Leading London office provider Office Space in Town (OSiT) recently announced that it has taken back full ownership of its portfolio after successfully acquiring Brightbay Real Estate Partners’ 80% share. This recent buyout marks a major milestone for the future trajectory of the business and the start of OSiT’s plans to increase the value of their portfolio to £500m in the next four years and then on to £1bn by 2029.
With these large growth plans, and as the demand for flexible workspace continues to increase, OSiT is actively looking to purchase new buildings in prime London locations.
OSiT was founded in 2009 by Giles and Niki Fuchs and builds on the 40-year heritage of the Fuchs family in serviced offices. The company, one of the UK’s most experienced flexible office providers, combines distinctive corporate offices with exceptional business support services across London, Northampton and Cardiff. The company’s largest presence is in London, where it currently operates six flexible offices across prime locations, including Liverpool Street, Monument, St Paul’s and Farringdon, Waterloo and Blackfriars.
Giles Fuchs, Chairman of OSiT, said:
“This deal marks the beginning of an incredibly exciting chapter in OSiT’s growth. This new phase will enable the OSiT team to deliver on our ambitious vision for the future, including our active search to acquire new buildings and plans to grow the portfolio value to £1bn.
“Our partnership with Brightbay showcased just how much value potential institutional investors see within our rapidly growing sector and in OSiT as a business. I would like to thank the entire team, including Stephen Oakenfull and Adrian Horsburgh, for such an exciting journey.”
The recent acquisition follows a period of exponential growth for the flexible workspace sector following the COVID-19 pandemic, which has seen demand increase by 82% on pre-pandemic levels. As workers return to offices, 41% of occupiers are expected to increase use of flexible workspace as part of a post-COVID
work strategy.
With the above in mind, defining an industry-wide valuation standard for flexible offices remains a major priority for the company in the next six months, with talks ongoing between OSiT and leading academics like Professor Neil Dunse and Professor Michael White.
Simon Eastlake, Managing Director at Office Space in Town, said:
“Full ownership of the OSiT portfolio marks an important milestone that now sets us on track for a new phase of exciting growth. We are actively seeking new buildings and partners that share our vision and enthusiasm for the sector. We’re incredibly excited about what the future holds next for OSiT.”
In 2018, RDI REIT acquired an 80% stake in the portfolio of four central London OSiT assets from Forum Partners, Kailong Group and OSiT, which marked a continued move by mainstream institutional investors into the flexible office market.
During the process of the deal, OSiT was advised by lawyers at leading City law firm RPC, led by Tom Purton.
Tom Purton, Head of Commercial Team at RPC, said:
“We were delighted to act for OSiT on what is a very significant and transformational deal for them. I have known and acted for OSiT for a number of years, but this was the first deal we have done for them since my move to City law firm, RPC in 2021. OSiT is a great business, has a very strong management team, a unique culture which inspires huge loyalty amongst its workforce with market leading serviced offices. I have no doubt this deal will help take the business to the next level”.
For more information visit: www.officespaceintown.com