Flexible office firm Workspace suffered a dip in enquiries and a big increase in rent as many return to permanent desk jobs.
The company’s average enquiries, viewings and lettings were all down in the first quarter of 2022/3 compared to the same period last year, when some pandemic restrictions were still in place.
It reported that the impact of bank holiday, the platinum jubilee and various strikes also impacted the level of demand, but overall leasing activity remained strong with 325 lettings in Q1.
Total rent roll increased by £24.3m to £135.3m in the quarter, while occupancy in recently completed project in Stratford, Hackney and Ladbroke Grove all significantly up. It also reported a £5m reduction in its debt following a major acquisition.
Chief Executive Officer of Workspace Group, Graham Clemett, said it had a good start to the year, with customer demand.. driving further like-for-like pricing growth and high occupancy levels.”
“We continue to closely monitor the wider economic situation but are not currently seeing any meaningful impact on customer demand. As we have consistently demonstrated in the past, in these more challenging business environments our active operational capabilities combined with the attractions of our flexible offer and broad range of properties resonate strongly with our diverse customer base of agile, innovative SMEs.”
City A.M. (Jack Mendel) - https://www.cityam.com/flexible-office-firm-workspace-has-dip-in-enquiries-but-increase-in-rent-roll/
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