It’s estimated that the current market is worth £16 Billion, so in another 9 years, could we really be looking at a valuation of £126 Billion?  Some have even said this could be undervalued by 20%. It wouldn’t surprise us!!  It’s been regularly reported that The Flexible Office Industry is the fastest growing within Real Estate and it doesn’t look like slowing any time soon.

This success is one that the British are proud of and property professionals are pleased to read positive UK property sector news in the media. This growth is attracting investors around the world. A recent report between the Economic Research Consultancy Capital Economics and Property Academics, Professor White and Professor Dunse:-

Report highlights:

• UK is the leading global serviced office sector, with the largest and most mature market, accounting for over a third (36%) of the worldwide serviced office footprint
• Three key drivers are fuelling this growth: increasing numbers of growth businesses, expansion of key sectors that use serviced offices the most and the trend towards more flexible working
• Sector’s growing appeal and strong returns have seen its increasing attraction to institutional investors and its emergence as a distinct property asset class
• Yet the serviced office sector still lacks a dedicated market-accepted valuation methodology, which would further spur its growth
• Using a conventional office model puts a £16bn value on the UK serviced office sector, but it is likely undervalued by close to 20% if it were appraised using a dedicated valuation approach
• Modest projections for the key drivers and using a dedicated valuation approach values the UK serviced office market at £62bn by 2025, whilst more optimistic projections set it at £126bn
• This report, for the first time, puts forward a specific valuation model to help the sector fulfil these projections and assist institutions in reaping the full reward of investing in serviced offices 

The service office industry is growing faster than European and American counterparts and has been quoted as being a “Recession busting solution” to the property sector. The rise of flexible or alternative workspaces for more agile businesses have helped the serviced office popularity.

One of the biggest factors of this rise is the ease and convenience for businesses of all sizes. The fact the majority of them are fully furnished and ready to go means less disruption to employees when they move in. Fast broadband, open space, clean toilets, cloud data storage allow networking and faster business growth, collaborations and developments.  Lack of time is something most businesses suffer from in the UK so the immediacy that serviced offices offer are hugely attractive. 

The financial model of cost per desk works well for both people starting up in business and huge blue-chips that offsite departments with multiple temporary workers.  Across the UK you can come across desk costs ranging from £50 per desk per month up to £1400+ per desk per month.  Location and accessibility plays a part in this with London being the most expensive place in the country to rent desks in. However, you can still find good deals and there are many places in London that are affordable and accessible.

It’s reported that the number of flexible workspaces has increased 31% since 2008 with London accounting for 34% of the serviced office footprint.  Demand for area’s in Manchester, Glasgow, Birmingham, Bristol and Edinburgh are growing quickly too

Lee Grodent, MD of Loc8 Commercial says “It’s no surprise to me that the flexible office market is going from strength to strength. We have seen a huge uplift in enquiries over the last 2 years. Companies, whether they be Blue Chip, SME’s or Start-ups from all types of sectors are now looking at serviced offices as a viable alternative to longer term traditional leases. Flexible working is only going to increase in the years to come and I believe the serviced office market is well positioned for even more growth and innovation in the years to come.”

Early adopters of these spaces include companies from Media, Finance, Healthcare, Charity sectors with projected movements from Information, Data, Communications and Professional Services in the next couple of years.  With the ever increasing speed of broadband and technology in the workplace it’s no wonder this sector is going to keep growing from strength to strength.

Social Media Agency Owner Marc Shelkin, says “We have been operating for 3 years and although not a start-up anymore we are still small and nimble enough to rely on flexible office spaces.  We are based in the heart of Old Street which is prime space for Digital Marketing and Technology companies.  We are very lucky to have found a space that is not only affordable but allows us to scale up or down anytime without any hassle.”

If you would like to know more about serviced offices and if they are suitable for you and your business, please give one of our experts a call on 020 3031 8563 or search via our website www.loc8commercial.com

The post Could the Flexible Office sector really be worth up to £126 Billion by 2025? appeared first on Loc8 Commercial Blog.

Great views are often hard to come by in big towns and cities with many offices overlooking the buildings they are next to. A view of water can be quite difficult to find in a busy business district, but we know there are a number of locations that offer waterfront views, with everything from the river Thames to the quayside developments around Canary Wharf and Media City in Manchester.

Here are five brilliant office locations with waterfront views to die for:

Clipper Quay in Salford

The waterfront in Salford, Manchester has been revitalised in to a leading tourist destination as well as a busy new business district in the North West. Boasting its own Imperial War Museum it also has the Lowry Outlet Mall with many top designer brands. There are also many places to eat and some great bars with views across the water.

