2020 and the start of 2021 has been a rough time for most businesses. Consumption around the UK dropped significantly over lockdown, and most businesses came to a complete standstill.
However, since lockdowns have been lifted, industries have seen promising signs. As the UK economy begins to bounce back, it may be time to upgrade your business to prepare for some super returns.
You may be thinking about finally renting out some new office space. If this is your first office, then it will be an exciting time in your business journey. Finally, getting your own office may feel like transitioning from a small business to an experienced one.
However, renting out an office may feel a bit alien if you’re not experienced with the whole process. You’ll find that the process is slightly different from renting a house. Therefore, most people won’t know a lot about the process.
To make your journey easier, we are here to help. Here is some more information about the whole process and how to pick out an office that will work for you.
Also, read on to find out how Pearl Lemon can help you secure your first office space.
Make Sure You’re Ready
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This step will be the same if you’re renting or buying any property. Once you sign that contract, you’re subjecting yourself to an agreement that will last for a few years. So don’t just rent out an office space because it looks nice!
It would help if you made sure that having an office space benefits your business. Furthermore, you’ll also have to make sure the office won’t take a massive proportion of your returns.
Having an office at the top of the shard would be beautiful, but it would also cost an arm and a leg! If you’re a smaller business in a competitive market, you’ll want to keep your costs low. So try not to go pick out one of the most excellent offices in central London.
A helpful exercise you can practice is evaluating the office space to make sure it’s worth it. If you treat the office space as an investment, you can work out the return on investment of the office. If the increases in profits due to your office space should be larger than the cost of renting the office, then the space is financially beneficial.
However, offices may have external benefits such as organization and efficiency. You’ll need to take this into account when evaluating the office space.
If you’re starting your business, it’s probably not worth looking for office spaces yet. Rent costs can get quite expensive, so you need to make sure you can cover the extra costs. Producing at a loss just because of office space is not a great idea!
Serviced vs Conventional Office
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These distinctions are pretty essential and can affect how valuable your office is.
The serviced office market is growing as a lot of businesses like the flexibility aspect to them. A serviced office is a fully set up office that you can rent from an operator who owns the building.
With serviced offices, you can rent out spaces for much shorter periods. Instead of agreeing to a three-year contract with a conventional office, you can rent out spaces for as short as one month.
You also get access to all the facilities in the office without having to worry about maintenance fees or structural issues. The operator takes care of maintaining the office.
You also don’t need to furnish the space or set up things like electrics and plumbing. This means you can move into a new office space almost instantly.
However, a serviced office may not be ideal for all types of businesses. For some firms, a conventional office may work better. For example, if you want a business with a strong brand identity, you’ll need your office to reflect that. You’re probably better off setting up a conventional office where the design is bespoke to your business.
If you want complete control over all the space in the building, then a conventional office would be beneficial. In a conventional office, you have complete control over all the meeting rooms and communal spaces, so you don’t need to worry about sharing rooms.
If you want to keep your business private, then having another business in the office next to you may not be the best idea! If you’re one of these businesses, then a conventional office would work better for you.
You can also treat a conventional office as an investment because you add to your business’s capital. A serviced office will result in no capital investment, so you’ll need to consider this when you’re picking an office.
The Office Itself
The three most important factors to picking out an office for most businesses are size, location, and price. You’ll have to think carefully about all of these qualities when you start your office search.
A lot of firms make the mistake of overestimating how much space they need. If you buy an office that’s too large, you’ll be left with many spaces that are barely used and are just collecting dust!
Larger spaces are usually more expensive, so you’ll be adding to your costs for no reason. Think about how many people will be in your office. It would help if you were aiming for about 7-10 square meters per person. If you do want to go larger, you need to make sure the extra space is functional.
The location of the office needs to be accessible to you and your employees. If your business is based in Brighton and you rent an office in Liverpool, it’s not going to be very helpful to you at all!
Location will also heavily affect the price of the office. The average rent of an office in Manchester will be around £300-£400 while the average in London is more than double at £650-£1400.
When you’re thinking about the price of the office, keep to a strict budget. Bare mind, you’ll probably be renting out the space for a few months or years, so you need to make sure you can handle the cost over the whole period.
How can Pearl Lemon help you?
If you have any other questions about renting out offices and the process, our experts are always here to help. The more you can prepare for the agreement, the easier the whole process becomes.
Furthermore, you might rent out a conventional office and use it as a form of investment. Our team can help you evaluate how profitable it could be by using our knowledge of the area and office spaces in general.
If you need any more information about renting office spaces, feel free to contact us.
