Workspace rejects Saba's proposed wind-down plan

8th May 2026 10:51

(Sharecast News) - Workspace said on Friday that it has rejected a proposal by activist investor Saba Capital to wind down the company over a 12-month period to address the discount to net asset value.

Workspace said that following Saba's letter in January, which set out the proposal, it has engaged constructively with the investor. However, having "properly considered" it, the board concluded and has notified Saba that it is "not achievable, nor will it maximise value for shareholders".

Workspace said it was not in the best interests of the company and its shareholders as a whole. "Nevertheless, the board remains open to continuing a constructive dialogue with Saba Capital," it said.

The office space provider also said on Friday that it has received a shareholder request from Saba - which owns a stake of about 18.2% - to make changes to the board at the annual general meeting in July. New York-based Saba is calling for the removal of five of the current non-executive directors and the appointment of four new non-executive directors.

Workspace said it was "carefully reviewing" the requisition with its advisers.

Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell, said: "A mere 24 hours after declaring victory in its campaign against Herald Investment Trust, Saba has sharpened the knives for its next attack.

"While a serviced office provider might seem like a radically different target than the investment trusts Saba has pursued to date, Workspace does qualify as one given its status as a real estate investment trust.

"Saba has built up an 18.2% stake in the business and earlier this year called for Workspace to sell its assets to pay off debt and return the proceeds to shareholders. Saba believed this was the best solution to the company trading at a persistent discount to the underlying value of its assets.

"Saba said too many small shareholders controlled a large portion of the shares, deterring institutional investors from building positions, and making it hard for the company to raise meaningful amounts of money at a decent valuation to fund growth.

"Workspace says it has held talks with Saba but doesn't believe its proposals are the right ones. That has clearly irked the activist investor and prompted it to take the nuclear option of pushing for a major overhaul of the board.

"It creates a difficult situation for new CEO Charlie Green, whose appointment was announced 11 days after Saba's 'managed wind down' letter in January. Green would have known about Saba's demands before taking the top job, yet he might not have expected activist disruption to escalate, dominate his agenda, and cause a major distraction before he's had time to execute the business strategy."

At 1050 BST, Workspace shares were down 2% at 343.60p, also dented by a downgrade to 'underweight' from 'overweight' at Barclays.

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