The waterfront has attracted many top businesses like the BBC who famously relocated here from White City in London.

Our featured serviced offices offer 32 office suites for 2 to 8 people and have beautifully crafted British made furniture. Along with outstanding IT, this location is ideal for any business looking for a truly impressive business address.

TAKE A LOOK HERE

Harbour Exchange Quay

There is a lot to be impressed about in Canary Wharf. The area is now London’s second financial district with several of the UK’s tallest buildings which includes One Canada Square that can be seen as far away as Harlow and the M11 motorway.

Canary Wharf has several shopping malls with a variety of stores including Waitrose and Monsoon as well as a wide variety of places to eat. There are many great bars and restaurants right on the waterfront and even an interesting museum is located here too, dedicated to the history of the docks.

The serviced offices at Harbour Exchange Quay is an impressive office location providing a great address for any business. It boasts great views across the water and a pretty outdoor terrace and breakout areas.

TAKE A LOOK HERE

Cardiff Bay

Cardiff Bay has undergone a considerable redevelopment and is now home to the Welsh Assembly building, shops and bars as well as many residential properties and office space.

This waterfront area is impressive to say the least. There is an array of small boats that come and go and the area is a popular tourist location with many activities going on throughout the year.

Our featured office here is a striking building that’s been well designed and takes full advantage of the bay views. These stylish offices are complimented by a number of well equipped conference facilities and boasts on-site parking which is a real plus in this part of the Welsh capital.

TAKE A LOOK HERE

Temple Quay, Bristol

Bristol is a thriving and busy city with a number of interesting locations like Queens Road with its shops and close proximity to the university and Temple Meads which has easy access to road and rail links. One of the prettier areas is the waterfront which has seen extensive redevelopment and now boasts several top restaurants, hotels, bars and places of interest.

Our featured serviced office location has an enviable waterfront position and great office space options for any size business. One of the great benefits of this location is the excellent in-house canteen serving delicious hot and cold food throughout the day. It also boasts lots of the usual services you should expect, like 24/7 security and access as well as comfortable office space and meeting rooms.

TAKE A LOOK HERE

Savoy Street, London

London riverside office space usually comes at a premium but our featured office space here has a lot of excellent facilities and enviable views across the Thames.

This prestigious WC2 postcode is well placed and has been refurbished to take advantage of the natural light. The views are what set this location apart from other locations that are close by. The transport links make this office space easy to get to and it’s close to the many shops and restaurants of Covent Garden and the West End make it ideal for any business. It’s also within easy reach of the vibrant Southbank with its riverside restaurants and bars, the BFI and IMAX cinema.

TAKE A LOOK HERE

The choice right across the UK is breathtaking. So whether you need to be in the South West, Central London or the North West there is a great choice of office space with great views of the water.  If you haven’t seen a great location here, get in touch with a member of our team who can talk you through the options.

Then sit back and enjoy the view!

Looking for office space that’s a little out of the ordinary? Read more HERE

The post Finding the ideal Waterfront Office Space appeared first on Loc8 Commercial Blog.

For starters the perfect office space isn’t just about finding an ideal spot to locate your business. If you take a look around at your present office space we bet you can list several things you would want to change when you relocate.

One of the biggest issues facing businesses trying to create a positive working environment is often a lack of space, which in turn, can seriously affect productivity.

So here are our top ten things to put on your hit list when you move to your new serviced office space or flexible workspace solution.

1. Boxes, Boxes, Boxes  

Storage is probably the biggest problem facing most offices today. As businesses grow and teams get bigger, the dilemma of where to put everything grows too. There are a number of simple solutions. Create an archive space in the office so that all files are kept in one location and as a result will be easier to find and save time in the long term.

Invest in storage systems that allow team members to keep desks and floor areas clutter free. Here are a few examples:

2. De-clutter

Adopt a clear workspace policy around the office. Often these days hot desks and “no fixed desk” policies often help to stop the accumulation of personal clutter but there are negatives as well as the visibly obvious positives with this type of office policy. Not least the feeling that a team member has no fixed location.

It could be possible to utilise desk storage solutions that help keep clutter to a minimum. Here are some examples that could help in your office.

3. Health and Safety

We all know that there are clear rules that dictate how we should maintain our workspaces to ensure evacuation routes are kept clear and fire hazards are minimised. Clear walk ways are essential to keep you on the right side of the law and will go some way to helping the flow around the space, especially if your office is larger than 20 people.

