Serviced offices – are they the solution?

A serviced office is an office which is fully equipped and looked after by a facility management company, which leases out individual offices to different businesses. Serviced offices are generally found in the business districts of large cities around the world. An intermediary will often help building owners and management companies to let office space.

Various clients are attracted to serviced office space for differing reasons. In many circumstances large companies experiencing massive growth run out of space to fit their employees. This is detrimental to productivity, making the immediate availability of such office space important to a manager’s decision making process.

Start up businesses want serviced office space for different reasons. With many businesses failing within their first year, key to survival is often to keep expenditure at a minimal. Serviced office space often requires only a short-term lease which can be set monthly or quarterly. Many start ups and small businesses do not want the burden of long term contracts making this an extremely attractive proposition for them.

Businesses moving from one office to another often use serviced office space for interim periods. The benefits of retaining a prestigious address with low start up costs have meant that these often frustrating periods are kept simple and inexpensive. Businesses with the need to set up projects within various locations such as Management Consultancy will often find serviced office space a very convenient option for exactly the same reasons. With Business Centers located globally, finding the right commercial agents is crucial.

Long term leased offices will often require furnishing and equipment among other things which may need to be arranged by the tenant. Offices which are serviced will typically provide “Ready made” assistance such as a receptionist who will assist multiple tenants, administrative support, IT infrastructure with access to the Internet and Conference Rooms.

However in differing circumstances a serviced option may not always be the better one. Although many offices can often be modern looking, many will provide companies with a monotonous, unbranded impression. For larger companies which intend to build their brand identity especially, this can be disadvantageous.

There may also be exceptions regarding monthly costs, with some office buildings charging a higher monthly premium rate than the more conventional, longer term leased offices.

www.reflexsolutions.co.uk, who provide office space in London (http://www.reflexsolutions.co.uk/offices/c-302/Office-Space-in-London), found that many SME and Start-up clients did not take advantage of the various facilities presented at Serviced Offices including secretarial support, extensive conference facilities and translators. Following a vigorous assessment of the Serviced Office market, they decided to simplify their then current product offering and present a service which offered Managed offices in London (http://www.reflexsolutions.co.uk/offices/c-293/Managed-Offices-in-London) rather than simply serviced.

This has resulted in a more tailor made approach to the property market giving more flexibility within the product offering. Tenants only pay for what they use and aren’t charged a premium rate for facilities they don’t need.
Reflex Solutions were incorporated in the summer of 1999 and are based in East Castle Street Central London. They rent out offices in throughout the English capital, including North London, Soho and Mayfair.

Reflex was incorporated in the summer of 1999 and following a detailed assessment of the Serviced Office market, Reflex concluded that demand for the type of product currently available may be simplified to cater to a more cost conscious market, seeking Managed rather than Serviced space.

Reflex determined that many of the SME and start-up clients did not utilise the additional services available at Serviced Office centres, such as extensive conference facilities, secretarial support, translators, photocopiers and faxes.

Serviced Offices charge for these services on an "as and when" used basis, however, the associated costs have to be recouped from the client within the licence fee, irrespective of whether the client has had use of the facilities. The operator has to cover lost revenue due to wasted space i.e. areas for which they pay rent and rates for but are unable to generate an income from such as corridors and staff/administration areas.

The highest overhead for Serviced Offices save for rent, is the staff cost.

Reflex recognised the gap in the Serviced Office market -- to provide high quality accommodation only, to keep the offer simple and only manage the office space.

Maintenance of the buildings is carried out in house.
There are no Reflex personnel on site and the IT and Telecoms infrastructure, with ongoing network support, is the area of focus for Reflex.

Adam
Head office address:
2nd floor
34/35 Eastcastle Street
London
W1W 8DW

This release was published on openPR.