Choosing the right Kent and London office space for your business is clearly important for your business’s success. But do you know what your choices are, and which ones are right for your business? This article attempts to provide the information you’ll need to make the right decision when it comes to deciding where to locate your business.
Questions Every Business Needs To Ask
Every business is different and will have its own needs, requirements, and preferences. It’s true what they say, in the case of office space, one size doesn’t fit all. However, there are a number of questions that all businesses should ask themselves before embarking on a property search. They are:
What Are Your Specific Business Needs?
The first step is to consider all of your business needs and wants. Think about your plans both in the short and long term.
- What is required for you to be able to carry out your business processes?
- Do your staff work individually? Do they need privacy to work?
- Is your business more team based? Do some teams need to be close to one another?
- Based on the answers to the questions above what sort of floor plan do you need? Do you require open space, individual offices or would a combination of the two would work best for you?
- If your business has satellite offices, or home workers will you require audio visual equipment to allow you to communicate with other offices, staff or clients?
- Do you require any other specialist equipment or services?
What Size Of Office Do You Need?
Choosing the right size of office space is vital for your business’s short- and long-term success. If you move into a small office you’ll eventually find it cramped and you are also likely to quickly outgrow it. Too big an office and you’ll be spending more money on office and utility bills than you need to.
According to the HSE’s “How much space am I entitled to at work?” “The total volume of the room, when empty, divided by the number of people normally working in it should be at least 11 cubic metres. In making this calculation a room or part of a room which is more than 3.0m high should be counted as 3.0m high. The figure of 11 cubic metres per person is a minimum and may be insufficient if, for example, much of the room is taken up by furniture etc.”
As a general rule you should allow for between 75 (efficient) – 100 (generous) sq. ft. per person while taking into account the type of work that each person does, and the space they require. Also think about:
- How many staff do you currently have (and are you likely to be expanding in the short or long term)?
- Are your staff purely office based, or do they also work from home or from other offices?
- How many board/meeting rooms will you need?
- How many breakout areas (kitchen, tea points, downtime areas etc.) need to be factored into your office design?
- How much storage space will you require?
- Will you be inviting clients onto site? If so, will you need a reception area and meeting space to get together with them privately?
Do You Have A Location In Mind?
Where your business is located is important. Here are some of the questions that you should ask to determine the best place to situate your business.
- Are you looking for a centrally located office with good road networks, public transport, and easy access by foot so that your staff can get to work quickly, without complicated long journeys? Or would you prefer to be out of town?
- Do you need to be close to your customer base and suppliers?
- Do you want to be close to your competitors? Will this help with footfall or will it make it more difficult to attract clients?
- Are there convenient and safe parking facilities available? Are they free?
- Is the building easy to find?
- What is the reputation of the neighbourhood your building is located in? Will it encourage staff retention and recruitment? Will clients feel safe and comfortable to visit?
- What local amenities are available? If staff want to have lunch away from the office are there suitable cafes, restaurants, and shops available to them? Are there places close by where you can entertain clients away from the office?
What Style Are You Looking For?
If you are looking to carry out an office refurbishment when you move offices then your office design plans can reflect that. If, however you are moving to an office space that has already been fitted out one of the things you’ll need to consider is the style of the office space e.g.,
- Are you looking for open plan or private offices?
- Do you want your work space to be light and airy or darker and more “industrial”?
- Are you looking for bright colours or a more neutral colour scheme? What would fit with your branding?
- Are you looking for something that’s modern, high tech, industrial, classic, or are you in the creative industry and looking for something that’s artistic? Do you want to move away from the normal style that’s expected from your industry? Do you want to stand out from the crowd?
- Do you prefer glass and polished surfaces or something a bit softer and more comfortable?
- Are you looking for high or low ceilings?
- Should the space be high tech?
- Would you prefer your office to be eco-friendly, more energy-efficient, utilising natural materials and incorporating office planting?
What’s Included / And What’s Not?
When it comes to office space it’s important to find out what’s included and what’s not. The last thing you’ll want is to discover that there are hidden costs that you didn’t know about and which you haven’t factored into your budget. Once you know that all costs are accounted for, you’ll be able to check if the office is competitively priced in line with similar office spaces in the location you’re interested in moving your business to. Find out:
- Who is responsible for maintenance and repairs? Is this your responsibility or the responsibility of the landlord?
- Will the office be fully furnished, or will you need furnish it yourself?
- Will the office come with phone and good quality internet? What other utilities are included?
- Are there enough power sockets for all of your equipment and are they situated where you can make the best use of them? If you need additional sockets who is responsible for adding them?
