Shareholder demands IWG switches its listing to New York

The serviced offices provider that owns Regus has been told by one of its largest shareholders to move its stock market listing to the United States “immediately”.
Buckley Capital Management said that switching from London to New York would help to boost IWG’s flagging share price, which is struggling 60 per cent below its pre-pandemic level.
In an open letter to the company and other shareholders, Buckley noted that the “share price continues to languish”, despite IWG’s adjusted underlying earnings (the company’s preferred profit metric) being on track to reach a record high this year.
“It is clear to us that there exists a significant dislocation between the current share price and the intrinsic value of the company,” Zack Buckley, managing director of the Miami-based Buckley Capital, said in the letter.
“Trading on the London Stock Exchange is not rewarding IWG with the valuation multiple we believe it deserves. In contrast, we believe that a US listing would expose IWG to a new and more liquid market with investors who have greater appreciation of its leverage levels and business model.” Similar businesses in America, such as Airbnb, the holiday rentals booking site, and Marriott, the hotels group, traded at higher valuation multiples, he said.
Buckley, which began investing in IWG in 2023 and says it is among the 15 largest holders, also suggested that a “major share buyback” programme should be initiated as another way to lift the share price.
IWG, which has about 3,700 centres in 120 countries, was founded by Mark Dixon in 1989. Dixon, 64, who retains a 25 per cent stake, opened his first office in Brussels after noticing that local business people were conducting meetings in coffee shops.
IWG rents out serviced office space under brands including Regus and Spaces, typically on shorter, more flexible deals than traditional office leases. About half of its revenue and a slightly greater proportion of its profits come from America.
The group has already switched its reporting currency to dollars and is in the process of adopting American “generally accepted accounting principles” when reporting its results. Sam Dindol, a business services analyst at Stifel, the broker, said that talk of a move to the US was “not new and appears to be the direction of travel”.
Were IWG to make such a move, it would join a catalogue of London-listed firms that have been attracted to New York’s stock market. CRH, the building materials group, made the jump at this time last year. Flutter, the owner of Paddy Power, moved this summer, as did Indivior, the drugs maker. Shares in CRH have risen by more than 50 per cent since it moved its primary listing a year ago.
Dixon has suggested previously that he may be open to such a move, but said that “it’s not top of the list” of priorities for the board. Last month he said: “The listing question is one for the board and for our investors, but what is clear is that we’re getting more US investors on the register and if it is more convenient for them that we’re listed in the US, then the board may consider that.”
Buckley said that if the shares did not respond to moving the stock market listing to New York or from the share buybacks, bosses should “explore a sale of the business in the private markets”.
A spokesman for IWG declined to comment on Buckley’s letter. IWG shares rose 4½p, or 2.6 per cent, to 175p in afternoon trading.