Workspace swings into £33m loss

Office accommodation provider Workspace said the value of its portfolio fell 4.8% in the last quarter of 2007 to £1bn.

The write down resulted in a pre-tax loss of £33m for the nine months to the end of December, compared with an £85.2million profit for the same period in 2006.

However it saw a 3.3% of rental growth in the final quarter, and 8.4% over the nine months, while occupancy levels held steady at 86%.

Finance director Graham Clemett said the small business sector was not affected by the credit crunch to the same extent as financial services. ‘’There is a strong demand for office space in London, and supply is restricted for smaller businesses’’ he said. ‘’We will continue to increase market rents, to intensify sites and increase the amount of space available’’.