UK office space provider IWG announced on Thursday that it will raise gross proceeds of £320 mln through the issue of new shares, as it looks to benefit from future demand for flexible workspace amid the coronavirus crisis.
‘The current environment is presenting an increased number of attractive organic and inorganic opportunities to accelerate the growth and development of the business,’ the company said in a statement.
These include M&A opportunities which the Group intends to take appropriate advantage of, but also organic expansion and rescue situations, which the company expects to see more of in the future.
IWG placed 134 million shares at a price of 239 pence, representing a discount of 8.1% to the middle market closing price of 260.2 pence on 27 May 2020.
As part of the placing, CEO Mark Dixon has agreed to subscribe for 38 million, equating to £91.3 mln and representing 28.53% of the total number of shares offered.
IWG said earlier this week that while its overall performance has been impacted by reduced revenue from ancillary services it provided during the pandemic, it has not seen a major impact on the business, with the second quarter expected to be more challenging.
