Workspace Group PLC on Wednesday said the company continues to dispose of non-core assets amid falling property valuations.

The London-based owner and operator of flexible work space said in the financial year that ended March 31, pretax loss widened to £192.8 million from £37.5 million the year prior.

This was attributed to a 9.5% fall in property valuations to £2.45 billion from £2.74 billion

Net rental income increased to £126.2 million, up 8.2% from £116.6 million.

Workspace declared a final dividend of 19.00 pence per share, increasing 9.2% from 17.40p, bringing the full year dividend to 28.00p, up 8.5% from 25.80p.

Outgoing Chief Executive Officer Graham Clemett said: ‘Over the past year, we have successfully completed a wide range of projects delivering strong income returns alongside excellent progress against our 2030 environmental targets. At the same time, we are continuing with non-core disposals to further strengthen our balance sheet and invest in our value-add project activity.’

During the period, Workspace disposed £143 million worth of non-core asset, and since year-end the company sold three additional properties for £26.1 million combined.

‘The high levels of inflation we have seen over the last year, which have impacted on both our service charge and administrative costs, are reducing and are expected to have less impact in the coming year, albeit wage inflation remains significantly above historic norms,’ Workspace commented.

As announced in May, Lawrence Hutchings is due to become the company’s next head upon the completion his notice period at Capital & Regional PLC. A further update is expected shortly.

Workspace shares were up 2.3% to 563.64 pence each in London on Wednesday morning.

Copyright 2024 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.