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Author: aleks

London Offices See Strongest Q1 on Record

Posted on by aleks

Investment in Central London offices saw its strongest first quarter on record in Q1 2022, according to figures from CBRE’s Central London Office MarketView report.

An additional £5.5 billion of investment was announced in the three-month period, the most ever recorded in the first quarter of a new calendar year, with several transactions valued in excess of £700 million each.

In terms of take-up, this stood at 2.6 million square feet, a decline from the previous quarter but broadly in line with Q1 averages from previous years in the past decade. The long-term average for all quarters of the year is just a little higher at 3.0 million.

This Q1 2022 take-up figure represents an important return to normality as ten-year averages reassert themselves, and a massive 89% increase from the pandemic-affected Q1 2021.

Small occupiers drive Q1 demand

Much of the growth in demand was driven by some of the smallest occupiers: CBRE found 1.7 million square feet of office space was accounted for by contracts under 20,000 square feet, with 351 transactions of this type on record.

That’s a 34% increase over any previous quarter since the outbreak of COVID-19 and a major factor in driving the market, as larger deals were scarce – only three contracts were signed for office space of 50,000 square feet or more.

With vacancy rates holding steady at around 9%, the London office market is looking relatively stable despite two years of turbulence, and may even be benefiting at present from the release of pent-up demand as more employees return to the workplace.

Availability in the pipeline

Total availability of Central London office space at the end of Q1 2022 stood at a relatively high 26.0 million square feet, compared with the ten-year average of 15.7 million square feet.

However, much of this is not yet occupiable, as the figure includes 4.5 million square feet of office space being marketed early, with completion expected in the next 12 months – that’s a 44% increase compared with previous quarters.

Overall, supply increased by 5% across the Central London office market as a whole, but vacancy rates in second-hand London office space have fallen considerably, down by 8% from 19.6 million square feet available in Q1 2021.

Finding offices in Central London

The CBRE report spans several areas of Central London, including the West End, Midtown, Southbank and the City, as well as the London Docklands.

Serviced Office Company’s own serviced offices in London can be found on the Docklands, including our premises at Davenport House and Millharbour Court, both within easy reach of Canary Wharf and public transport links including the DLR.

We provide flexible serviced offices, along with on-demand meeting rooms in London’s thriving business district, and a mix of virtual offices and London hotdesking facilities.

All enquiries are welcome, from sole operators to new startups, to growing firms and businesses looking to establish a Central London office. Contact us today to find out more about how to set up your new office in London.

https://www.cbre.co.uk/research-and-reports/Central-London-Office-MarketView-Q1-2022

Serviced Offices in Manchester Help Drive UK Tech Success

Posted on by aleks

Research by CBRE has ranked Manchester as the number one location outside of London for tech firms, eclipsing the ratings of several other major cities in the north of England.

Manchester was praised for its diverse population, plentiful supply of office space (around 3.5 million square feet in total) and its talented female candidate pool, along with the consistent availability of graduates from universities in Manchester, Salford and Bolton.

The remainder of the top five included Birmingham in 2nd place, Reading in 4th, and the Scottish cities of Glasgow and Edinburgh in 3rd and 5th respectively.

Meanwhile, Leeds took 8th place, with Sheffield in 10th and Liverpool languishing outside the top ten in 12th.

Why Manchester?

The report said: “Manchester has once again shown its strength as a leading tech location, maintaining the number one spot as the leading tech city in the UK outside of London.

“An ability to tap into a highly skilled graduate population has been a key driver for many multinational software and data companies in their decision to locate in Manchester.”

Following a period of strong growth in 2015-19, the report added that ICT jobs in most cities will see minimal growth in the coming years – but not in Manchester.

Because of the city’s existing tech presence, it is expected to see a further 6.4% growth in ICT jobs by 2025, second only to Birmingham’s forecasted 7.65%.

