OFFICE COSTS - 21.03.2011

Saving with serviced offices?

What’s a serviced office?

In essence, it’s a building containing offices of different sizes with all the hardware, phones, computers, meeting rooms, cleaners etc. readily available for your business to rent and use. You just move in with your staff and away you go. This is often referred to as a “turn key solution”. The building operator takes responsibility for all the maintenance and provides a range of services.

How does it differ from a virtual office?

Virtual offices do not exist physically and are usually Internet or telephone based. Companies simply rent services such as phone answering and a business address, but do not actually operate from the building even though they may use the virtual office as a mailing address.

Aren’t serviced offices expensive?

Whilst costs may look high initially, the rent includes almost all of the costs that you would pay on top of rent in a traditional office. There are no additional costs for business rates, lighting and power, security, cleaning, maintenance, insurance etc. The only additional costs are for telephone/Internet usage, normally charged at standard BT rates. Neither are there any charges for furnishings which are normally the latest workstations with chairs, filing systems and tables for meeting rooms. This is usually a significant cost for any occupier and is included in the serviced office rent. The actual costs vary, depending on the location; how many desks are taken and the length of stay.

Why choose a serviced office?

A serviced office licence/lease may be as short as three months, or more typically nine or twelve months. This is very different from the 15-year lease normally associated with a traditional office and gives many organisations the much-needed flexibility to shrink or expand with the business.

What are the main benefits?

Business start-ups and companies with limited trading histories will benefit from a serviced office over a conventional lease due to the flexibility of tenure, ease of move, minimal capital outlay, minimal rental deposits and limited need for directors’/bank guarantees. Other key benefits can include: (1) a prestigious address in a key business location; (2) high quality, fully furnished serviced offices available on flexible terms for a single monthly fee; (3) resilient bandwidth connectivity; (4) highly trained, uniformed support personnel; (5) facilities management including on-site cleaning throughout the day and out-of-hours security; (6) state-of-the-art meeting rooms with an in-house support team and video conferencing.

What you’ll save

The following figures are based on a four-desk office or around 40sq metres in net floor space.