- Who cleans and maintains the toilets?
- Are there kitchen facilities or do you need to install them?
- Who deals with the disposal of waste?
- If there is a reception area, are you responsible for arranging the cleaning of it, is it a joint responsibility or is this part of the cost of the office?
- Does the building include security and is this included in the costs?
- Check there are no other services/fees to pay that aren’t already factored into the overall cost.
- When you want to exit from your lease what is the notice period and what else will you be required to do?
Are Alterations Allowed?
You may find that you want to make changes to your office. It might be something as simple as changing the colour scheme and décor, or something more complex like altering the layout. Whatever changes you want to make you will need to be sure that you are allowed to make changes within your business premises.
- Check the building lease and find out what restrictions there are and whether any consent is required from the landlord or building owner.
- Check what changes are allowed before embarking on any work.
- If you are looking to make structural changes check that the building isn’t listed as this may preclude these types of changes.
- Where structural work is permitted find out how long building regulations and planning permission are likely to take.
What Type Of Office Will Best Meet Your Needs?
Based on your requirements and the answers you’ve given above the next step is to choose the type of office which will best suit your business needs: a serviced, managed or leased office. They each provide different solutions which are explained below.
Serviced Office Space
Serviced office space is provided by a “serviced office provider”, who leases individual desks, offices, and building floors to other businesses and individuals.
Serviced office spaces come fully furnished and provide all the necessary equipment and amenities you’ll need to run your business including IT infrastructure, admin support, reception support, shared meeting rooms and kitchen facilities. There’s no need to worry about decorating or finding the right furniture or installing kitchens and tea points. It’s all taken care of for you in an all-inclusive package.
This type of office is ideal for startups, smaller businesses and freelancers who are looking for flexibility in terms of contract length as they enable businesses to rent space for short durations. The term of contract is normally around twelve months, but some serviced office providers also allow for three-, six- or nine-month contracts. As businesses share workspaces there is also the potential for networking and collaboration.
However, if you’re looking to put down roots for the longer term and want to change the look and layout of the space then a serviced office is probably not for you. As many of the services are shared there is also likely to be less privacy so if privacy is a must, then you may find a serviced office doesn’t fit your needs.
Managed Office Space
A managed office is managed by a third-party supplier.
If you’re looking to make your office space your own, then a managed office allow for a bespoke workspace solution which can be fully fitted out according to your business needs and office design. All costs involved including office fitout and rent are included in one monthly fee making it easy to understand and manage the costs.
Where you can move straight into a serviced office, a manged office will take longer to be ready as it has to be tailored to your specifications. Lease terms also tend to be longer from twelve to thirty-six months.
Leased Office Space
Leasing office space from a commercial landlord tends to be the industry norm. Typical lease terms range from three to ten years. This length of contract can provide a business with stability knowing that they will have office premises for the set length of the lease.
The business moving in is responsible for managing and maintaining the office space including the fit out, giving the business full control over the office design and layout and allowing a business to fully make their mark in terms of workspace identity and branding.
It can take longer to negotiate and finalise a lease and it’s far more difficult to terminate a lease agreement as there trends to be less opportunity to leave once a fixed term lease is signed. It’s therefore important to check what penalties will be incurred if a lease can be broken.
Your Budget
Your budget will be one of the main drivers of what office space you can afford. However, it’s important to make sure that the office space you choose can deliver on your needs. Ask your self can the business afford the cost involved in taking on this office space both the short and long term? As mentioned above make sure you’ve accounted for all of the expenses you’ll incur and don’t find there are any nasty surprises that take you out of your budget limit.
Finance and Leasing
Did you know that when it comes to your office fitout you can get help with financing and leasing? Leasing your office refurbishment is a simple, tax-efficient way of financing your project and is an alternative to paying upfront for your brand new or refurbished workplace. It can also offer significant tax savings, as the repayments are 100% tax allowable.
Leasing often means that your project can begin straight away, without having to wait for capital to become available. It can also let you preserve your cash flow with easy-to-manage fixed monthly repayments.
JBH Refurbishments, Experts In Office Design and Refurbishment
JBH Refurbishments have over 30+ years experience in office design, office refurbishments and fit outs. We provide Cat A and Cat B fitouts for landlords for Kent or London office refurbishments. We also work in partnership with the UK’s market leading specialists in arranging finance packages to businesses buying furniture, or looking to carry out a workplace refurbishment. You can contact us on 0333 207 0339 or via our contact page today for a free on-site consultation.
