Flexible leases will be a boon in the post-pandemic market: Workspace

18 Nov 2021 CW Team

On Wednesday, Workspace, the London-focused office-space provider, said that the demand for its flexible leases, which allows tenants to extend or decrease space instantly, will be an advantage in the post-pandemic market.

Office space operators are meeting a rocky road to recovery after battling lower rental levels and steep valuation dips in the wake of the pandemic when clients moved to remote working or downsized or vacated spaces. Workspace, which renders unfurnished spaces to customers ranging from architects and florists to craft beer brewers and app developers, essentially has two-year, short-term leases with a chance for a six-month rolling break.

Chief Financial Officer Dave Benson told the media that the customers have the chance to increase or cut the space quickly, and they do not have to wait two years or even six months. Workspace recorded a pretax profit of 3.4 million pounds for the six months ended Sept. 30, its first profit since the pandemic against the loss of 110.4 million pounds a year back.

Peel Hunt analysts told the media that Workspace is without a doubt on the road to improvement, but they believe it will take some time. But, the rent roll remains about 25% below its pre-Covid level, and the valuer proceeds to mark down the portfolio, driven by decreasing market rents. Workspace shares were down 1.3% as of 1242 GMT.

The FTSE 250 firm, which helps small and medium-sized companies, has some 3,000 customers and holds 40 million sq ft space across 60 buildings in London. Workspace said that return-to-office trends after the lifting of Covid-19 curbs in England had so far focused on clients from e-commerce, tech and fashion design sectors. The firm registered usage of its centres at around 55% of pre-pandemic levels. It additionally declared the procurement of smaller rival The Bus works in Islington for 45 million pounds.

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