Workspace sells housing arm of Riverside redevelopment
Workspace bets on office and commercial demand as housing arm of Wandsworth redevelopment sold ahead of new business center
- Workspace said the office building would contain 153,000 square feet of rentable space
- The Riverside development aims to attract small and medium-sized businesses
Property group Workspace has sold the residential segment of the Riverside mixed-use project in London’s Wandsworth for £54 million.
Just under £44 million will be received immediately by the developer as part of the deal, with a further £10 million being paid out in March next year.
The FTSE 250 company vacated housing at the Riverside site in December ahead of a major redevelopment, which will see the construction of a major new business center called Riverside Factory.
Scheme: Workspace has sold the housing arm of the Riverside mixed-use redevelopment in London’s Wandsworth for £54m (Photo: Riverside CGI render)
Workspace said the building would contain 153,000 square feet of rentable space, including five floors of workshop and commercial space, while the ground floor will house a light industrial unit.
Like the vast majority of holdings in the company’s 60 London locations, the South West London development is designed to attract small and medium-sized businesses.
It also said the building would receive an energy performance certificate of A, the highest possible score an office or home can have, along with heat pumps, smart meters and bike storage facilities.
From the beginning of April, commercial landlords will no longer be allowed to rent or extend rent on a home with a minimum ‘E’ EPC rating. This rule will be tightened in 2030 when buildings require at least a B label.
Workspace initially received planning permission from Wandsworth Borough Council to build the center and over 400 homes in December 2020, during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Last September, an amendment allowed the number of homes to be increased to 433. By then, however, the group planned to sell the Riverside residential portion.
The project will be completed in six phases and will consist of 30 percent affordable housing and one- to four-bedroom apartments.
Chief executive Graham Clemmett said: ‘We are looking forward to adding a major new business center to our portfolio, adjacent to the residential development, with excellent access from Garratt Lane and just a five-minute walk from Earlsfield railway station.
“By repositioning aging sites into attractive, sustainable, mixed-use space, we can expand our strong footprint of high-quality workspace across London and deliver on our strategy of employment-led regeneration in the areas we operate.”
Workspace shares were 3.7 percent lower at 456.4p at the close of trading on Friday. They have shrunk by about 22 percent over the past 12 months amid mounting economic uncertainty.
Commercial real estate values are expected to fall this year due to rising interest rates and the trend of working from home, making companies more reluctant to rent additional office space.