Sirius Real Estate (LSE:SRE) and Workspace Group (LSE:WKP) both let space to businesses rather than households, and both specialise in multi-let property serving smaller occupiers. Both are also FTSE 250 constituents. Yet their models, geographies and recent trajectories point in noticeably different directions.

That contrast answers the headline's "why". Sirius runs Business parks and light-industrial sites in Germany and the UK, and has been growing through acquisitions, including Assets let to defence-related tenants. Workspace provides flexible offices and studios in London and is resetting its strategy after a fall in rent roll, while fending off an activist shareholder.

This is an analytical explainer based on both companies' own 2026 announcements, not a reaction to a single day's news.

Business space for smaller occupiers

Multi-let business space means buildings or estates divided among many tenants rather than let to one. It tends to serve small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which value short or flexible leases.

The model is management-intensive, because landlords handle frequent lettings, service charges and customer turnover. In exchange, income is spread across many occupiers and space can be repriced often. In buoyant markets that lifts rents quickly; in weak ones, occupancy can fall faster.

Sirius Real Estate: acquisitive growth in Germany and the UK

Sirius owns and operates business parks, offices, storage and light-industrial space in Germany and, through its BizSpace platform, the UK. It is incorporated in Guernsey, listed in London and on the JSE in Johannesburg, and reports in euros. Its financial year ends on 31 March.

Its results for the year to 31 March 2026, published on 1 June, showed total rent roll, the annualised contracted rent, up 18.4% to €258.6m. The like-for-like figure, which strips out acquisitions, rose 6.4% to €224.2m, so roughly two-thirds of the growth came from buying assets. Sirius completed or notarised 13 acquisitions worth €463.3m during the year.

Funds from operations (FFO), a measure of recurring cash Earnings that excludes valuation movements, rose 8.4% to €133.5m, or 8.82 cents per share. The Dividend increased 4.1% to 6.40 cents, which the company described as its 25th consecutive increase. EPRA Net Tangible Assets (NTA) rose 4.3% to 122.71 cents per share, and the portfolio was valued at €2,969.4m.

Like-for-like occupancy improved to 86.5% in Germany and 91.7% in the UK. Defence is a newer theme: Sirius acquired €155.8m of assets with defence-related tenants during the year, although the chair noted that defence-related assets remain a modest proportion of the portfolio. Management said it was working towards an FFO target of €150m, with €175m as the next milestone.

Growth has been funded partly with debt. Net loan-to-value (LTV) rose to 36.1% from 31.4%, although the weighted average cost of Debt was a low 2.5%. Its announcement record shows further Acquisition activity after the year end, including a €49.8m completion in July.

Workspace: an earnings reset in London

Workspace is a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) providing flexible offices, studios and workshops for SMEs across London. Its financial year also ends on 31 March.

Its full-year results, published on 10 June 2026 under the title "Transforming to an Earnings-Focused Business", showed stabilised-portfolio rent roll down 4.6% to £108.3m and total rent roll down 8.6% to £127.3m. Stabilised occupancy fell to 81.6% from 83.0% and rent per sq ft slipped 2.1%. Trading profit after interest fell 9.4% to £60.5m, and EPRA NTA fell 11.2% to £6.87 per share.

The dividend was cut 8.1% to 26.1p, with a new policy of 1.2 times earnings cover. Under chief executive Charlie Green, the company set out a "Fix, Accelerate, Scale" plan, including refurbishing weaker buildings, a new Managed offer and a medium-term ambition of more than £125m of annual trading profit.

Early signs are tentative. Workspace's first-quarter update reported stabilised occupancy of 82.3%, up 0.6 points in the quarter to 30 June 2026, and rent roll up 1.9% to £110.2m. Mr Green called this "encouraging" but said "there is still a long way to go". Demand indicators were mixed: lettings fell to 264 from 278, and the conversion rate from enquiries to lettings slipped to 14% from 15%.

Disposals are central to the plan. Workspace had exchanged or completed £138.4m of sales since April 2025, had more than £200m of assets on the market and was considering a further £100m-plus beyond its original target. Net debt was £740m and LTV 35%.

Governance has also been tested. Saba Capital requisitioned resolutions to replace Workspace's non-executive directors; at the 23 July 2026 AGM all six were defeated, with support ranging from 1.51% to 13.30%.

Contrasting models side by side

On our reading, the comparison is less about which property type is better than about where each company sits in its own cycle. Sirius is in expansion mode, using acquisitions and low-cost debt to grow income; Workspace is in repair mode, selling assets and prioritising occupancy and earnings.

Occupancy tells a similar story. Both companies run portfolios with meaningful vacant space, but Sirius's like-for-like occupancy is rising while Workspace's fell over the year before a small first-quarter recovery. For a multi-let landlord, filling empty units is usually the cheapest source of income growth, which is why both strategies emphasise it.

The currencies differ too: Sirius reports in euros, so sterling-based readers face translation effects.

Risks and items to monitor

For Sirius, the risks include the durability of defence-related demand, the German industrial economy, integration of acquisitions, higher Leverage and euro-sterling movements.

For Workspace, the key questions are whether the first-quarter occupancy gain proves sustained, how disposals progress and whether Shareholder pressure resurfaces after the AGM defeat.

Both are exposed to interest rates through financing costs and valuation yields. Half-year results for the period to 30 September 2026 are the next scheduled reference point for each.

Two answers to the same demand question

Sirius (LSE:SRE) and Workspace (LSE:WKP) both answer the question of how smaller businesses want to use property, but in different places, with different assets and at different stages. Sirius is growing income through acquisition; Workspace is rebuilding it from a lower base. That is what makes the pairing instructive.