Workspace Group

Infobox Company
company_name = Workspace Group PLC
company_
company_type = Public (LSE|WKP)
foundation = 1987
location = Whitechapel Road, London, United Kingdom
key_people = Antony Hales (Chairman of the board), Harry Platt (CEO)
area_served = Greater London
industry = Property
products = Commercial property for SMEs
revenue = £61 million (yr to Mar 2007)cite web |url=http://www.workspacegroup.co.uk/repository/documents/corporate/WORKSPACE_AR2007.pdf |title=Annual Report 2007 |publisher=Workspace Group |accessdate=2008-05-24]
net_income = profit £193.4 million (yr to Mar 07)
operating_income = profit £133.1 million (yr to Mar 07)
num_employees = 170 (2007)
parent =
subsid =
homepage = [http://www.workspacegroup.co.uk www.workspacegroup.co.uk]
intl = yes

Workspace Group plc (LSE|WKP) is a real estate investment trust [cite news|url=http://www.forbes.com/afxnewslimited/feeds/afx/2007/06/11/afx3806920.html|title=Workspace Group FY pretax profit falls; cautious on rising interest rates|date=11 June, 2007|work=AFX News|publisher=Forbes|accessdate=2008-05-24] based in London, England. Founded in 1987 by the privatisation of property assets of the former Greater London Council, the company lets office, industrial and workshop space to small and medium-sized enterprises. The firm is a former constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.

History

The company was founded under the name London Industrial in 1987 as a vehicle for the disposal of the commercial property assets of the defunct Greater London Council.cite web|url=http://www.workspacegroup.co.uk/about_us/history/|title=Company history|publisher=Workspace Group|accessdate=2008-05-25] Financed by a group of twelve investors, the company acquired 18 properties from the London Residuary Body, which was charged with disposing the GLC's assets. The firm listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1993 with a market cap of around £30 million, [cite news|url=http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/article399123.ece|title=Judgment Day: Should you buy shares in Workspace Group?|date=5 December, 2004|work=The Sunday Times|accessdate=2008-05-25] and subsequently expanded geographically with the purchase of industrial estates in the West Midlands. The company changed its name to Workspace Group PLC in 1997. [cite web|url=http://www2.hemscott.com/equities/company/summary/c02510m.stm|title=Workspace Group PLC: Summary Details|date=2 May, 2006|publisher=Hemscott|accessdate=2008-05-25]

The £80 million purchase of 23 London properties from Tonex in 1999 increased the Workspace portfolio by 40%, [cite news|url=http://www.citywire.co.uk/adviser/-/news/market-and-shares/content.aspx?ID=209178|title=Workspace making a name for itself|last=Wallen|first=Joanne|date=9 May, 2006|work=Citywire|accessdate=2008-05-25] while the Midlands investments were sold off two years later as the group chose to concentrate on the capital region. Along with eight other major British property companies, Workspace converted to real estate investment trust status upon their introduction to the UK in January 2007. [cite news|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2007/01/08/cmreit10.xml|title= Reits of passage: a new era for property funds|last=Farrow|first=Paul|date=8 January, 2007|work=The Daily Telegraph|accessdate=2008-05-25]

Portfolio

98% of Workspace Group's property portfolio lies within the M25 (its only three sites outside Greater London are in Maidenhead, Berkshire and Harlow and Basildon, Essex). The portfolio, valued at just over £1 billion, comprises a (largely freehold) mix of office buildings, industrial estates, serviced offices and warehouses primarily for let to small and medium-sized enterprises.

References

External links

* [http://www.workspacegroup.co.uk Official website]