6000sqft Storage Warehouse Costs

[Richardspink]

Hi All

Newbie here, we are just planning to expand our business and looking to rent a warehouse. We can cost pretty much everything but stuck on a few things and I was wondering if anyone could help guide us with costing's.
The area will be purely storage with 2 members of staff. Occasional customer access and no heating required. We would basically be renting a shell of a warehouse and have lighting on maybe 6 hours a day. There would be a toilet onsite and that's about it. We know the basics but are struggling to put a real world figure against the following.

Legal fees for arranging the lease
Water rates
Insurance building (do we need or is this landlord?)
insurance public liability
other insurances required
electricity bills
CCTV 5 cameras with the ability to see them 24/7 remotely
Alarm system
Fire alarm system

also when renting a Wh does anybody know if its usual to pay monthly or quarterly? and if they hold deposits and if so how many months rent equivalent?

 

[Root 66 Woodshop]

With the CCTV - Alarm and Fire Alarm I recommend that they're all signalling a call centre.... May I also suggest that you have a key holding firm as first response rather than yourselves.

It may sound expensive but depending on who you go with and what kind of package they can offer will make it cost effective and productive for you.

It can also depend on what you're storing - for instance chemicals... an alarm/fire alarm will have different sensors etc if chemicals are involved in storage.

Also on top of the above security products - what about your locks? are they up to minimum standard? The amount of times we've attended a business or domestic property only to find the "Landlord" has popped in a non BS lock is amazing.

Cost isn't that much on them TBH we sell a BS product for £15 + VAT - non BS locks are around £10.00 + VAT

 

[Richardspink]

Thank you that's great info .

 

[funnymoney]

- legal fees for arranging a lease could be from £750 to £1500 depending on the solicitor you use.

- water rates depends if there is a meter at the property if yes you will be charged on how much you use if not metered you will probably pay £300/£400 quarterly.

- building insurance is taken out by the landlord but is charged to the tenant in most cases. If you wanted content insurance you do that your self.

- your cctv fire alarm etc its best to contact a local company and get a quote.

- when renting a commercial unit the norm is for rent to be paid quarterly upfront. Rent depot can be from 3 to 6 months rent.

A 6,000sq/ft could cost you from £4 a sq/ft to £10 a sq/ft depending on the location in some cases can even be more than that.

I hope this information helps, excuse my English and grammar.

 

[wevet]

If you are a start up my advice would be to try to find a rental rather than lease. If your business folds you are stuck with the lease until you are able to find someone to take over the lease. So, a lease could potentially be ruinous.

I would suggest tha, unless the quality of the property is important, go for the cheapest available even if it looks a bit shabby. Keeping your overheads low and under control at the beginning, and indeed throughout the life of the business is vital.

The money saved renting "shabby chic" rather than flash new building could be ploughed into the more important areas of marketing/ stock etc.

The cost is very highly dependent on where you are based. If you can be based out of town on say a farm that would work out cheaper.

It always bemuses me that dot com companies, cash flowed by investors frequently plonk their start ups in very expensive areas and hey, they run out of cash and implode.