The importance of offices

It’s not just the total office space that matters – the widespread availability of serviced offices in Manchester has specific appeal for companies looking to establish HQ or a regional hub in the north-west.

CBRE said: “Accelerated by the pandemic, many large tech companies are exploring the option of a ‘hub and hub’ strategy for UK operations … as opposed to a ‘hub and spoke’ model in which smaller satellite locations feed into one centralised hub, typically in London.”

The report cited CBRE’s EMEA Occupier Survey, which found that 54% of respondents believed flexible office space solutions (e.g. serviced offices, tech incubators and hotdesking) will be the most in-demand office building amenity for the future.

Flexible office space in Manchester

Again, the city scores highly when it comes to the availability of flexible office space, with a large and thriving market for incubators and accelerators, hotdesking and serviced offices in Manchester.

CBRE scored the city ‘High’ for demand on its Flex Scoring Matrix, again comparing with ‘Medium’ demand in Leeds, ‘Medium/Low’ demand in Liverpool and ‘Low’ demand in Sheffield.

While demand is high for flexible and serviced offices in Manchester, the market is mature and availability is good, compared with other northern cities that are still racing to catch up.

Find out more

To find out more about Serviced Office Company’s Manchester serviced offices, meeting rooms and hotdesking facilities, contact us today.

With serviced offices in Telford and London also available, we can help you establish regional hubs in the north-west, West Midlands and in the capital, with flexible office space to accommodate your current and future needs as you grow.

https://www.cbre.co.uk/research-and-reports/uk-tech-cities-report-2022

Hotdesking and virtual offices could halve business energy bills

Posted on by aleks

British businesses could save as much as 50% on their energy consumption by adopting techniques like hotdesking, remote working and virtual offices in London.

Research published in the May 2022 edition of the journal Energy Research & Social Science shows how hybrid working models that combine remote and office-based working have emerged since the COVID-19 lockdowns came to an end.

While this has made office occupancy levels less predictable, it has also made them more dynamic, giving agile businesses an opportunity to benefit from the increased flexibility of the post-pandemic workforce.

In the paper, the team from Loughborough University write: “It is widely known that we are currently experiencing a highly transient period in terms of how we define work.

“Office work is progressively becoming more collaborative, modern workforce more mobile, and office occupancy more dynamic.”

Energy use in offices in London

The researchers look particularly at the carbon footprint of offices in London. With 300 million square feet of office floor space, the capital emits about three million tonnes of CO2 from its office buildings each year.

Offices rank in the UK’s top five building types for energy consumption, taking about 27.6 GWh each year from the country’s electricity supplies and representing two thirds of all non-domestic electricity use, they claim.

This consumption has increased in recent years, as office buildings are utilised more, for longer hours, and use more powered technologies like ICT equipment and air conditioning.

Open-plan offices can create particular problems if, for example, nobody takes responsibility for turning out the lights – and as much as 56% of office power is consumed outside of working hours.

Energy efficient offices in London

Setting aside the potential energy savings that could be achieved by turning equipment off overnight, the researchers look at how hybrid working could save energy and reduce CO2 emissions.

For example, if the global workforce were, on average, to work from home one day a week, they suggest this could lead to:

  • – 1% less oil consumed globally each year
  • – 24 million tonnes less CO2 output each year

This is despite the increase in domestic energy use due to people being at home in working hours, which would be more than offset by the lower consumption and emissions in workplaces.

Making London offices more energy efficient

Improving the energy efficiency of London offices doesn’t just mean moving workers to a home-based or hybrid model. The researchers also suggest using booking technology to “support hybrid working by synchronising the use of space by employees”.

This is already taking place in present-day practices like hotdesking and booking meeting rooms in London office buildings as and when they are needed, which ensures greater utilisation of the space by multiple tenants.

The researchers conclude: “When flexibility is incorporated in the use of workspace and, most importantly, in the operation of building services, significant energy savings can be achieved – close to 50% in comparison to the pre-COVID-19 situation.”

