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Year: 2010

June office of the month – Canary Wharf

Posted on by aleks

This month we thought we’d take a look at one of the most iconic business districts in the world: Canary Wharf.

The UK’s financial heart land is built on the site of the West India Docks on the Isle of Dogs. At the start of the last century the area was one of the busiest shipping ports in the world. The docks were eventually closed in the early 1980s as the shipping industry in East London declined. Construction of the first office buildings on the site started in 1988 and were completed in 1991.

Canary Wharf is home to three of the tallest sky scrapers in the UK; One Canada Square, the Citigroup Centre, and Twenty-Five Canada Square.

Today, this voluminous office space inhabited by major banks, law firms and tabloid newspapers. Over 100,000 people work at Canary Wharf (imagine the queues for the vending machines!) Thankfully all these people are accommodated by a shopping centre and various bars and restaurants.

As well has hosting some of the countries most recognisable work places, Canary Wharf is also home to a large group of residential buildings which contain very expensive and glamorous flats and pent houses. Most of these residential developments are filled with high earning bankers and top media executives.

Due to the huge numbers of people that need to travel to the area each day, Canary Wharf has excellent transport links with the rest of London via the Docklands Light Railway. A new tube station is also underway, which is expected to be completed in 2017.

Canary Wharf also has an air link provided by City Airport. The one run way airport is primarily used by business people who work for the major financial institutions. It’s safe to say that many bankers would have been very grateful to City Airport in the last 18 months for allowing them to make quick getaways!

We were slightly biased in our choice for office of the month this April as we actually have meeting rooms available in the Canary Wharf area!

If you are interested in working among some of the most stunning and inspirational offices situated in the UK, or the world for that matter; have a look at our serviced office solutions.

The top five tips for staying cool in the office

Posted on by aleks

At the Serviced Office Company HQ in London, the weather has finally started to warm up as it seems summer has finally accepted the seasonal baton from spring. That’s the good news; the bad news however, is many of you will have to tolerate working in stuffy offices, without air conditioning; compounded by the rising temperatures and pollen count.

Sadly, many readers of our blog aren’t fortunate enough to work in offices with air conditioning. So for all you stressed out and sweaty people, we have put together these five handy tips for staying cool at work during the warmer months ahead.

1. Close the blinds

Keeping the blinds in your office closed during the hottest parts of the day will help you stay cool. Using aluminised blinds will help reflect the heat of the sun; however, covering your blinds in tin foil will also help reflect the sun light; keeping you and your colleagues cooler.

2. Wear light clothes

Try to wear light, loose fitting clothes. Turning up to an important meeting wearing a thick, dark, heavy suit dripping in sweat will not help you make a good first impression. Wearing light clothes made from natural fibbers, such as cotton and linen, will keep you cool. Avoid wearing clothes made from nylon as they have the opposite effect. If you have to take trips out of the office, try to take only the bare essentials with you; running around carrying a heavy brief case will not help.

3. Turn off unused equipment

Turning off any unused electrical equipment will lower the temperature in your office. Leaving fax machines, computers and printers turned on when they are not being used will only make the office hotter as they all produce large amounts of excess heat. Turning off unused equipment will also reduce your electricity bills. If it’s possible, you should change any non-energy efficient light bulbs to energy saving bulbs. A traditional light bulb’s energy output is 10% light and 90% heat, whereas energy saving bulbs produce 90% light and only 10% heat.

4. Change your hours

Rearranging your work schedule by starting earlier and finishing earlier will mean you can be out of the office during some of the hotter parts of the day. Of course not everyone is able to do this, but if your employer is flexible it will make you more productive and less stressed.

5. Use fans

If you aren’t lucky enough to have air conditioning, try to make use of other cooling ‘technologies’ such as fans. Electric fans are fairly inexpensive and can be purchased from most electrical retailers. If you feel like being a bit different, why not try a USB powered fan. These little fans can also be used outside the office; on a sweaty commuter train for example; but don’t say we didn’t warn you if you suddenly find half a carriage of stressed out commuters crowding around your fan attempting to get one tiny gust of cool air!

Our serviced offices and meeting rooms are all fitted with air conditioning ensuring everyone working there stays cool and relaxed during the hot summer months.

Would you like to work in John Prescott’s ‘love nest’?

Posted on by aleks

We’ve specialised in renting office space for quite some time now. Over the years we’ve seen some fairly undesirable locations renovated into commercial space; however, probably none as quite as undesirable as this!

The residence of the former Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott, is going to be turned into offices after members of the new government turned down the opportunity to move in at the address over fears they would attract public criticism linked to last year’s MP’s expenses scandal.

The spacious apartment located just around the corner from Trafalgar Square was infamously used by Mr. Prescott to entertain his mistress, Tracey Temple. The apartment was nicknamed ‘Prescott’s love nest’ by the tabloid press in 2006 when the story first broke.

Although we’re sure the building’s presentation and location is fantastic, would you really want to tell people you work in John Prescott’s former love nest’? We’ll leave that one with you…

If you’re looking for office space in London or Manchester, and you’d like to work in a much more desirable location, have a look at our serviced offices which come with air conditioning, direct phone numbers and are situated in convenient city centre locations.

The largest lift in the world?

Posted on by aleks

Each month we find an office that we believe deserves the title ‘Office of the Month’ (previous winners of this illustrious honour include Google and Red Bull).

