LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Workspace said on Wednesday that it swung to a loss in the first half, with income hit as customers vacated or downsized due to the Covid-19 pandemic, as it deferred a decision on dividend payments.
In the six months to 30 September, the company swung to a pre-tax loss of £110.4m from a profit of £99.1m in the first half of last year, as the property valuation declined 4.9% from the end of March to £2.45bn. Net rental income slumped 39% to £36.5m.

Workspace noted an increase in customers vacating and downsizing due to the pandemic. Like-for-like occupancy fell by 7.8% to 85.5%, while rent per square foot was down 3.3% to £40.61. The LFL rent roll declined 11.6% to £98.8m.

However, the company said it had seen a "significant" improvement in new customer demand under eased restrictions, reaching near pre-Covid levels in September.

Workspace said it had decided to defer a decision on dividend payment until the full year, in light of the current pandemic and the recent return to lockdown.

Chief executive Graham Clemett said: "Like so many businesses, we have had a challenging first half as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Despite the difficult environment, we have delivered a resilient performance which has highlighted the strength of our offering and business model.

"There is no doubt that people's expectations of the office are changing. Although this trend has been apparent to us for several years, the pandemic has accelerated fundamental changes to the role and requirements of the office for an increasing number of businesses and their employees. As the economy recovers from Covid-19, businesses will need to be more agile and will expect the same from office space providers."

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