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Workspace Group PLC on Wednesday reported broadly stable occupancy rates, but a lower rent roll in its third quarter, maintaining it had made strategic progress. The London-based flexible office space provider said like-for-like occupancy edged up 0.9 of a percentage point on-quarter to 81.2% in the three months ended December 31. Rent per square foot fell by 1.4% on a like-for-like basis to £47.13 from £47.79, resulting in a 0.1% like-for-like quarterly decline rent roll to £104.1 million from £104.2 million. Total rent roll for the third quarter fell 3.1% to £129.2 million from £133.3 million on-quarter. The firm attributed the rent roll decline to ‘a pragmatic approach to pricing, particularly on larger units’, adding: ‘Occupancy and rents for smaller units, our core product, were stable in the quarter.’ Workspace shares were up 1.3% at 418.00 pence on Wednesday morning in London, having fallen 8.3% in the past year. It cited a ‘slow market’ with fewer enquiries in the third quarter, as these slipped to 568 from 666 in the second quarter and 628 the year prior. Viewings were down to 444 from 519 on-quarter and 457 on-year. ‘Enquiries and viewings were impacted by the usual seasonal downturn in activity in December, as well as the late timing of the Autumn Budget, which created uncertainty and meant some customers were deferring decisions,’ Workspace said. Lettings were marginally lower on-quarter at 107 versus 109 but were up from 91 lettings a year earlier. Workspace said it had improved occupancy by focusing on customer retention and letting larger units. The company noted ‘capital-light upgrades’, which it is rolling out across ‘high conviction’ properties, and an October agreement with property operator Qube, which plans to develop a digital content creator hub at The Old Dairy site in Shoreditch. The current occupant is due to leave early February, with Qube’s 20-year lease starting later that month. Workspace Chief Financial Officer Dave Benson commented: ‘We are encouraged by the progress made in the quarter against our fix, accelerate, scale strategy, with some improvement in occupancy and good momentum on the disposal of low conviction assets. ‘We know we still have a long way to go to fully stabilise and rebuild occupancy, but these signs give us confidence that our strategy is delivering and that we are on the right path. We look forward to welcoming our new CEO, Charlie Green, in early February as we accelerate the execution of our strategy.’ Ex-CEO Lawrence Hutchings stepped down on Monday, after a little more than a year in the role, with Green hired to start on February 2. Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell, noted: ‘The timing may be pure coincidence, but Workspace CEO Lawrence Hutchings is leaving in the middle of a war against activist investor Saba,’ Coatsworth said. New York-based Saba Capital Management LP, which owns about 13.5% of Workspace, called for a managed wind-down, including an orderly sale of assets, repayment of debt and the return of capital to shareholders. Saba has argued that Workspace’s shares trade at one of the deepest discounts to net asset value in the UK REIT sector, reflecting what it sees as ‘a lack of confidence from the market’. It has made similar arguments at several other UK-listed investment firms, where it has called for board overhauls to address underperformance, giving Saba a reputation for agitation. Copyright 2026 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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