Queensgate Investments has appointed Lazard to ‘explore strategic options’ for its serviced office business, London Executive Offices.
The business controls 33 serviced offices totalling around 745,000 sq ft in Belgravia, Mayfair, Midtown and the City.
These include sites at 33 St James’s Square, 1 Cornhill, 78-79 Pall Mall, 288 Bishopsgate, and 17 Cavendish Square.
Queensgate said the average tenant stay at London Executive Offices (LEO) was 38 months. Tenants range from blue chip firms to start ups, and there are a large proportion of virtual office clients generating high-margin income.
Since acquiring the business in 2013, Queensgate has added twelve assets, implemented a significant capital expenditure upgrade program, overseen a re-brand to London Executive Offices and managed an operational turnaround.
LEO revenues are north of £80m, occupancy is approaching 90% and EBITDA under Queensgate has increased by 210%.
Queensgate Investments is a joint venture between the Kow Family, the LJ Partnership and the Peterson Group, and advises and manages around £1.6bn worth of real estate.
Jason Kow, chief executive officer of Queensgate, said: “Queensgate is proud to have successfully implemented a turnaround of LEO into a market leader in the UK serviced office market.
“Going forward LEO has significant further growth opportunities from horizontal expansion into identified owned and leased properties. LEO post turnaround also has an attractive running yield which is particularly important in today’s low yield environment.
“LEO sales enquiries post Brexit have peaked given the unprecedented demand from dynamic businesses seeking flexibility and shorter lease terms. The UK serviced office market is expected to increase in value eight time to £126bn by 2025.
“Queensgate’s ownership of LEO has been hugely successful for all parties, and we look forward to continuing our strategy of identifying similarly attractive opportunities for our investors.”
If you are interested in serviced offices please call Gryphon Property Partners on 0203 440 9800 or click on the following link - Gryphon