For more information about how the Serviced Office Company can help you find serviced office space in London, or to enquire about our London hotdesking facilities and virtual office service, please contact us today and we’ll be happy to help.

Serviced offices deliver key features of Bürolandschaft

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Modern office design, including open-plan serviced offices, owes many of its principles to the German movement of the 1950s known as Bürolandschaft.

The word translates directly into English as ‘Office Landscape’ and represents a period during which, instead of being designed to house individuals in isolation, office interiors were redesigned to enhance the flow of information between colleagues.

In a paper presented to the 28th International Conference on Industry, Engineering, and Management Science in March 2022, Andrew Couch and Sherri Messimer of the University of Alabama in Huntsville explained the history of the trend.

“Employees desired for office spaces to place a central focus in the strategic design process on the flow of information in the workplace,” they write. “In turn, companies adapted and these changes still hold influence on office layouts to this day.”

3 Features of Bürolandschaft

In the paper, they outline three main factors that define Bürolandschaft office interiors. These are:

High Utilisation of Space

Open-plan offices do not give each individual an isolated room or cubicle, but instead give employees a semi-private area often in close proximity to their co-workers, facilitating the faster and easier sharing of information.

Universal Workspace

To an extent, all parts of the open-plan office are communal. Teams form naturally as required by the work they do, the space is more visually consistent as it is not broken up by enclosed personal spaces, and the workplace adapts when different numbers of employees are present.

Communal Spaces

Aside from the semi-private workspaces of individual employees, open-plan workspaces lend themselves to true communal areas, which no individual worker perceives as belonging to them specifically.

Why are Serviced Offices Good for Bürolandschaft?

One of the challenges of Bürolandschaft arises from that lack of perceived ownership, which can lead individuals to neglect communal spaces – nobody wants to take on the responsibility of cleaning up, to put it simply.

Serviced offices overcome this by giving you and your workforce access to managed communal areas, including kitchen facilities, comfortable breakout rooms, communal hallways and foyers, and meeting rooms for hire when required.

By taking communal space as part of your serviced office space, you remove the need to assign individuals to manage it – and can instead just ask employees to treat the space with a reasonable amount of respect!

Tap Into the Bürolandschaft Trend

If you’re intrigued by the potential of Bürolandschaft for your business, serviced offices are an excellent way to explore open-plan workplaces with convenient communal areas that can help to keep your workers relaxed and refuelled – both mentally and by suitable food and drink – throughout the working week.

Our meeting rooms for hire in London, Manchester and Telford mean you can get genuine privacy when you need to discuss something sensitive or confidential, or when you want to avoid distractions e.g. during a job interview or stakeholder meeting.

To find out more about our open-plan serviced offices in Telford, Manchester and London, contact the Serviced Office Company today and we can arrange an in-person visit to our premises near you.

4 big benefits of serviced offices in Telford for startups

Posted on by aleks

With a new year underway, many of us will be looking to our professional lives as we make our New Year Resolutions – and if your ambition is to start a new business of your own this year, serviced offices in Telford are the perfect place to do so.

The Serviced Office Company spent most of 2021 working on our biggest project to date, the full refurbishment, inside and out, of 52,000 square feet of prime Telford serviced offices in St James’ House on Central Park.

We believe it’s the ideal place to start a new business in the West Midlands – and there are several great reasons why.

1. Prime Location

Like our serviced offices in Manchester and London, we have chosen a prime location for our Telford serviced offices. Central Park offers open space and waterside views, but also has excellent transport links thanks to the nearby M54.

For newly launched businesses, this gives you a presence at the heart of the West Midlands, alongside many like-minded entrepreneurs building businesses of their own over the coming year and beyond.

2. Everything You Need

Our facilities give you (almost) everything you need to get up and running, including comfortable office furniture, powerful communications and networking, and digital telephones with direct phone numbers.

