By Laura McGuire
The boss behind one of London’s largest flexible office landlords has defended the health of the commercial property market, amid a period of flattening confidence fuelled by the uncertain future of Wework.
Enrico Sanna, the chief executive of Fora, which owns 62 flexible office spaces around London said the troubled situation Wework is facing “doesn’t reflect the strength of the market”.
His comments come as the future of London’s biggest tenant Wework has left many worried about the state of the sector.
Before Christmas, the trendy workplace provider filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the US after it racked up $3bn (£2.36bn) in debt.
It is now understood to be in talks to exit The Cursitor, a site in Holborn and the site is no longer listed on its website. This follows the closure of three sites in Shoreditch and one in Blackfriars.
“London has such a diverse, amazing office market and is the most highly penetrated flexible market in the world,” Sanna argued.
The former head of operating assets at Deutsche Bank said his firm is actually trading better than it was before the pandemic when office attendance was mandatory for most workers.
He said: “If you look at all the key metrics, such as the revenue per square foot and the occupancy, all those measures are better today at Fora than they were pre-pandemic.
“So we actually are the bright spot of the office [market].”
It’s clear the chief is doing something right. Occupancy rates across its high-spec flexible offices sit at 85 per cent and revenues are up 30 per cent year-on-year.
His comments come as major businesses across London are clamping down on their hybrid working policies and trying to get staff back in the office on a full-term basis.
Just last month, it was reported that ‘Big Four’ accountancy firm EY would record the swipe card entry of staff to show how frequently they are attending its workspace.
In December, Nationwide also scrapped its ‘work from anywhere’ policy and demanded staff back in the office for at least two days a week.
Sanna said Fora has “definitely” seen an increase in the number of workers flocking to its spaces.
“The middle of the week has always been quite popular. But now we see an increased footfall on Mondays. That helps lift the average so I think working patterns have changed,” he explained.
A study by the group showed that more than half of British workers under 35 are failing to perform at their best due to their working environment.
To boost productivity and encourage staff back into the workplace the chief said it is important to give employees “high quality, productive, engaging work environments”.
Fora’s rising success comes two years after the business merged with fellow flexible landlord The Office Group, in a deal which was rumoured to cost around £1.5bn at the time of its completion.
Sanna said: “I probably am the one to blame for the merger, I was always a huge fan of bringing these two businesses together.”
“I think in general, we have a much more resilient business. And one that offers more choices to customers than the two businesses on their own.”
This year the firm is plotting the opening of a handful of more spaces, including a new offices at Henry Wood House on London’s west end and will also boost its presence in the City with the opening of a space at Sixty London Wall.
“We definitely want to continue to grow.[and] we are very actively looking but the concept of over quantity is very dear to me,” he said.
