McKay Securities is set to be acquired by Workspace in a deal worth £272 million.

The Reading-based property investment company, which specialises in developing, refurbishing and managing commercial property in the South East and London, has agreed the deal which was announced by the London Stock Exchange on Wednesday (March 2).

McKay is recommending shareholders accept the offer.

Richard Grainger, chair of McKay said: “The McKay board’s recommendation of the acquisition follows a detailed and rigorous review during which we considered a broad range of options to unlock value for McKay shareholders and which determined Workspace’s proposal to be the most attractive.

“The offer from Workspace provides McKay shareholders with an opportunity to receive a return which values the business substantially above where it has been trading historically with a substantial proportion of this return payable in cash.

“It also provides McKay shareholders with the opportunity to participate in the future success of the enlarged and well capitalised Workspace Group, whose business model is well placed to meet post Covid-19 demand for high quality, flexible business space.”

Graham Clemett, chief executive officer of Workspace, said: “The market for office space is shifting, with businesses prioritising greater flexibility and the right location for their teams. This acquisition is a fantastic opportunity to accelerate our growth plans by capturing more of the strong demand we are seeing for our flexible offer in London, whilst selectively extending our reach into attractive commercial locations in the South East.

“We will be a larger, more resilient company with an enhanced financial profile, and by applying our proven operational model and expertise, we expect to generate strong returns from McKay’s portfolio of high-quality assets over the medium term.”

The full announcement can be seen at: https://www.londonstockexchange.com/news-article/WKP/recommended-acquisition-of-mckay-securities/15349985

Image (Google): McKay’s offices in Greyfriars Road, Reading.

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