Workspace (WKP) announced the acquisition of a warehouse-style office near Farringdon Crossrail station a few days before its full-year results, due on Wednesday. It has bought 25 & 28 Easton Street for £16.55m from Amnesty International, the current occupier. The plan is to lease it back to Amnesty for two years, after which it will be reconfigured and let as a business centre.
The provider of flexible office space is likely to have roughly doubled its book value in the last two years, thanks to a combination of rising rents and capital appreciation. More is to come: the analysts at Panmure Gordon hint at the prospect of compound NAV growth of nearly 19 per cent a year for the next three years. Crucially, at a time of rising rents Workspace benefits from operating relatively short-term leases, as rent levels stay close to market rates.