A need for 'value' office space?

[thekitchendesigner]

Baring in mind the downturn at the moment, is there a need for small, simple, value office space? Kind of like EasyOffice.

Obviously many companies are suffering and downsizing (or shutting up), plus there are lots of jobs going, which leads me to think:

Smaller, more cost effective offices/studios for companies downsizing, and cost effective space for those who have lost jobs and wishing to go it alone.

Is this a good way of thinking, or is it not quite like that??

Thanks, Mark

 

[Bathead]

I guess there is a need, and a need for virtual offices.

 

[Chris-Bateman]

Yep it's pretty hard finding cheap offices where we are especially for start ups etc so i guess there is a big need for the people who don't wanna work from home.

 

[garysumpter]

Office round here are either expensive, or low quality, so yes there is a need!

 

[garyk]

I think there is a need and was considering doing this about six months ago. The problem is of course finding suitable premises which are easily accesible to major road networks, not too far from amenities, with decent parking and reasonable lease terms. Can get any combination of those just not all of them I found. But easy in/out, rent a hotdesk by the hour/day/week could be a viable proposition.

 

[Esk247]

easier said than done...from the perspective of someone actually hiring out the office space its darn expensive.

I was looking at 2 buildings with a business associate who has a fair bit of money...we wanted to convert 2 older derelict buildings in to a series of offices and meeting rooms...no real profit to be made but we would have 2 free offices for our businesses located in the premises.

All went well until we went to the council...rates, insurance, the business plan the conversion work blah blah!

Worked out we'd have to charge at least £100 per week to make our money back.

Now i just try to flog other peoples office space thats already available. Its a nightmare doing all the work and the fitting of telephone lines, virtual offices, receptions...you get the rant!

 

[i234i]

People like Evans Easyspace etc. They are stupidly priced. I got offered a 100sq ft office (or just under) for £261 per month.

 

[HC-Martin]

I think a rent-a-desk scheme would work well - whereby there are lots of small companies working from one small office, all renting their desks (long term rather than for an hour here and there).

 

[Esk247]

well we have an entire floor empty that does hot-desking but no interest up here in whitby. £50 per week at the moment can probably get it down to £40 if we have a couple of businesses move in but alas..no interest :|

You only have to book for 3 months as well. There are lots of free offices around here but being at the seaside kind of puts people off.

Checked out easyspace..cheapest office was £99 a week for 1 desk and no windows, a box basically!

 

[Djfreema]

We have just had an Evans Easy Space open by us - so I guess their quite expensive.

The local council offer serviced offices and they are 109 sq ft (I guess that is tiny) the rent is about £70 and service charge is about £70 a month aswell, so not bad for £140 a month. What else is there to pay? Business Rates - any idea on the cost of these? Do you also need to pay council tax or is the business rates the council tax?

 

[Sam Price]

Im not so sure that the downturn means that people should only consider working at home, we recently took a 7 person office in Bank and got a great deal on a furnished office. We used a broker called Easy Offices who called around the different offices first and negotiated on our behalf. I think that using a middle-man like these guys really reduced our end costs because they were encouraging competition between the office landlords who dropped the prices once they knew we were comparing them with others, my advice is be prepared to negotiate.

 

[cjd]

One of our customers does this very well and is very successful at it. I suspect the trick is location, services and style - not just price.

(Our interest is that he can rent his clients their own telephone number and telephone service for very little extra cost - £1.99 pm - he then charges £10)

http://www.deskspace.biz

 

[CKG]

I've split my warehouse into 2 self contained offices and 2 storage units.

I'm offering these on easy in/out terms with fairly low rental.

I've not advertised them yet. But I'm confident they'll move.

I'll let you know how I get on!

 

[thekitchendesigner]

One of our customers does this very well

Our interest is that he can rent his clients their own telephone number and telephone service for very little extra cost - £1.99 pm - he then charges £10

This is the same kind of idea i have, to include it as part of self contained 'pods' for one or 2 people

 

[Interconnect IT]

I reckon small/medium towns are better markets for easy terms offices than big cities - in Liverpool you can barely move without tripping over an office to let sign. The building we're in is only at about 60% occupancy and it's hardly pricey.

 

[Esk247]

the offices up here are cheap but whitby is so cut off from the real world...now the snow has been you can't get out of the place! totally sealed off...there are 3 big office buildings here with around 50 offices and i would say 12 free but they are never full up here.

 

[barringtonfreight]

I have got spare capacity in my office in Wickford Essex if anyone is interested.

 

[sjt]

There's an office just up the road from here with a banner outside advertising £15/wk!

I'd have one, but I think it's an unaffordable luxury at this stage of the business, when I can do everything from home (if they would only turn the bloody TV off/down)

 

[Dragon Media Group]

We rent out offices in our building. We have set up the top floor into 10 furnished offices and its full. We have a reasonable turnover of people as it is aimed at start ups and people who have out grown the spare bedroom and often they either outgrow our type of office or unfortunately like many small businesses they fold.
We take a small deposit for the keys and then allow people to pay monthly in advance as flexibility is the biggest selling point.

