Workspace Group PLC
05 May 2004
WORKSPACE ANNOUNCES £10M PROFIT ON DISPOSALS
AND £4.6M FULHAM ACQUISITION
Workspace Group PLC ('Workspace'), the leading provider of flexible business
accommodation to SMEs in London and the South East, has completed the disposal
of three sites for development for a consideration of £14.73 million.
It has also acquired a business centre in Fulham, London SW6 for £4.64 million.
Land at Hooley Lane, Redhill
Workspace has completed the sale of its nine-acre open storage unit at Hooley
Lane, in Redhill to housebuilder Wimpey Homes for £10 million. Hooley Lane was
acquired at auction in 1997 for £0.96 million. A further £1.3 million was spent
subsequently on acquiring interests to facilitate the development. The site is
being sold with the benefit of an outline planning consent for residential
development which has been obtained by Workspace. The site is being sold with
full vacant possession. The site was valued at 31 March 2003 at £9.5 million
showing a £0.5 million profit on disposal.
Site at Union Street, London, SE1
Workspace has also sold three adjoining sites between 112-140 Union Street to
Union Street Limited for £1.88 million. The sites were acquired originally in
1998 for £0.7 million as part of the No.1 Union Street acquisition. No.1 Union
Street was let to Sainburys PLC and sold subsequently to Chelsfield PLC in
December 2000.
Land at Kensal Road, London, W10
This 0.3 acre site, purchased in January 2003 at a cost of £1.5 million with
payment deferred to January 2004, has been sold for £2.85 million to Octavia
Housing Association.
Acquisition of The Quadrangle, Fulham, SW6
Workspace has also completed the acquisition of The Quadrangle, Atalanta Street,
Fulham, London, SW6 for £4.64 million. The Quadrangle is a former multi-storey
Victorian warehouse that was converted in the late 1980s to provide 25,566 sq.
ft. of office and studio space in 29 units around a central courtyard. The
building is currently 74% let, producing an income of £329,600 per annum. It
shows a net initial yield of 6.7% rising in June this year to 7.1% as a result
of fixed rental increases. At current rents, once the vacant units have been
let, the investment will be capable of generating an income yield based on the
purchase price nearer to 9%.
Harry Platt, Chief Executive commented,
' We are delighted to announce these disposals. This is another classic example
of the ability of the Workspace team to add significant value to many of our
sites. We have a number of initiatives under consideration where we are
confident that over the medium term, we can continue to realise the 'added
value' that we have created. These disposals show a surplus of £10 million over
the combined original costs of £4.65 million.
' The acquisition of The Quadrangle in Fulham is an excellent example of our
acquisition strategy for the coming financial year. The property is well located
and has very good potential for continued income growth. We know this part of
London well and The Quadrangle will compliment our other properties in the area
to extend the range of accommodation that we can offer to our SME customers.'
-ends-
Date: 5 May 2004
For further information contact:
Workspace Group PLC City Profile
Harry Platt, Chief Executive Simon Courtenay
Mark Taylor, Finance Director Chris Lane
020-7247-7614 020-7448-3244
e-mail: info@workspacegroup.co.uk
Web: www.workspacegroup.co.uk
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
*A Private Investor is a recipient of the information who meets all of the conditions set out below, the recipient:
Obtains access to the information in a personal capacity;
Is not required to be regulated or supervised by a body concerned with the regulation or supervision of investment or financial services;
Is not currently registered or qualified as a professional securities trader or investment adviser with any national or state exchange, regulatory authority, professional association or recognised professional body;
Does not currently act in any capacity as an investment adviser, whether or not they have at some time been qualified to do so;
Uses the information solely in relation to the management of their personal funds and not as a trader to the public or for the investment of corporate funds;
Does not distribute, republish or otherwise provide any information or derived works to any third party in any manner or use or process information or derived works for any commercial purposes.
Please note, this site uses cookies. Some of the cookies are essential for parts of the site to operate and have already been set. You may delete and block all cookies from this site, but if you do, parts of the site may not work. To find out more about the cookies used on Investegate and how you can manage them, see our Privacy and Cookie Policy
To continue using Investegate, please confirm that you are a private investor as well as agreeing to our Privacy and Cookie Policy & Terms.