Growth in an Instant thanks to £16m stake

Private equity house MML is investing £16m to take a minority stake in Instant, the flexible office specialist, which is expanding rapidly.

Instant saw its revenue increase by 30 per cent last year to more than £22m. Led by chief executive Patrick Elliott, the management team will continue to hold a majority stake in the business.

The company’s founder Rob Hamilton will retain a stake and remain a non-executive director. Since its formation 13 years ago, the company has established offices in the US and Australia, It has grown from a London-based start-up to a well established SME with nearly 100 staff.

Mr Elliott said yesterday: “We are delighted to receive private equity investment from MML, because they rapidly grasped the potential of the business.”

In November last year, Network Rail, the owner and operator of Britain’s railway infrastructure, announced that it had renewed its agreement with Instant to meet its workspace demands.

Instant will continue to provide a managed office service to Network Rail for a further three years on its 25,000 sq ft Hudson House office in York.

Speaking in November, Seb Royle, the managing director of Instant, said: “The renewal of Network Rail’s agreement demonstrates that occupiers see managed offices as a long-term property solution.”