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Year: 2021

Can serviced offices save the post-pandemic world?

Posted on by aleks

A newly published paper calls on city planners to “transform the city” and “save the climate” by applying the lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Diana Reckien, at the Department of Urban and Regional Planning and Geo-Information Management at the University of Twente, Enschede in the Netherlands, published her study in the journal Planning Theory & Practice.

She wrote: “SARS-CoV-2 achieved what climate change science and advocacy have not been able to achieve in more than 30 years… profound, system-relevant changes were possible in timeframes of days to weeks only.”

Worldwide CO2 emissions fell 6% in 2020, but as economic activity bounced back towards the end of the year, emissions increased 2% in December 2020 compared with the previous year.

Learning the lessons from COVID-19

Ms Reckien says there are four ways to tackle climate change and COVID-19 together:

  1. Re-greening cities
  2. Re-adjusting inner cities and office spaces
  3. Re-structuring neighbourhoods
  4. Re-moving transportation systems

Serviced offices can support these ambitions in a variety of ways:

  1. By embracing green areas, waterside locations and outdoor spaces.
  2. By reducing urban density and creating office spaces out of central business districts.
  3. By allowing decentralised, self-contained communities of residential, commercial and office space.
  4. By prioritising easy access via public transport instead of private vehicles.

The benefits of these strategies are clear for the environment, by allowing more natural greenery to grow, as well as reducing carbon miles for commuters.

But there are also advantages for a post-pandemic world with one eye still on infectious disease control, as there is less movement of the workforce on a daily basis, and less crowded workplaces with plenty of fresh air.

How SOC’s serviced offices in London and Manchester can help

The Serviced Office Company’s serviced offices in London and Manchester have been designed to meet as many of the above needs as possible, even in our locations that opened before the pandemic began.

We have always prioritised access to open air and natural surroundings, with our serviced offices in London overlooking the River Thames, and our serviced offices in Manchester adjacent to Salford Quays.

Public transport is a priority via the DLR Canary Wharf station in London, or the Metrolink in Manchester.

And our serviced offices in Manchester are located just outside the city centre, meaning there’s no need to head into the busiest business areas just to get to and from work.

Find out more

If you’d like to know more about our serviced offices in Manchester and London, including the new locations we have recently opened or have under development, please contact us and we’ll be happy to talk to you about all our premises.

As well as our well-appointed serviced offices, we also have on-site meeting rooms in Manchester and London, for when you need an extra private space for an interview, meeting or training session.

Finally, we have virtual offices in London and Manchester to give you a professional, physical contact address and telephone number, while you are free to work from home or anywhere else – ideal if you want to limit your time in a physical office after the pandemic.

How Hollywood embraced serviced offices

Posted on by aleks

Walk into our serviced offices in London and Manchester and you’ll find yourself in modern, spacious surroundings with ergonomic furniture and plenty of natural light – but offices haven’t always been this way.

Movies and TV shows provide a visual history of how office space has changed over the decades, according to an article in the journal Megaron, charting the trend towards many of the features found in modern-day serviced offices.

The authors from Abdullah Gul University in Turkey look at how film and television portray offices from different time periods, as a way to identify the features of those eras, as well as to predict the future needs of a more flexible and mobile workforce.

The emergence of office space

Offices have existed for centuries but early examples were very large buildings often used for government, administration or as large company headquarters.

As the Second Industrial Revolution progressed into the 20th century, a wider range of businesses began to take up office space, driven by the rise in white-collar workers.

Early offices were often very large and open-plan, designed for easy observation by managers, and had few personal belongings on individuals’ desks.

By the 1960s, this had started to change. The TV series Mad Men, set in 1960s America, features smaller offices, separated by partitions, with many more personal possessions on show.

Modern serviced office space

Small cubicles became a feature throughout the 1980s-90s, as shown in the movie Office Space in 1999, but since the start of the 21st century, this has changed significantly.

The researchers note the 2002 film 40 Days and 40 Nights, which takes place in a renovated office building with modern furniture, kitchen facilities and comfortable seating areas.

In 2015, The Intern depicted an open-plan office with no partitions between employees, and even allowed people to work in different parts of the office on portable laptop computers – something that was not possible during the 20th century.

“Under the influence of the technological developments of the 2000s, employees can work in various places inside or outside the office, thanks to their laptops,” the researchers note.

“The workspace has become a comfortable space like home, in order to provide a sense of belonging,” they add.

Serviced office space for the future

The article is particularly relevant in light of the recent Coronavirus outbreak, which has forced many more people to work flexibly and from home, an overnight trend that is unlikely to reverse fully in the years to come.

