Your start-up is growing, you find yourself running out of space in the home office. Your Director has asked you to look at opening a new branch. You’re the CEO of a small business that’s won a new contract and need to expand quickly.
These are all good problems to have, however looking at renting office space for the first time can be a daunting process especially in a city with many different office providers. Where do you start?
While there are pro’s and cons to taking serviced office vs traditntal leased space for this article we are focussing purely on serviced or ‘flexible workspace’.
So, here are our Top 5 Tips on Finding Your Perfect Office Space.
- Space planning
Before you start looking think about the space you need. Typically, serviced office space providers will allocate 30 square foot per person (Kingsford give 40 square foot per person). For example 4-person office will be 120 to 160 square foot. More flexible workspace providers will let you upscale if you need to grow.
If you require room for meeting table add another 25 square foot per conference chair.
- Price, location and Budget
Try to establish a budget but be realistic. Office space providers are a bit like hotels, you get budget providers, mid-market and high-end providers.
Location and type effects pricing too. Mid-market and higher end providers tend to be more centrally located with more luxurious touches, with dedicated Front of House Managers, whilst budget providers tend to be on the outskirts of a large town or city and offer less in the way of amenities. Offices with superior views will be more expensive that an internal office.
Coworking (Hot-desks or fixed desks in a shared environment) is growing massively in popularity and is a cost effective option for start-ups or 1 to 3 person team. Prices and packages vary widely, at Kingsford our packages start from £90 per month.
London prices for fully serviced private offices range from £500 up to a whopping £1,000 per desk , whilst secondary cities such as Manchester , Glasgow or Edinburgh would typically range from £200 to £350 per desk. Again this depends on the size, type and location of office space.
When looking pricing be mindful not to compare apples with pears. Is the space fully inclusive or are things like broadband, meeting rooms and coffee extra?
- Do your research
Before you even book an appointment to view a space, check out the providers website, blog, LinkedIn and Instagram pages. This will give you an idea of the sense of community, services offered , engagement with customers and general brand values.
- Think about your team
The basics that are important to most office based workers – a smaller commute or good transport links, natural light, fast reliable broadband and kitchens/breakout space with tea/coffee facilities.
Different generations also tend to work differently – older workers may prefer traditional private office space with fixed desks whilst younger workers may be more inclined to work in an open collaborative hotdesking or coworking environment. You know your team best so will know what will work for them.
Higher end workspaces may offer an inbuilt perks package for your employees – at Kingsford we offer complimentary tea, coffee, soft drinks, regular free beer and prosecco socials along with member nights out and discounts at local bars, restaurants and gyms.
- How flexible is the space?
You may be planning scale quickly grow or looking to start slowly. Questions to ask are what are the minimum and maximum agreement terms? Can you upgrade to a bigger space easily? Are there annual rent or licence fee increases?
I hope you found this useful. If you have any other tips , let us know in the comments below.
About the author
Steven Carr is Head of Kingsford Office a leading Edinburgh provider of high end Serviced and Coworking Space and has worked in the serviced office industry for several years for some of the leading providers in the Sector. Kingsford Office is leading Edinburgh provider of high end serviced office and Coworking. Our agreements are fully inclusive, hassle free with terms to suit you.
