Sale of First Phase of Poplar Business Park

RNS Number : 9142S

Workspace Group PLC

30 September 2014

Workspace GROUP PLC

sale of FIRST phase of POPLAR BUSINESS park london, e14

Workspace Group PLC ("Workspace"), London's leading provider of space to new and growing companies, is pleased to announce that it has contracted for sale the residential element of the first phase of its mixed use redevelopment at Poplar Business Park, E14 (Poplar") to Telford Homes plc ("Telford"), the London-focused residential property developer.

The first phase of three in the redevelopment comprises 170 apartments (of which 50 are affordable housing) and 8,000 sq.ft of light industrial space. In return for the sale of the planning consent for the apartments to Telford, Workspace will receive:

· £16.3m in cash once vacant possession has been achieved (expected to be February 2015) with the loss of £0.2m of rental income;

· Delivery of 8,000 sq. ft. of new industrial space at no cost; and

· Overage of 35% on private residential sales in excess of £730 per sq.ft.

Workspace previously obtained planning consent on this four acre industrial estate in September 2013 for a total of 392 apartments (of which 80 are affordable housing) and 70,000 sq.ft of business and light industrial space. The overall site was valued by CBRE at £32.4m at 31 March 2014.

The redevelopment of Poplar Business Park, which is located 800m away from Canary Wharf, adjacent to Crossrail and DLR Stations and within a few minutes' walk from Wood Wharf, is part of the broader regeneration and transformation of the area, with several other large scale residential developments underway.

Jamie Hopkins, Chief Executive Officer of Workspace, said:

"We are delighted to announce the sale of the first phase of our mixed use scheme at Poplar, which demonstrates our ability to add significant value through asset management. By creating a thriving business and residential hub, this redevelopment provides a significant boost to the transformation of this area."

For media enquiries please contact:

Workspace Group PLC
Jamie Hopkins, Chief Executive Officer	020 7138 3300
Graham Clemett, Chief Financial Officer
Bell Pottinger Victoria Geoghegan Nick Lambert Elizabeth Snow	020 3772 2562