of the ongoing damage to its business from the coronavirus pandemic.
The company, whose brands include Regus and Spaces, said in a trading update this morning that its EBITDA for 2021 will now be “well below” that of 2020, when it stood at £1.2bn.
The group added that occupancy levels in its offices are “lower than previously anticipated” and that “this will delay the anticipated recovery in our business and, given the operational gearing of the group, is expected to have a significant impact on the group’s results for 2021”.
Chief executive Mark Dixon said in last week’s EG interview that the company is “built to last”, despite Covid pushing it to a £650m loss last year.
“We had a terrible year financially, but the business itself has been unbelievably resilient because it had been set up that way,” he added.
After opening at 366.5p, the company’s shares sank as low as 301p before recovering to 343.2p and ending the day at 328.9p, down by more than 10%. That marked the sharpest fall in the FTSE 350 index.
The FTSE 100 ended the day at 7,077, up by 0.1%, while the FTSE 250 stood at 22,908, up 0.3%.
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