But even as the COVID-19 pandemic fades, serviced office space will continue to provide the kinds of facilities – comfortable, well-equipped offices, convenient kitchen areas, meeting rooms for hire and chill out rooms – that have been on-trend throughout the past one or two decades.

As we move into the future together, the flexibility of serviced offices will also mean workplaces can adapt more quickly to emerging trends and technologies.

We don’t know where this will lead over the next 10-20 years, but we will continue to ensure our serviced offices in London and Manchester offer the very best fixtures, fittings and workspace for all our customers.

Serviced offices, co-working spaces and incubators: what’s the difference?

Posted on by aleks

A lot of the time, co-working spaces are mentioned in the same breath as hot-desking, serviced office, incubators and accelerators.

But what are the similarities and differences between those? And why are serviced offices so popular, especially among new start-ups, small businesses and rapidly growing brands?

Serviced offices and co-working spaces

Writing in the journal Urban Studies in summer 2021, a team from the London School of Economics and Political Science, University College London and DIW Berlin explained some of the common features of serviced offices.

They wrote: “Serviced offices are aimed at established businesses: fully fitted-out office buildings offering modular space where the emphasis is on input-sharing.

“Co-working spaces have similarities with incubators in terms of physical setup, input-sharing and business models aimed at early-stage firms.”

This is all true, although we would add that our serviced offices in London and Manchester have helped many businesses get off the ground, starting from a very early stage indeed.

Incubators and accelerators

Access to accelerators and incubators is much tighter than to general serviced offices and co-working spaces.

For example, to be allowed office space in an incubator, you may need to be engaged in a specific type of business activity, and may have to commit to certain tasks, such as meetings with business mentors.

The LSE team wrote: “Accelerators and incubators are distinct from other smaller, denser spaces in the extent to which participants are selected and their interactions are structured or curated by providers.”

For new entrepreneurs, this can be very helpful, by providing a guiding light to help you understand your chosen industry and how to run a business; however, the tighter rules and restrictions are not for everyone.

Which is better?

Overall, co-working space is a broad spectrum. At the thin end of that wedge, there’s business accelerators and incubators, places where access is extremely limited, while at the broad end there are much more open-access facilities like hot-desking and internet cafes.

Serviced offices provide a middle ground. You get your own private office space on flexible, affordable terms, suitable for SMEs looking to keep close control of your overheads.

Access is not limited to a specific sector or high-growth market, so you’re free to explore whatever business ideas you might have, without interference.

Co-working areas in serviced offices

Although our serviced offices in London and Manchester provide private offices, you also have access to communal areas where you can meet with other entrepreneurs based in the building.

These include the kitchen areas, chill out and breakout rooms, as well as the reception area at the main entrance to the building.

You also share access to meeting rooms on-site, and these can be booked in advance as and when you need them, so it’s always clear who should be using the room.

Altogether, this adds up to a highly flexible way to get professional, private office space in Manchester and London, to support your business whether it’s in its infancy, or you just prefer the flexible terms of serviced offices for mature businesses.

COVID-19 shows virtual offices are “business critical”

Posted on by aleks

Virtual offices have proved “business critical” during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a newly published workplace design guide.

Rethink Design Guide, published by RIBA in 2021, includes a chapter titled ‘Workplace’ and written by Nicola Gillen.

In the chapter, the author notes how pandemics have the potential to accelerate societal and economic shifts, as societies are forced to adapt in the present and reconsider the future.

This includes the Coronavirus pandemic, which saw many different kinds of businesses from retail and leisure, to office buildings, closed down and standing empty.

Opening new channels for collaboration and remote working

The negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have led to rapid evolution in working practices, particularly for those in the workforce who want more flexible working conditions.

Ms Gillen writes: “The current crisis has shown that the ability to operate virtually is not only business critical, but it also opens new channels for more equal collaboration and potentially gives access to untapped sources of talent as more employees can access work from wherever they are.

“The shift of core offices towards physical meeting and collaboration spaces could accelerate, and this would most likely continue to take place in vibrant urban centres and regional knowledge clusters.”

Her observations highlight a trend that we have discussed in our recent news articles on the Serviced Office Website, away from large central offices, and towards more regional workspaces and virtual office workers.

The future of offices in cities

A rise in virtual office working practices does not mean an end to physical premises in important business districts like London, Birmingham and Manchester.

“Large cities will most probably continue to attract employment,” Ms Gillen predicts, “but the likely acceleration of remote and flexible working will decrease the time spent in core office hubs.”

