Entrepreneur Mark Dixon whetted the City’s appetite over the destiny of his £2.2 billion serviced offices empire IWG on Tuesday as the firm said it was exploring a “range of potential strategic opportunities”.
Dixon, who founded the former Regus in Brussels 30 years ago, still has a 27% stake in the firm which attracted a host of suitors during the summer.
The interest from potential buyers, including Guy Hands’ buy-out house Terra Firma, has prompted the multi-millionaire to consider options including spinning off its faster-growing Spaces business, or boosting growth and returns by selling off its property and accelerating expansion through a franchising model.
IWG said today: “The board continues to explore a range of potential strategic opportunities to deliver increased value and returns for shareholders… We expect increased franchising activity and our pipeline of franchise opportunities is strong across both existing and new geographies. We are also in discussions with a number of interested parties who wish to partner with us across entire countries.”
IWG shares have had a bumpy ride this year after the takeover interest and two profit warnings but gained 13.2p, or 5%, to 250.1p today.
Third-quarter revenues were up 13% and results should be in line with reduced guidance.