4. Spaghetti Junction

We don’t mean the infamous road junction in Birmingham. We’re talking about the horrible mess lurking beneath every desk. Cable and wire management is often overlooked but take it from us that this one causes more problems than most other issues.

How many times has someone unplugged the person next door causing their PC to turn off and lose their work?  More often than most people will admit. So cable management is a must but will only happen if it starts off correctly and is managed daily. It should also stop people running extension cables from other extension cables, which is often a cause for fire issues.

5. Location

We don’t mean the actual location of your office. Although that is one of the biggest single factors influencing the choice of office space, we actually mean the location of your people. That’s right! People are your single biggest asset. It has cost you a great deal of money and time to recruit and train them so make sure they are located in a suitable place in the office that supports their productivity. For example it makes sense to have your sales and marketing teams close to each other but you would not necessarily put your HR team next to sales in an open plan environment. Think about who best compliments each other and how productivity can be maximised and not hindered.

6. Colour

A tidy, well ordered office can often be a very boring place. You’ve ticked all the boxes in terms of clutter and storage and everyone’s desk is tidy. Now add a bit of colour.  Lots of businesses use colour to denote areas of the office for specific departments of the business like sales, marketing and IT for example.

Here are some clever uses of colour that has been used to create different moods around the office.

 7.The Welcome

One of the most important things you should consider is how your visitors are welcomed. Visitors, future employees, customers and clients will all make assumptions about your company based on their welcome when they arrive at your office. Lots of businesses make it everyone’s responsibility to make visitors welcome when they arrive which says a lot about the culture and spirit of the business. But make sure your visitors have somewhere comfortable to sit. A smart reception area doesn’t need to be that big, but a couple of stylish sofas or chairs can go along way to make sure your welcome is remembered for all the right reasons.

Here are some clever examples of reception areas that many serviced office users have to welcome their visitors.

7. Eating at Your Desk

Although many people are happy to eat at their desks it’s always a good idea to provide somewhere for your team to get away from their screens and relax. A good break-out space that’s not just a few chairs and tables in the corner will allow team members to interact and will help make them more productive when they get back to their desks.

There are many really well thought through examples of break-out spaces that help boost productivity in the workplace.

9. Back Ache

One of the biggest problems faced by businesses is absence. It cost the UK economy over £100bn last year according to the Department of Work and Pensions so it makes sense to ensure problems at work are minimised.

Investing in good chairs is always a great idea to minimise long-term back problems and also goes some way to ensure you comply with legislation which outlines how someone should sit and work at a desk for a prolonged period. This also covers things like posture and screen height and light levels to minimise eye strain.

So get all these things right and your team members are less likely to experience problems which effect their ability to come to work.

10. A Good Cup of Coffee

Great places to work have put a lot of thought in to the facilities they provide. One of the most popular office perks is a good cup of coffee. And we don’t just mean a jar of Nescafe Gold. Barista style services have popped up across hundreds of larger spaces and good quality “frothy coffee” machines are now widely used to such an extreme it’s almost become an expected fixture in any office kitchen or break-out space. It will also save your employees a small fortune from fewer visits to Starbuck’s or Costa.

Companies like FreshGround now offer a wide selection of coffee machines for use in serviced office spaces at a very realistic charge. They offer all the benefits of much larger machines at a fraction of the cost and provide coffee shop quality beverages.

So what makes the perfect office? It’s fair to say there are many things that can help to create a really positive and productive office environment. Most people like Hester Lacey in her article for Forbes will tell you that company culture comes before office design. And she is quite correct, but positive cultures need to be complimented with processes that help to create a really inspiring office space that people will love and want to come to work in.

We hope we have given you food for thought. If you would like to talk to us about creating an inspiring serviced office space get in touch and we can take you through some really exciting options all over the UK. Good luck!

The post What Makes the Perfect Office Space? appeared first on Loc8 Commercial Blog.

With the news that one of our operators has gone under offer to take space in The Shard, it clearly demonstrates that flexible workspace operators are now offering not only an invaluable level of service, but aesthetically, some of the best office spaces in London and across the UK. London has various commercial skyscrapers with many of them now offering flexible serviced offices, with exceptional design and breath taking views. With the advent of flexible working, they’re rapidly becoming more and more popular for SMEs as well as large corporations. SME’s are increasingly looking for Grade A, iconic space on a flexible basis and our operators now have space in The Shard, The Gherkin, Heron Tower, The Leadenhall Building, Broadgate Tower, Tower 42, CityPoint, 1 Canada Square E14, 40 Bank Street E14, Euston Tower and Millbank Tower, all of which are among some of the best serviced office spaces in London.