Serviced Office Company have been enabling this trend for several years already, providing joined-up workspaces including Offices in London and Manchester, as well as virtual offices from the same addresses.

This means you can have physical premises, virtual offices in Manchester and London, or a combination of the two. Correspondence can be routed through to you wherever you are, and we have meeting rooms for hire on-site if you need to meet a supplier or customer face-to-face in a professional setting.

Are virtual offices the future?

Our virtual offices in London and Manchester are a way to get a professional address and geographical telephone number, without needing to be physically located in those cities – you can even have contact details in both locations while working from a third, completely remote town or city.

While physical workplaces will not vanish overnight – and again, our serviced offices in Manchester and London cater for this need too – the Coronavirus pandemic has been a proof of concept for companies that may have been putting off a shift over to remote working.

This is a unique opportunity to make that shift as the economy opens back up again, in a climate where consumers and collaborators alike will be expecting many more businesses to operate remotely and virtually.

As we move beyond the final phases of the pandemic, Serviced Office Company will be here to support the recovery, and to enable entrepreneurs to work in the ways, and in the locations, that serve your business best.

Shared offices create a flexible, collaborative place to work

Posted on by aleks

Shared and serviced offices are underpinning an emerging trend towards “space as a service”, according to research published in the journal Environment and Planning D: Society and Space.

The article ‘Coordinating office space: Digital technologies and the platformization of work’ was written by Lizzie Richardson at the Goethe-Universitaet Frankfurt am Main in Germany, and published in the April 2021 issue.

She looked at how digital technologies are allowing office work to be carried out in a more dispersed way, and how this is leading to an increase in shared office spaces where multiple businesses occupy the same premises, sometimes for relatively short periods of time.

This is all part of the notion of ‘platformization’, in which work is reorganised using technologies that support flexible working conditions – both in terms of time and location – and new levels of independence and interdependence among workers.

Extending the concept of serviced offices in the UK

Prof Dr Richardson writes that the ‘space as a service’ trend is an extension of a decades-long market for serviced offices in the UK and other countries, dating back to the 1980s.

“Whilst this by no means implies the extinction of more traditional models of office usage, space as a service aims to generate new forms of revenue from the demands for mobility of workers … and the perceived inefficiency of voluminous and long-term investment in office real estate (whether leased or owned) by larger companies,” she explains.

“From the perspective of the different business occupiers, the model provides a space equipped with all that is necessary for office activity that, equally importantly, enables these activities to take place in front of other workers.”

Shared office space enables communication not only within businesses, but with other occupiers of the same building, enhancing collaboration with like-minded entrepreneurs in the same local area.

Studying serviced offices in London and Manchester

As part of her research, Prof Dr Richardson made “short observations in 15 offices across Manchester, Cambridge and London”. She notes that the London serviced offices market in particular is well serviced and diverse.

Of the more than 660 flexible offices in London, over three quarters are described as small operators, a characteristic also found elsewhere in the country.

“In other cities, dedicated operators with a similar intermediary function also tend to be smaller companies, often with only one space,” her article observes.

Meeting demand for serviced offices in London, Manchester and Telford

At the Serviced Office Company, we respond to demand where we see it at its highest, and in addition to our serviced offices in London and Manchester, we are currently working hard on our biggest-ever development of serviced offices in Telford, at St James’ House on Central Park.

This adds to our serviced offices in London at Davenport House on Pepper Street, and our London Business Centre at Millharbour Court, both conveniently located on the Isle of Dogs.

Meanwhile in the north-west, our serviced offices in Manchester include Exchange Quay and just a few minutes’ walk away, our serviced offices in Salford Quays on neighbouring Clipper Quay – two different postcode districts separated by a matter of metres.

4 in 5 businesses seek premium serviced office space

Posted on by aleks

Premium serviced office space is in high demand, according to research commissioned by essensys, a supplier of software-as-a-service to the flexible workspace sector.

The company’s study found that 80% of commercial premises occupiers would consider premium serviced office space to be “an attractive offering”.

Under the definition used in the research, premium serviced offices are those equipped with technology and other amenities, with flexible capacity to accommodate growing and shrinking businesses.

But despite the high level of interest from occupiers, the same study found barely more than half of landlords, 53% of those surveyed, are offering those kinds of premises.

Mark Furness, essensys founder and CEO, said: “Occupier requirements are driving demand for more flexible, experience-focused and tech-enabled workspaces and services.

“This report is a testament to the technology-led transformation that flexible real estate providers must undertake to deliver the amazing in-building experiences occupiers demand today and in the future.”