 

[Call Tracker]

We have just started renting out our boardroom for small businesses who don't have the space for meetings, interviews etc. Also, work from homers who need to meet clients. We are based very close to the M1 Junct 14 so very central and find that businesses are grateful to have somewere unbranded and fully kitted out to used on an ad hoc basis.

One question, do you rely on word of mouth or do you advertise - I'd be interested to know.

 

[Esk247]

well i've been quite publicly advertising the offices here in whitby on this forum and on several others..no luck thus far...believe word of mouth may work better or else its this location that people aren't interested in.

 

[Alison Tepal]

There is definitely a gap in the market for cheap flexible office space.

If you look at hotels you get 5*,4* 3* etc and then the likes of travel lodge/premier inn popped up and have done well - budget hotels & budget airlines will always do well as not everyone can afford the top of the range.

I think budget office space is a great idea but i feel you would need to get a great deal on the property in order to rent it out at an affordable rate - buying space to lease out would probably work better than renting and re-letting.

Good luck with it though and i may end up renting an office from you

 

[Call Tracker]

I think the key to it is making the space flexible and well kitted out with broadband connection etc. all in place. We have found that smaller companies are keen to use the space for meeting new clients or interviewing purposes.

Try renting it by the hour as a whole day may not suit everyone and see what response you get.

 

[BlueprintAnimation]

Speaking for myself and I think a lot of other recent art-school graduates who are going freelance - we really miss the creative studio atmosphere, having other people around to talk to about our ideas and so on. Working at home or even from a rented office doesn't come close.

Flexible studio space to rent with other like-minded people looks like it might be a good niche for someone to get into... (not me I'm afraid, I would if I could afford to set it up!)

 

[Esk247]

Speaking for myself and I think a lot of other recent art-school graduates who are going freelance - we really miss the creative studio atmosphere, having other people around to talk to about our ideas and so on. Working at home or even from a rented office doesn't come close.

Flexible studio space to rent with other like-minded people looks like it might be a good niche for someone to get into... (not me I'm afraid, I would if I could afford to set it up!)

try buying the office space in the first place...i had a building that was ideal for art space as a creative studio...but its a no go..the council won't let me use it for the art space, they want more in rates than would make it viable and they don't much like the idea of it anyway! they say they already have a creative suite...which consists of a single room with a few computers in. ppfftt rubbish.

 

[Barretts-Selfstorage]

We have container office space available in Oxfordshire with lots are car parking available for any types of vehicles. Contact me if anyone is interested.

Adam

 

[thekitchendesigner]

Hi adam - what do you charge for your container offices??

 

[Barretts-Selfstorage]

Hi Mark,

Our offices are £45+ vat per week plus electric costs.

Adam

 

[thekitchendesigner]

Ok, so if i now want to take my original ideas a bit further, as the site i had in mind have given me the nod, how can i find out if there is going to be the demand locally??

The replies on this thread are positive, but obviously i need to guage interest locally. How could i do this??

Thanks, Mark

 

[Esk247]

so you want to buy office space to rent? you're not looking for space yourself?

i've been looking around and one of my customers has just bought a series of units to re-rent but they are having to spend hundreds of thousands in building and renovation work.

 

[thekitchendesigner]

Lets just say i want to create office space to rent out. I've got my plans sorted, and a prime site to do it.

Just need to guage demand to make sure it'll work but dont know how

 

[Esk247]

well there is a need for value office space! start-up units etc. It depends alot on the location of the site. The size of the units etc. As to whether there is demand for it.

Perhaps ask the local Business Link to see if they have anyone that needs units and offer them competitive rates for Business Link start-ups etc. Something along those lines....that will guage interest.

 

[thekitchendesigner]

Theres an area of a huge business park thats vacant. the owners have removed some old sheds that were there, and have given me the nod for my ideas. There are around 6 or 7 older, brick buildings around the vacant space, that are already let

These will be 1 or 2 person 'studio' offices, so small. Brand new finish, and considering an all inclusive package, excluding leccy etc.

 

[alphanumeric]

i have been looking for a small office near me, only really need a room with a half decent bb connection.

Cheapest quote so far is £100/month inc all rates etc. I would take it but its just a little to far to travel as i would still work from home now and again.

If any one has anything in east northants/wellingborough let me know.

 

[Esk247]

if i had any available finance it's something i'd look in to doing..purchasing some land, converting it in to very affordable, easy in easy out office/workshop space.

not sure you'd become a millionaire from doing it but it is certainly in need by the looks of it..cheapest office i can get is £75 per week or £300 p/month. could really do with it cheaper, don't need all the frills just a city centre base.

thekitchendesigner - see it's a winner! not sure on your location but there has got to be a need for it..just a case of working out what you can realistically charge for the units without being out of pocket.

 

[Real World Hypnotherapy]

I worked in a great place in Manchester called Innospace. It is part of Manchester Met Uni and is a huge open plan office. You can work there for £350 a year and this includes internet, computer (hotdesk) and internet access.

If people want more information on this check www.innospace.co.uk

Hope this helps.

Matt