Are serviced offices the answer for small businesses? Well, let’s first look at what exactly serviced offices are. A serviced office, also known as an ‘executive suite’ or ‘executive space’, is a commercial property or office that is fully equipped and managed by a facility management company. The management company will then rent individual offices or floors to other business’. Serviced offices, which are also referred to as, managed offices, business centers, executive suites or executive centers, are often found in the business districts of large cities around the world.
Interestingly, serviced offices originated in the major US business cities, during the 1980s. These serviced offices evolved from call centers for traveling salesmen.
In the UK, the concept of working together and sharing premises, staff and other overheads was first used by Barristers. They normally banded together into ‘chambers’ to share clerks (administrators) and operating expenses. Some chambers grew to be large and sophisticated and held a distinctly corporate feel.
Serviced offices and business centers are popular for many reasons. A key reason being, serviced offices only require you to commit for a short period of time, which can be in some cases as little as one month. Compared with a conventional lease, this gives the Tenant a much larger degree of flexibility. Along with this, serviced offices can offer a quick turn around, serviced offices can usually be available 24 hours after viewing. Business Centers can be situated in prime locations, which can boost your company’s visibility and corporate identity in particular markets.
Basic support services at these offices include, telephone answering services, mail services and reception desks. Communal facilities, such as meeting rooms and conference areas can be hired on a per usage basis. For small businesses the flexibility for rapid expansion is an enormous incentive.
Markets are constantly changing. In today’s market, businesses are finding themselves having to seek new property solutions which provide a lot more flexibility, in terms of both space and length of occupancy. The serviced office and business centre market has been a fast growing sector in recent years and has gained great credibility in the business world. Serviced offices today find themselves supporting business’ need for absolute flexibility.
Previous Post
Commercial Property Prices, Hot or Not?