A move towards more flexible workspaces

The flexibility of serviced office space is a driving force behind many businesses’ decision to move into a shared business centre – often benefiting from improved access to collaborate with other organisations and entrepreneurs as a result.

In the essensys study, 60% of commercial premises occupiers said that they currently plan to make use of flexible workspace within the next three years.

For many, access to next-generation technology is an important element in this, and 46% said they consider this to be a key driver of occupier uptake.

The impact of the Coronavirus pandemic is also transforming the way we work, and it’s likely many more employees will embrace the potential of flexible working in the years ahead, having had an experience of it during lockdown and furlough.

Future-proof serviced offices in Manchester and London

At the Serviced Office Company we offer future-proof serviced offices in Manchester and London, and we’re always looking for ways to raise our game even further.

For example, our serviced offices come with high-speed internet and telecommunications systems powered by essensysCloud corporate-grade infrastructure.

Our premises are equipped with plasma TVs, projection screens and state of the art audiovisual facilities, to make sure every pitch, presentation and training session is given its time to shine.

You’ll find this commitment to future-proof presentation equipment in all of our meeting rooms for hire in Manchester and London, so you always have the systems you need within arm’s reach.

Find out more

To find out more about our serviced offices in Manchester and London, as well as our meeting rooms for hire and virtual office services at the same premises, please get in touch with the Serviced Office Company and we’ll be happy to help.

ICT tech is just one of the many features of our shared workspaces. Other attributes as standard range from natural daylight, to air conditioning, to comfy breakout rooms where you can escape from the stress of the day for a few minutes.

We love talking about our premises and we work hard to accommodate our clients’ needs – so if there’s something specific you would like your workplace to provide, let us know and we can take it into account.

Serviced Office Company to open biggest-ever serviced offices in Telford

Posted on by aleks

The Serviced Office Company has some exciting news – our biggest-ever new development, which should be ready for use before the end of 2021!

We’ve been waiting to tell you all about St James’ House on Central Park in Telford. The four-floor premises will house 52,000 square feet of serviced offices in Telford’s picturesque park, a stone’s throw from the M54.

Modus Workspace are currently refurbishing the interior to create serviced office space for small, medium and large companies, a project costing some £8 million.

By the time the work is done, we hope to offer:

  • Nearly 50 separate offices over the ground and first floors with a total of 250 desks
  • Lightning-fast internet capabilities including next-generation Wi-Fi 6
  • Heating and air conditioning controls for each office
  • Smart access systems on communal doors for 24/7 access to your office
  • Four communal areas and business lounges with kitchen facilities

We will also be offering on-site meeting rooms in Telford, including six smaller breakout rooms that can be used free of charge, and seven larger conference rooms that can be booked via an app.

What’s up top?

The top two floors of St James’ House will be dedicated to open-plan office space, which can be occupied by a single tenant or easily reconfigured to meet a range of smaller needs for SMEs.

Clients on the third floor will have exclusive use of an outdoor terrace, while occupants anywhere in the building can use two large outdoor areas on ground level.

All occupants will also be given access to a 180-space secure car park, with six dedicated Visitor bays, four electric car chargers, and a 50-space executive underground parking lot.

Rob Streetley, Commercial Director at Modus, said: “I’m pleased to be working together with the Modus team and the Serviced Office Company for their largest project to date.

“It’s gratifying to know that we were selected on a competitive basis and knowing this means they’ve put their trust in Modus to deliver. It means a lot and makes us more determined to provide an outstanding finished product that everyone can be proud of!”

About St James’ House

We’re excited to open St James’ House in December 2021. The former HMRC building is surrounded by trees on the edge of a lake and had started to succumb to nature.

The derelict interior and overgrown exterior disguised a real gem, which wasn’t helped by the fact that the site had been used to train police dogs, and had been left with police tape wrapped around parts of the building!

The Serviced Office Company commissioned Box Architects to come up with the refurb concept and we’re pleased that they will be working with Modus throughout the completion of the work.

We set a goal to get the premises ready for occupants as soon as possible, and despite ambitious work to strip out all the services and replace all the windows and curtain walling, ceilings, lifts and other interior finishes, we will keep up the pace over the next six months.

If you want to know more about our biggest-ever serviced offices in Telford, please contact us, as we’re genuinely very excited to discuss our new Business Centre between now and Christmas!

Santander looks to local offices post-pandemic

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More major businesses in the UK may look to local offices, serviced offices and collaborative spaces during the post-pandemic recovery, if they follow the strategy taken by one of the country’s largest financial services providers.

