New chief at Workspace

Business space provider Workspace has named Jamie Hopkins as chief executive, with effect from 1 April 2012 as Harry Platt retires at the end of March.

Platt will remain with the firm until June 2012 in order to ensure an orderly handover, the group said in a company statement.

Commenting on the appointment chairman Danny Kitchen said, "Jamie was previously CEO at Mapeley and has been a non executive director at Workspace since June 2010. He knows the company well and brings both the property and operational expertise necessary for the role. We expect that Jamie's drive and enthusiasm will contribute significantly to the company's future progress.

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In a separate statement Workspace also announced results for the third quarter ended 31 December 2011. Overall occupancy rose 0.4% to 85.6% in quarter and 2% in the nine months. Like-for-like occupancy was unchanged at 87.5% in the quarter but was up 1.5% in the nine months.

Like-for-like cash rent roll increased £0.1m to £45.1m in the quarter and gained 3% or £1.3m in the nine-month period. Property valuation stood at £750m, with underlying valuation up 1.6% in the quarter and 3.9% in the nine months.

Workspace, which acquired three properties through BlackRock Workspace Property Trust for £21m, said it has accelerated its refurbishment and redevelopment programmes.

Commenting on the third quarter results Platt said Workspace is well positioned. "We are making steady progress in driving both occupancy and rent roll. Our lead indicators confirm the resilient demand for space across our London focused portfolio, with an encouraging pick up in enquiry levels since the turn of the year."

"There has been a good uplift in the property valuation over the last nine months. This reflects our activities in improving occupancy, rent roll and pricing and at the same time making progress on a range of refurbishment and redevelopment initiatives, in line with the plans we set out at the time of our rights issue last July," he added.