We also provide kitchen facilities and relaxing breakout areas, so you and your future employees have somewhere to go for a short break away from the desk, and to prepare snacks and refreshments throughout the day.

3. Ready to Go

All of these fixtures, fittings and furnishings are installed and ready to go, so you only need to do the bare minimum to move into your new office space, such as installing your own computer equipment and any other hardware, such as printers, that you might want in your private office space.

This means you can focus on building your brand, whether that’s as a new startup for the new year, or continuing to grow an already established business from your new serviced offices in Telford.

4. Grows with You

As the year progresses, you’ll have access to the space you need. Serviced offices offer room for expansion, subject to availability – and with 52,000 square feet available in our Telford serviced offices, there’s plenty of room.

When you need somewhere to meet clients, investors, suppliers or candidates, we also have meeting rooms for hire on-site, which again gives you more flexibility to hold interviews, training sessions and other meetings away from your own office.

Find Out More

If you are considering your options to start a business in Telford for the new year, or at any time in the future, we welcome all enquiries about our serviced offices in Telford or our other locations in London and Manchester.

Together, our facilities give you the option of offices in the West Midlands, the North-West and/or London, with virtual office services available if you want to work remotely, but still benefit from professional contact details in prime locations.

As we move through the new year, we look forward to helping even more businesses than ever before find a place to put down roots, and to grow to even greater success in the coming 12 months and beyond.

Brixton sees high demand for serviced offices in London

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Flexible workplaces and serviced offices in London are in extremely high demand, leading to a shortage of suitable spaces in areas like Brixton.

The Lambeth Local Plan 2020-2035, which was adopted in September 2021, notes the lack of suitable provision in the area, compared with other parts of the city.

It says: “The Brixton Economic Action Plan 2017 identifies an under-supply of workspace compared to similar town centres in London and that this is affecting Brixton’s ability to facilitate growth, diversify its economy and realise its full potential as a hub for innovation and experimentation.”

This leaves small and growing businesses in Brixton facing a lack of suitable space for expansion – so what is the solution?

The future of serviced offices in London

Serviced offices in London meet the needs of SMEs including new start-ups and rapid-growth businesses, but as the Lambeth Local Plan notes, some areas are currently not well served.

The document adds that the 2017 Creative and Digital Industries Study “recommends the development of medium-sized managed and serviced offices, flexible incubator, accelerator and co-working spaces, creative studios, workshops and maker spaces, suitable for small and medium businesses”.

Policy ED1 in the Lambeth Local Plan sets out expectations for new office developments in the area. It calls for flexible workspace to be a consideration in all new office developments over 2,000 square metres, to support micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.

“This can include a variety of types of space including serviced offices and co-working space,” it adds.

The present state of serviced offices in London

As we have reported in recent months, serviced offices in London represent a rapidly growing proportion of the capital’s total office space, as more and more SMEs embrace the flexible terms and convenience of moving into serviced office space.

The Serviced Office Company is proud to provide high-standard offices for immediate occupation, with our London serviced offices located at Davenport House near Canary Wharf, and our recently opened Millharbour Court Business Centre in the Millennium Quarter.

We have meeting rooms for hire on-site, giving more occupants access to the office space they need, with the flexibility to book a meeting room only when you need one – a cost-efficient and space-efficient way to make the best use of our premises.

Alternatives to London serviced offices

We want to serve new and growing businesses no matter where they may be based, which is why we also offer virtual offices in London – contact details at our serviced office premises, without the need to occupy physical space on-site.

This gives you professional contact details, but allows you to base your business remotely or at home, either until you are established enough to need physical premises, or indefinitely if you prefer to work virtually over the long term.

We also provide serviced offices in Manchester, at Imperial Court on Exchange Quay (M5 postcode), and Clippers House on Clippers Quay which has the M50 MediaCity postcode.