Santander have announced plans to introduce more flexible working conditions for around 5,000 staff, including a hybrid approach that combines working from home, with time spent working in “local collaboration spaces”.

The consolidation programme will see the bank left with six main offices in London, Milton Keynes, Sheffield, Belfast, Bradford and Glasgow.

In addition to these, thousands of employees will divide their time between local offices and homeworking, which Santander say reflects a desire found across their workforce over the past year.

Nathan Bostock, Santander UK CEO, said: “The pandemic has accelerated the existing trend towards greater flexible working, and our colleagues have told us this has brought significant benefits for many of them.

“At the same time, physical spaces remain very important and our sites around the UK will provide our colleagues with first-class facilities fit for the future.”

A shift towards local offices?

The plans resemble the Brooklyn model of small local offices described by Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak in a Politico podcast in February.

He told the politics site’s Westminster Insider podcast that in the New York City borough, more people are working from small local offices in their own neighbourhood, allowing them to avoid working from their own homes, without needing to commute a long way.

Santander’s announcement is a sign that major businesses in the UK are adopting the same model as we move into the post-pandemic recovery phase, partly due to demand from employees.

As well as allowing a distributed workforce to avoid a return to early mornings and lengthy commutes, more distributed offices are a sensible measure to manage a variety of pandemic risks.

They allow fewer employees to attend the workplace at any one time, reducing the likelihood of spreading an infection.

And in the event that an individual tests positive for COVID-19, there are fewer colleagues forced to self-isolate as a safety precaution too.

An increased regional presence

One benefit of operating from multiple local offices is the ability to establish a presence in numerous different regions around the country.

Santander’s six main offices after the consolidation programme will include premises at the bank’s UK headquarters in Milton Keynes, the capital city of London, as well as Yorkshire, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

This connects with the trend of ‘north-shoring’ in which businesses look to open bases of operations outside of the south of England.

At the Serviced Office Company we are ready to support British companies who want to follow a similar strategy, with serviced offices in London and Manchester that allow you to set up in the south-east, the north-west or both.

The months ahead are uncertain but the trend is positive. If you are looking to establish a regional office structure to tap into local growth opportunities post-lockdown, contact us today to discuss our serviced offices in Manchester and London.

Stay COVID-compliant with serviced office space

Posted on by aleks

Serviced offices in Manchester and London could help businesses operating in the cities to comply with the government’s COVID-19 restrictions and recommendations.

With the vaccine rollout continuing and UK infection rates relatively low, parts of the economy are opening back up – and for some people who have worked at home for much of the past year, that means heading back to the office.

Under current guidance published on GOV.UK, the government tells employers that their employees are allowed to attend a physical workplace, although where possible they should continue to work from home.

“Where people cannot work from home, employers should take steps to make their workplaces COVID-19 secure and help employees avoid busy times and routes on public transport,” the guidance adds.

The recommendations above were included in the government’s guidance as of an update on April 16th, although restrictions and guidelines are subject to change at very short notice, so employers should continue to stay abreast of any future developments.

How can serviced offices help?

Our serviced offices in Manchester and London offer a great way to get staff back to work in physical premises, rather than working from home, if you feel it is essential for your business to have an on-premises workforce.

Some of the benefits include the ability to allow small numbers of staff to return, with the flexibility to scale up in the future as the threat of the pandemic fades.

But in the immediate term, our serviced offices in Salford Quays are the perfect way to gain premises adjacent to MediaCityUK and Manchester city centre, without asking employees to face the rush hour crowds in the busiest parts of the city.

You can offer staggered shifts so staff can arrive outside of the typical rush hour times of day, as well as flexible working for those who can work from home on some days of the week.

Likewise our serviced offices in London give you a physical location on the Isle of Dogs, neighbouring Canary Wharf but with the option to avoid the crowds if you plan your journey around peak times.

Plan your post-pandemic office

Serviced offices are a great way to gain COVID-secure premises for the post-pandemic period, as restrictions and recommendations are likely to continue to change frequently and without warning, potentially for several years to come.

As the tail end of the pandemic passes, we will continue to work hard, as we have done since March 2020, to adjust to the changing guidelines and provide COVID-secure office space for all our tenants.

Our modern office interiors make good use of materials that are easy to clean and sanitise, and we will provide COVID-safe meeting rooms for hire as long as it is within the government guidelines for us to do so.

This is in addition to all the usual benefits of serviced office space, such as the ability to scale up or down in line with your business growth over time, as well as seamless integration with employees working from home.