Varde sells flexible workspace operator to Sirius for £380m

London-listed Sirius Real Estate is to pay alternative investment firm Värde Partners £380 million to acquire its UK regional flexible workspace provider BizSpace.

BizSpace has operations in 72 locations in Britain with a total of 4.3 million sq ft of industrial, mixed-use and office space, and is home to more than 3,250 small and medium sized businesses.

Varde acquired the company in 2015 for £139 million in a debt-for-equity swap and has since completed different initiatives intended to add value. These have included acquiring more than 20 sites, disposing of non-core assets and upgrading assets as well as strengthening the management team.

“Having successfully grown and repositioned the business, we believe BizSpace is incredibly well-positioned to capitalise on the changing use of commercial real estate,” said Värde Partners senior managing director Tony Iannazzo. “As the nature of workspace use continues to shift, the company is underpinned by a proven operating platform capable of meeting the evolving needs of SMEs.”

The acquisition is expected to close in Q4 2021 and is conditional upon completion of Sirius Real Estate’s capital raise.

DTRE is property adviser to Värde Partners in connection with the transaction.