IWG PLC (LON:IWG) saw its shares slump in early trading Wednesday after it issued a profit warning despite strong global sales activity.
In a trading update, the FTSE 250 workspace provider said its UK business was “not performing to management expectations” and that it was “accelerating” its network growth which would incur short-term opening losses and incremental overhead costs.
READ: Bidding war for IWG heats up as Terra Firma Investments joins the race
As a result, IWG said its operating profit for the 2018 financial year was expected to be around £15mln-£20mln less than management’s prior expectations.
The announcement has the potential to cause ripples through the current bidding war for IWG, with the firm announcing on Monday that it had been approached with a takeover offer from private equity firm Terra Firma Investments Ltd, following previous interest from investment and private equity groups TDR Capital, Starwood Capital, and Prime Opportunities.
Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, commented that a profit warning in the middle of takeover talks “isn’t going to help get the best price for the business”.
He added that the company has previously blamed Brexit worries as the cause of reduced UK performance as international companies lose interest in London, however the company had “seemed to signal a more bullish view earlier this year by expanding its presence in London in anticipation of a pick-up in the market.”
Artjom Hatsaturjants, research analyst at Accendo Markets, was more upbeat about the company’s prospects: “While UK business conditions are disappointing for IWG (London market hit by persistent Brexit uncertainty), they make up just 18% of the company’s profits and IWG is hoping that other regions can compensate.
He added: “A new profits warning from the workspace provider is no doubt unpleasant, but could be merely a hiccup for the company that is expecting higher investments to start showing some payoff in H2 2018. Grin and bear it, everyone?”
IWG shares were down 4.2% at 310.5p.
--Adds analyst comments and updates share price--