As offices empty, revenue rockets for Space Solutions

Published on Wednesday 19 November 2008 20:49

COMPANIES squeezing income out of spare office space have boosted turnover to a record £12.8 million at workspace design company Space Solutions.

And the Aberdeen-based firm, bought out by management from commercial property company Chess Group in July last year, yesterday predicted that its turnover would rocket by 22 per cent to 15.5m in the current financial year. Profits came in at 1.06m.

In the first set of accounts filed with Companies House since the MBO, Space revealed that revenue in the 12 months to 30 June beat expectations as the company increased its order book "significantly".

Direct comparison figures are not available as the company's year-end changed following the MBO, but the previous turnover figure, for calendar year 2006, was 9.5m.

The company, which has more than 100 staff, said companies that had been forced to axe staff were looking to alter the layout of offices to allow them to rent out unused sections.

Managing director Steve Judge, who led the MBO with Derek Binnie, said: "There's a real air of gloom around the property market, so it may be surprising to hear that, as a business whose entire currency is property, we are actually doing very well at the moment.

"Companies being forced to manage overheads and dramatically reshape operations to face up to the current economic climate may not be realising the full potential of one of their greatest assets – their property."

He added: "With proper workplace analysis and space planning, businesses are finding they can make significant savings or create vital additional space for an expansion they thought was impossible because of difficulties securing bank finance."

Judge cited one major company his firm had worked with, which had identified enough unnecessary storage to free up an entire floor of the building, allowing the company to sublet 1,500sq ft.

He said September had been the company's most successful month to date, generating turnover of 1m more than the same period in 2007.

He added: "It was the first full year after our MBO so it's a sign of our commitment to consistently exceed client expectations that we were able to exceed our sales targets.

"The sustained growth also shows how many businesses have readily put their confidence in Space Solutions, and in particular the raft of services we can offer a company to transform its operation."

Earlier this year, Space Solutions opened its first office south of the Border, in Peterborough , adding to its existing hubs in Aberdeen, Dundee, Glasgow and Edinburgh. The company was established in Aberdeen ten years ago and opened its Edinburgh office in 2003.

Among recent contracts announced by the company are a 2.4m deal to transform drilling services company Stena's global headquarters, a further 1m of work for international energy company Marathon Oil – both in Aberdeen – and a 2m contract to provide architectural and design services for the refurbishment of the Tannahill Centre in Paisley.