<p>For their latest company interview, Lord Lee and Alex Newman sit down with Lawrence Hutchings, who joined <a href="https://www.investorschronicle.co.uk/content/ae442c30-99b0-4d53-b062-0f91ad990364?utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_source=acast&amp;utm_campaign=editorial" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Workspace</a> as CEO in November 2024.</p><br><p>That conversation, which was taped on 9 January, was to be one of Hutchings' last in the role. Ten days after the recording, and amid mounting <a href="https://markets.investorschronicle.co.uk/data/equities/tearsheet/summary?s=WKP:LSE" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">activist pressure</a> from shareholder <a href="https://www.investorschronicle.co.uk/content/db4013ac-71de-4f6b-8fb0-017d7fd930f2?utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_source=acast&amp;utm_campaign=editorial" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Saba Capital</a>, Workspace abruptly announced Hutchings would be replaced as CEO by Charlie Green, co-founder of the Office Group.</p><br><p>Despite this, we are publishing the conversation below, together with some of John's initial thoughts. Commenting on his own appointment, Green said "the strategy in place is clear and provides the right platform to rebuild occupancy and drive income growth over time." Presumably that means a degree of continuity.</p><br><p>Let us know your thoughts on the move, or if you have any questions or any suggestions for future guests, by emailing [email protected]</p><p>Listen to more podcasts from Investors’ Chronicle on&nbsp;<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/investors-chronicle/id951671327" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Apple</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/0UXC2zQdVzl1n57gqO5oBp" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Spotify</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/InvestorsChronicle" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">YouTube</a></p><br><p>Timestamps</p><br><p>0:09 Intro</p><p>5:52 Background on Workspace</p><p>11:45 Short term rental market</p><p>16:06 Creative industries </p><p>19:54 Occupancy levels</p><p>24:07 John's views on Workspace</p><p>28:25 Lessons from other property sub-sectors</p><p>29:48 Asset disposal programme </p><p>39:36 Saba Capital</p><p>43:20 The optimism scale</p><p>47:14 Update on John's portfolio</p><br><p><br></p><br><p><a href="https://www.investorschronicle.co.uk/?utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_source=acast&amp;utm_campaign=podcast" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Investors' Chronicle</a> has supported private investors in the UK for over 160 years by highlighting rewarding <a href="https://www.investorschronicle.co.uk/investment-ideas/?utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_source=acast&amp;utm_campaign=podcast" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">investment</a> opportunities. </p><br><p>Investors' Chronicle is a service by the <a href="https://www.ft.com/?utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_source=acast&amp;utm_campaign=podcast" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Financial Times</a>.</p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>