And finally, our newly refurbished Serviced Office Company Telford development provides 52,000 square feet of contemporary serviced offices in Telford, giving businesses a new base for a presence in the West Midlands.

Prepare for growth with serviced offices in MediaCity

Posted on by aleks

Serviced offices in MediaCity put your company at the heart of not only one of the fastest growing business districts in the UK, but also the country’s largest regional economy, which continues to attract significant further investment.

In November, the real estate group Landsec announced the acquisition of a 75% stake in MediaCity at a cost of over £425 million, with the development currently spanning almost 1.5 million square feet of media, digital and tech space.

Phase One of MediaCity was completed a decade ago and is 96% let, with outline planning consent already in place for a further 1.6 million square feet to be added to the already underway second phase, taking Phase Two alone to a total of 2.3 million square feet.

‘Significant scale’ in regional cities

The investment highlights how the north-west and Manchester in particular is perceived as a destination with significant value for commercial development and real estate investment.

Landsec’s announcement explained why Greater Manchester is a good match for its current investment strategy:

– Greater Manchester is the UK’s largest regional economy
– Offices in Greater Manchester are also the largest regional market
– MediaCity offers large-scale development with “a clear sense of place”

This last point is clear if you spend any time in and around the MediaCity estate, with its outlook across the open water of Salford Quays, its mixed-use developments, and its nearby leisure and retail destinations.

However, the next stage of development will take some time; Landsec CEO Mark Allan said he sees “the opportunity to invest and further develop the estate, with the potential to be on-site from the first half of 2023”.

No need to wait

If you are a small business looking for offices in Salford Quays, our serviced offices in MediaCity could put you at the heart of the action in no time at all.

We have serviced offices on Clippers Quay in the MediaCity M50 postcode district, as well as serviced offices on Exchange Quay, just a short distance away in the Manchester M5 postcode.

Both locations give you turn-key business premises in Greater Manchester’s most desirable districts, with easy access into the city centre via Metrolink and immediate links with the city’s ring road network via the M602.

Find out more

If your plan for the new year is to find professional premises for your growing business, or even just to rent a small office in Greater Manchester so you no longer have to work from home as a sole trader, get in touch with the Serviced Office Company immediately.

Our serviced offices in Manchester and Salford Quays have meeting rooms for hire on-site, so if you need to meet face-to-face with potential clients, investors or candidates, you can do so in professional surroundings with refreshments, audiovisual equipment and so on.

We also offer virtual offices in Manchester, allowing you to use the contact details of our physical locations in M5 and M50, while continuing to work remotely from wherever you want.

The rooms are ready and waiting – so rent your serviced office space today and put your business at the centre of the UK’s largest regional economy as we move into a new year of growth.

Find top talent in Telford serviced offices

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Give your business the gift it deserves this Christmas by moving into Telford serviced offices, and unlocking the door to some of the top talent in the West Midlands.

The Serviced Office Company’s biggest-ever development offers 52,000 square feet of serviced offices in Telford’s Central Park, across four floors of St James’ House.

It’s been under development throughout much of 2021, with Modus Workspace refurbishing the interiors to the highest of standards – so get in touch if you’d like to enquire about occupying some of our brand-new Telford serviced offices.

For growing businesses, there’s no better time to be located in Telford, at a time when the West Midlands has better availability of local workforce than many other parts of the country.

Attracting talent during short supply

In mid-November, the ONS published its latest employment data, showing a record high number of job vacancies – 1.172 million nationwide – against a low and falling rate of unemployment, just 4.3% in the three months to September.

Manchester-based investment firm AJ Bell noted the increasing competition for top talent, as well as the 4.9% increase in average earnings (excluding bonuses) over the previous year.

AJ Bell’s head of investment analysis, Laith Khalaf, said: “As we approach Christmas, it’s extremely positive news that unemployment is so low.

“It’s less good news for employers that vacancies remain at record highs, which shows that many businesses are still struggling to attract staff as we approach the busy festive period.”

