Workspace Group is looking for sites as the London office market “comes back to life”.
The London-focused flexible office space provider said it was “well positioned” to buy properties and invest in its project pipeline, with £318m of cash and a loan-to-value ratio of just 23%.
In a trading update for its second quarter, Workspace said that customer demand had improved, with a strong pick-up in activity in September leading to an average of 138 lettings per month.
Like-for-like, the firm’s rent roll nudged up by 2.1% to £87.3m, while occupancy was up 2.7% to 85.6%, and up 3.7% in the half year from a low of 81.9% in March. It has so far collected 97% of rent due.
Workspace said it had seen a “significant increase” in customers returning to their offices over the second quarter, although September’s mid-week peak was still only 56% of pre-Covid levels.
Chief executive Graham Clemett said: “It is great to see London coming back to life.” He added that it appeared to be SMEs that were leading this return. “These are positive signs of momentum,” he said, and further proof that “not all offices are created equal”.
“We are perfectly positioned to benefit from this shift and we are very excited about the future as we continue to expand our property footprint across London.”
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