Workspace Group CEO to retire this year

The chief executive Workspace Group has announced his intention to retire on Thursday after 16 years with the London-focused office provider, as the company reported higher rent rolls and pricing during its third quarter.

Graham Clemett, who has been CEO for the past five years but served as chief financial officer for 11 years prior, said "it feels the right time" to step away.

"The company is in great shape and well positioned in the current market. I am confident that, with the fantastic team we have across the business, Workspace has an exciting future and will continue to go from strength to strength," he said.

Workspace didn't give a timeline for his retirement, but said Clemett would retire sometime this year once his successor has been appointed and an appropriate handover completed.

In a separate trading update, the company announced it had completed 312 new lettings in the quarter ended 31 December, with a total rental value of £7.6m per annum. Like-for-like rent roll was up 1% in the quarter, rising 7.4% since the start of the financial year in March.

Like-fo-like rent per square foot rose 1.7% in the quarter to £43.63, while like-for-like occupancy was more or less stable at 88.2%, compared with 88.6% at the half-year stage.

The stock was down 0.3% at 522.5p by 0850 GMT.