The boss of flexible office company IWG has dismissed a 17% fall in its share price as 'machine selling' and 'not rational', arguing that global economic uncertainty is boosting demand for hybrid workspaces. Mark Dixon, chief executive of the owner of Spaces and Regus, said the drop appeared to be driven by automated trading rather than fundamentals.
IWG reported a 6% rise in adjusted profit to $262m (£194m) for the first half of the year, but shares slumped after the company guided that adjusted profit for 2025 would be at the lower end of its previous range of $525m-$565m. Dixon, who owns 25% of the £1.9bn business, has seen the value of his personal stake fall 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. The company has expanded rapidly since the pandemic, but Dixon said economic uncertainty is now the main driver: 'It is a pretty volatile world out there. In the UK, it is a difficult economy … companies need to keep flexible.'
IWG had 220,000 rooms open in the first half, up 43% year-on-year, and raised its 2025 share buy-back target to at least $130m from $100m. Despite the sharp fall, shares are still up 19% year-to-date after rising more than 40% earlier.
On a possible US listing, Dixon said it was 'not currently a priority' but added: 'If there is a better multiple and more liquidity we may consider it.' The company, headquartered in Switzerland, faced pressure from a leading shareholder to swap its London listing for New York last year.
