Over the last few years we have seen the serviced office market quite literally explode in the UK. Although the UK has seemingly come quite late into the serviced office market, with them having been a prominent fixture in the USA for well over 30 years, it seems to be something we are now welcoming with open arms, despite the economic climate.
What is a serviced office?
A serviced office is one such office which is already fully equipped for individuals or businesses to move into. The office is managed by an Operator who is in charge of all services to the office building. For instance services can range from anything like office equipment and internet access through to telephone answering services and reception or secretarial support.
These offices are an extremely attractive proposition for businesses since they do not require any capital investment in terms of buying technical equipment or even office furniture. Individuals and companies can quite literally move into their office and have it fully furnished and ready to receive customers from the word go.
How expensive is it to run a serviced office?
People are often put off by the initial price of a serviced office. However, what many people do not realise is that the rental cost of most serviced offices includes everything you would normally pay on top of renting an office in the traditional manner. Serviced office packages tend to include everything from heating and cooling, electricity, security and maintenance through to furniture cleaning and insurance.
In this way, once you have paid the rent for the serviced office, there is nothing more to pay other than being charged the standard rates for telephone and internet usage, as well as the cost of occasionally hiring meeting room. What is also worth keeping in mind is that most serviced offices will offer short term leases so you are not tied into a contract for months or even years, which is an obvious financial benefit.
What kind of business use serviced offices?
Services offices are used by all kinds of businesses, from small companies run by a few individuals to large corporations. If you have not yet had the experience of using or visiting a serviced office, you are probably under the misconception they are only used by small business who cannot afford their own property. However, this is quite simply not the case.
So many companies, especially in the current economic climate, want flexibility when it comes to their offices. They do not want to be stuck into long-term contracts when they are unable to comfortably foresee what their financial state is going to be in the future. Therefore using serviced offices enable them to expand or shrink as and when needed and at short notice too.
It seems the take up of these offices is growing ever more common as months go by and with good reason. With those in the serviced offices in Milton Keynes freed up from having to manage IT systems, reception duties, answering the telephone and even spending money on furniture, they are free to do their actual job.
About the Author: James writes for Cranfield University. When not writing, he can often be found looking for another office.