Why move to the West Midlands?

Employment in the UK – defined by the ONS as the proportion of the working-age population who are neither unemployed nor inactive – is now at 75.4%, with unemployment at 4.3%.

In the West Midlands, employment is 74.3% and unemployment is 4.8%, indicating that more local residents are seeking work.

As we open our serviced offices in Telford, we are looking to cater for this demand by providing high-quality serviced office space for new start-ups, growing SMEs and big businesses alike.

By doing this, we hope to also support the local employment market, enabling the creation of hundreds more jobs from entry-level to highly skilled positions, for the benefit of the West Midlands regional economy as a whole.

Contact Serviced Office Company

To find out more about our new Telford serviced offices and meeting rooms, or our other locations in London, Manchester and Salford Quays, please contact the Serviced Office Company today – we’re always very happy to discuss our new developments with interested parties.

St James’ House is an excellent location in the scenic surroundings of Central Park, and we’re delighted to have spent this year bringing it back to its best, ready to be occupied by local businesses.

As we look ahead to 2022, we can’t wait to get started, whether that’s giving Telford businesses room to grow, allowing new satellite offices to open in the area, or generating new employment opportunities for the local talent pool.

To join us, call 0800 319 6600 or email info@servicedofficecompany.co.uk and a member of our team will be happy to help with your enquiry.

The visible presence of serviced offices

Posted on by aleks

A report published by the University College of Estate Management has predicted that serviced offices could become an even more visible style of workplace in cities of the future.

The report, titled City 2040: The Pressures on UK Cities – An Opportunity for Change, addresses a number of key themes including the aim to achieve cleaner air, access to public and private land, equity and exchange, and clustering and proximity.

Under the section on clustering and proximity, the study predicts an increase in ‘dispersion’ as more people work remotely or from home, potentially accompanied by a rise in people working in home-based self-employed roles.

However, alongside this, the paper adds: “There is likely to be an increased demand for locally based workspaces, either divided into single company domains or shared between multiple workers running, or employed in, different businesses.”

The future of local serviced offices

This potential future trend is one we have already seen in recent years, as serviced offices in CBDs and on the edges of city centres have gained importance as locations for smaller branch offices, allowing companies to operate in a more geographically dispersed way.

In the City 2040 report, the researchers add: “Serviced office spaces are common already, but they may well become standard and more visible presences in local centres.”

As this takes shape over the coming 20 years, it is important to note that this does not decrease larger businesses’ ability to function, but unlocks benefits for big firms that many SMEs in serviced offices are already well aware of.

“Conventional business premises will continue but may be better able to operate from local centres, as an increased range of other businesses around them provides a supportive network of services and companies,” the study explains.

Unlocking access to serviced offices

These workplaces are already available – our serviced offices in London and Manchester have been operating for many years and our biggest ever facility, the newly refurbished Serviced Office Company Telford, offers 52,000 square feet of contemporary office space.

According to City 2040, more and more businesses are finding it possible to migrate to shared and serviced offices and away from monolithic CBD workplaces, thanks to a combination of:

  • Technology that ‘liberates’ them from a city centre location
  • Specialised services increasingly available online
  • Reduced reliance on central workspaces for commuting employees
  • Less need to be in close geographical proximity to competitors

Serviced offices have many of the facilities already in place to support a move towards this style of working, such as on-site kitchen facilities and washrooms, for entrepreneurs who want to blend their work and home lives in order to strike the right balance.

Find out more about our serviced offices

If you’re keen to get a head start on this trend, which is already gathering pace, please contact us today to ask about our serviced offices in London, Manchester and our new premises in Telford’s Central Park.

We welcome all enquiries, and with nearly 50 brand new offices at Serviced Office Company Telford, we currently have plenty of capacity available if you are seeking business premises as an individual, an SME or even a larger firm looking to create a branch office.