Workspace offices shows entrepreneurs are back in the office even as corporate giants WFH

When Margaret Thatcher disbanded the Greater London Council in the eighties, hundreds of its old buildings became unoccupied and available for use by private renters.

Most were light industrial units, which fell out of favour over the years, so the managers of the newly-privatised estate traded out and into offices, mostly outside the city centre.

Now, the property portfolio is called Workspace, and claims to be the city’s biggest owner of serviced offices.

With a £1.5 billion stock market value, it’s a sizable operation with an underpowered brand - an issue management are trying to address with a publicity campaign soon.

The shares took a knock recently after a broker note warned workers weren’t coming back into the city post-Covid.

But a recent visit to a Kennington unit suggested otherwise.

There, while some offices were still empty, most weren’t, and there was a buzz of trendy young folks (think: tight jeans and WG Grace beards) huddled over coffees in the communal areas.

The point is, Workspace specialises in renting to SMEs, mostly in tech or e-commerce. And, providing the office is convenient and pleasant, tenants are returning in big numbers.

Across the Workspace estate in total, around 30% of are back in, but in suburban areas, that’s nearer 50%.

This is way higher than most offices and explains why Workspace could today confidently predict 90-plus percent of rents would be paid for the first quarter.

Enquiries for new bookings are still down on pre-Covid levels but have been jumped every month since January.