IWG boss dismisses 17% fall in share price as ‘machine selling'
IWG, which owns the Spaces and Regus brands, said its adjusted profit rose by 6% to $262m (£194m) for its first half of the year, but its shares plunged after it told investors it expected adjusted profit to end 2025 at the lower end of previous guidance of $525m-$565m.
Mark Dixon, IWG's chief executive, who owns 25% of the £1.9bn business, has seen the value of his personal stake drop by £96m.
'It is a strange reaction on the share price. It looks like it is machines selling … it is not rational,' he told the Guardian.
IWG has been growing at speed in recent years, after the pandemic revolutionised working patterns and demand for flexible office space. However, economic uncertainty is now the main driver behind demand, according to Dixon.
'It is a pretty volatile world out there,' he said. 'In the UK, it is a difficult economy … companies need to keep flexible and have no [capital expenditure] as you don't know what the economy has got to hold.
'It is globally similar. Even for Americans it is very volatile, people are acting in a conservative way.'
IWG had 220,000 rooms open across its portfolio in the first half, up 43% compared with the same period last year. It also announced a new share buyback target of at least $130m for 2025, up from an earlier goal of $100m.
Prior to the fall on Tuesday, IWG shares had risen by more than 40% since the start of the year. The stock is still up by 19% in the year to date.
Last year IWG, which is headquartered in Switzerland, faced pressure from one of its leading shareholders to swap its London stock market listing for the US. Dixon added that such a move was not currently a priority was something that was considered 'from time to time'.
Sign up to Business Today
Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning
after newsletter promotion
'If there is a better multiple and more liquidity we may consider it,' he said.
IWG is one of the biggest office space providers in the world. Dixon has been chief executive of the business since he struggled to find an office to rent for his own business in Brussels in 1989.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
5 minutes ago
- The Independent
Further delay in Roxy Media winding up case
Holly Willoughby's media company is set to return to a specialist insolvency court in November following the result of a tribunal appeal. Roxy Media, the media production and management firm run by the TV presenter and her husband Dan Baldwin, is facing winding-up proceedings from His Majesty's Revenue & Customs (HMRC). A hearing at the Insolvency and Companies Court in April heard that the firm owed £377,000 in tax, which had been reduced from an unknown amount. Lawyers for Roxy Media said last month that the company was seeking to take the case to a tax tribunal. The company applied for a further adjournment on Wednesday to await the outcome of that appeal. Jon-Selous Borlace, for HMRC, told the specialist court: 'The company said it filed an appeal to the First-Tier Tribunal.' ICC Judge Sally Barber allowed the adjournment 'to await the outcome of the appeal', setting the next hearing for November 12. Willoughby set up the company with her husband to specialise in managing media clients. Records on Companies House indicate that she was appointed as a director of the company in 2014, and Mr Baldwin in 2008. The presenter is best known for previously fronting ITV daytime show This Morning and Dancing On Ice.
The Independent
5 minutes ago
- The Independent
Reeves' ‘mansion tax' would stall home sales and fuel exodus of super-rich, experts warn
Property experts have warned that Rachel Reeves ' plans to levy a so-called 'mansion tax' on high-value properties would stall housing sales and add to the exodus of the super-rich from the UK. Mortgage brokers and financial planners have rounded on the chancellor after reports she is considering hitting the owners of expensive properties when they sell to plug a £40bn hole in the public purse. The mooted plans would see higher-rate taxpayers pay 24 per cent of any gain in the value of their home, while basic rate taxpayers would be hit with an 18 per cent levy. Currently, capital gains tax is not paid on the sale of primary residences. Proposals being considered for the autumn budget, the private residence relief would end for properties above a certain threshold, sources told The Times. The threshold is said to still be under consideration, but a £1.5 million starting point would hit around 120,000 homeowners who are higher-rate taxpayers with capital gains tax bills of £199,973. Financial adviser Scott Gallacher, director at Rowley Turton, said a level of £1.5m would prevent most older homeowners, particularly those who bought properties in the 80s and 90s, from selling houses. He added that the plans would 'kill off the upper end of the property market' and be difficult to implement. Mr Gallacher said: 'It would be insane if it creates a cliff edge in that properties over £1.5m are subject to Capital Gains Tax on the entire gain, as properties sold at £1.49m would incur no CGT whereas £1.5m might be a six-figure bill. If it's only on gains above £1.5m, then the CGT raised would be minimal, as potentially you'd be exempting six or even seven-figure gains.' He added: 'Homeowners, especially older ones, who perhaps bought their houses in the 1970s or 1980s, would be daft to sell and incur a huge CGT liability. Instead they would be incentivised to hold on to the home until they die and pay no CGT.' Meanwhile Simon Gerrard, chairman of Martyn Gerrard Estate Agents, warned the plans would leave families who bought homes in London more than a decade ago facing 'eye-watering' tax bills. 'Meanwhile, those who are actually wealthy know how to bypass these moves and won't pay it,' he said. He told The Independent: 'After the deadline passes people will simply not sell their homes. The property market above the threshold will die until Labour are voted out and the policy is repealed under a more sensible government.' Laith Khalaf, head of investment analysis at AJ Bell, said the tax-free nature of primary residences is 'deeply embedded in the psyche of homeowners'. He warned: 'A mansion tax set at high level would naturally cause people to worry it was just the thin end of the wedge, and the next time the government needs a bit of money they could just lower the threshold. 'It would also be an impediment to mobility in the housing market, as those with properties which might fall foul of the tax would be inclined to sit on them for longer, leaving a log jam in the housing ladder below them.' And critics warned the tax change would add to the reported exodus of super-rich individuals fleeing Britain. 'I can see a lot of families in London being caught with this higher tax bill, and it may push more wealthy tax contributors to exodus the UK, which is already a problem following the Chancellor 's last budget,' said Stephen Perkins, managing director of Yellow Brick Mortgages. The Treasury was asked to comment.
The Independent
5 minutes ago
- The Independent
Newcastle United hit back at Alexander Isak's social media statement
Newcastle United have rejected striker Alexander Isak 's claim that he was promised a summer exit, stating he remains under contract. Isak accused the club of 'broken promises' and declared 'trust is lost', asserting that a transfer is now in everyone's best interest. The club issued a strong statement denying any such commitment and indicated that the conditions for a sale, including a rejected £110m bid from Liverpool, would not be met. Isak has not featured for Newcastle in pre-season or their opening league match, reportedly due to a thigh injury, and is training separately. The dispute comes as Newcastle began the season without a recognised striker, having failed to secure other transfer targets.