This month we have updated the converted prize for a special surprise nomination: the largest lift in the world!

We were amazed to see that Mitsubishi have installed five massive elevators in the 41 story Umeda Hankyu Building in Osaka, Japan. The huge lifts can carry up to 80 passengers or 11,574lbs. The dimensions of the lift are massive: 3.4m wide, 2.8m long and 2.6m tall!

The lifts have been designed to take people from the shopping floors at the bottom of the Umeda Hankyu building, to the offices on the higher floors. To keep the passengers entertained, windows have been installed providing one of the best views of the city.

Sadly the lifts at our serviced offices aren’t quite as big as Mitsubishi’s, but we do provide our clients with air conditioning, modern furniture, as well as future proof IT and telecoms systems.

Why serviced offices are perfect for start ups and small businesses

Posted on by aleks

A lot of small businesses prefer to operate from serviced offices rather than commit to lengthy tenancy agreements with hostile landlords. Below are some of the reasons why a lot of our small business clients enjoy working with us:

•    Great Locations – Being situated in a great location is really useful for any small business. Having easy access to important resources like train stations and city centre banks can save you invaluable time. It also makes it a lot easier for other people to find you when they come to your offices.
•    Networking – Sharing contacts and ideas with other business people creates innumerable opportunities for start ups. Companies operating from serviced offices have the chance to mingle and discuss different ideas with a wide variety of professionals from different industries every single day, without even having to leave their office!
•    IT and telecoms infrastructure – In 2010 having proper phone and internet facilities is essential for any business; however it can be very expensive to get all of the necessary infrastructure in place on your own. At all of our office locations we have internet and phone access which is included in the rent. This means you don’t have to shell out for extra overheads at a time when you are trying to save money.
•    Professional look – It’s really important for small businesses and start ups to make good impressions with new stakeholders,  This task becomes a whole lot easier when you have stylishly-designed offices in a prime location to take your future employees, suppliers or even the dreaded bank manager too!
•    Fixtures and fittings – Cash is always tight for small businesses and start ups, so investing in expensive and stylish is understandably low on your list of priorities. However, all the business owners that rent space in our serviced offices get to take advantage of these perks because we provide them.
•    Commitment – With the economic crisis that the UK has faced in the last 18 months, committing to high long term costs is something that many owners have naturally shied away from. However, serviced offices allow you to have all of the perks of an expensive and stylish office without the burdening financial commitment.

If you’re thinking about taking the next step with your business, have a look at our portfolio of serviced offices in London and Manchester to see how we can help your business.

Office of the month

Posted on by aleks

January’s office of the month goes to….Google. It was only a matter of time that we approbated the seemingly impressive Googleplex; Google’s HQ in Mountain View, California.

Not only does Googleplex boast four central buildings, totaling a whopping 47,000 sq meters, the entire site is spread over 26 acres – the equivalent to 30 football stadiums! This is the only place where “sorry, I got lost” is a common and acceptable excuse after returning late back from lunch.

The site was originally built for Silicon Graphics (SGI) as a creative collaboration between Studios Architecture, the SWA Group, the Planning and Community Development Agency of the City of Mountain View and SGI in order to develop the privately-owned corporate headquarters and adjoining public green space. The overall project was completed in 1997 and Google began leasing the facilities in 2003, as well as acquiring the majority of SGI’s estate, including the Googleplex, for an emphatic $319 million.

Now for the fun stuff. On a daily basis staff can enjoy the 1500 sq meter gym, free laundry rooms, two small swimming pools, sand volleyball court, 11 cafes and pool tables! The main lobby is furnished with giant shade lamps and rubber balls, as well as a piano and large projection of current live Google search queries.

As well as Googleplex being irrepressibly cool, inspiring and welcoming, it happens to be energy efficient too. The complex is littered with solar panels; covering the rooftops of eight buildings, two car parks and equipped to produce 1.6 megawatts of electricity. The panels provide the power needed for 30% of the peak electricity demand in their solar-powered buildings.

Is there anything GooglePlex can’t provide? It appears not and that’s why this is one of the most advanced and desirable office spaces to work in the world. We take our hats off to you Google!

Why not come and experience our environmentally focused executive office space situated in London and Manchester and see how your business can enjoy a fun and greener working environment.

(images provide by wikipedia.org/wiki/Googleplex)

New Year – New office space

Posted on by aleks

Firstly, Happy New Year to all our clients and partners – we hope you enjoyed the festive period and are now ready for a prosperous 2010!

Serviced Office Company are also looking auspiciously to the year ahead, and with a number of new sites on the horizon in London and Manchester, we’re very much looking forward to working with new and existing clients in tailoring our serviced office solutions to your needs.

Like most businesses we’ve crafted a few New Year’s resolutions in order to push the business forward, but just as importantly, be even more environmentally studious when selecting our executive office spaces.

With the commercial property market finally rediscovering its vitality in the capital and other major cities, businesses in the UK are now more confident and inclined to relocate; with enquiries on the rise and faith restored.

However, we are still fully aware that our clients need to be financial astute, so all of our executive suites for rent will fulfil your budget – just let us know what you’re looking for, where and how much and we will provide the right package.

Serviced Office Company wants to help your business find the right space and help make 2010 a successful and favourable year…All the best!