Not so long ago lavish office spaces were only available to huge corporate clients. That’s gradually changed in the last few years as flexible workspace operators identified a need by SME’s and Corporates for Grade A space in Iconic buildings, on a smaller scale and on a more flexible term than traditional longer term leases are able to offer. Having to take 10,000’s of sq ft in these iconic buildings is not realistic or required by the majority of Start-ups and SME’s so serviced office providers are taking advantage of this by taking 10,000’s of sq ft themselves and offering suites to accommodate 1 person up to 100 people +. Businesses in all industries are taking full advantage already with operators experiencing record occupancy rates across central London. In the past, these spaces were seen as a short term solution however Serviced offices in Central London have become a practical longer term solution for smaller companies due to their many benefits and the changes the office industry has taken.

Today, in any of these serviced office spaces, you’ll find many different types of professional, creative, established and growing enterprises. After all, the best companies want to be based in the centre of the City. You’ll find yourself in a hive of passionate people working on huge projects. That can only be helpful for the growth of your business. They’re all taking advantage of the fact that these Grade A iconic spaces are now open for hire. Working in any of these luxurious offices spaces is an opportunity that potentially can take your small or medium sized business to the next level………the Sky is the limit!

From Iconic to Economic we have offices to suit all budgets. If you are looking for office space and want to discuss your options in more detail please don’t hesitate to give us a call or send us an email. We offer Free impartial advice covering the Serviced Office, Managed Office, Co-Working & Virtual Office market in London and across the UK.

The post The Sky’s the limit for SME’s appeared first on Loc8 Commercial Blog.

Growing marketplace
Leased spaces have historically been the preferred option for small and larger businesses. Yet things have gradually begun to change and Serviced Office spaces have come into the frame. The technological changes we’ve been dealing with have morphed into changing the dynamics of the office space industry. Serviced offices are becoming more popular, for several reasons which we will explore.
Flexibility
Leasing your own office traditionally means being forced into a long term contract, often between three to five years. Landlords will often ask for a minimum deposit equivalent to 3 to 6 months rent – plus another 3 to 6 months’ rent in advance. You will then have to fit-out the space, buy furniture, cabling, phones, arrange security etc etc. It all adds up into hefty setup costs, especially for a business that’s constantly growing and changing. Serviced spaces tend to have a minimum contract of just three months, which favours those who might be likely to change location or staff numbers in the near future. Deposits are usually more in the area of 2 months’ rent, with just one more month paid in advance. It gives you, and other business owners, more flexibility and freedom. You can’t be 100% sure how much your business might grow, you may even have a business that fluctuates in numbers, and you might eventually realize you need more/less office space. That’s the primary reason why serviced spaces are advantageous. They are more suited to the dynamic changes businesses experience.
Cost-effective
Furthermore, serviced spaces are cheaper on average over the first three years of occupancy compared to lease spaces, less stressful and easier to manage. After all, the majority of serviced office providers have invested heavily in their fit-out and infrastructure having existing phone facilities, on-site security, and cleaning services provided. They include furnishings and inclusive bills, as well as fully equipped conference rooms you can hire by the hour – meaning you only pay for the space you’re using, if and when you use it, which leaves more of your budget to funnel back into your business. Serviced offices often come with highly trained receptionists and centre staff to handle messages, calls and guests – so you effectively have a full team working for you without the usual expense. With all that thrown in, it’s clear: you’ll be paying less, and getting more.
Other advantages
Besides this, your business could do without the headache of managing a leased office space. Not only will you be saving money, you’ll be saving yourself from extra supervision, so you’ll be able to focus more on what’s important and work on your business without worrying about external trivialities. So many features of renting a leased space have to be continually taken care of, from extra bill expenses to hiring cleaners, setting up an office internet connection, installing a phone system and buying the desk space and seating. All of that is automatically taken care of with serviced office spaces.
Considerations
Timeframes are a key factor with Serviced Offices able to have your business up and running within 24 hours. Sure, you’ll have to share your building with other companies. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. You’ll each be working within your own headquarters, and you won’t suffer from any disturbances. You might even see it as a positive – with different businesses sharing the facilities, you might just make an excellent business contact while you’re making a coffee. A number of the Serviced office providers run networking events and actively encourage collaboration between tenants via their own intranets.

The post Benefits of Serviced Office spaces against Leased Offices appeared first on Loc8 Commercial Blog.