Hi and welcome to our first Q&A session on our podcast. Thank you for sending in questions as per the request made in our first episode.
Although this podcast is being published and this intro is being recorded in October 2020, the actual Q&A session was recorded in March so, this should explain why there are no questions directly relating to COVID-19 i.e. questions relating to COVID-secure office space, the post-pandemic workplace, and the like.
These will, undoubtedly, be covered in our next Q&A session.
If you have any questions, comments and feedback regarding this session, please email contactus@theofficeproviders.com and mark the subject ‘Podcast’ so it gets to the right place, or contact us through Twitter which is www.twitter.com/topsdotcom
Please also submit questions for the next session in the same way.
We do not include names or contact details so all questions and feedback is anonymous.
On some questions that require technical and long explanations – we will give an overview/synopsis of an answer and point to resources such as pages on our website or elsewhere on the web where you can find out further information.
Also, where some questions are related to each other, we have tried to cluster these together especially if the answer to one leads on to the next question.
Otherwise, they are pretty random.
Thank you to all those that sent in questions and we hope we can answer them satisfactorily!
These answers are read by the Managing Director of The Office Providers, Mike Gardener
Q1:
Why are flexible workspace options becoming so much more popular?
This is a long story that spans 30+ years and we have written articles around the web on this. You can check out my Quora account (Mike Gardener’s Quora Profile) where you will find a few.
The concept of flexible workspace came about in the 1980s in the form of business centres where travelling business people could conduct business and hold meetings whilst on the road, instead of in hotel lobbies, coffee shops and cafes.
As business centres evolved, they became popular with start-up companies as they provided instant, plug and play office space with all overheads covered in the monthly licence fee.
They were also available on flexible contract terms so there was no need to sign any long onerous leases which can hinder a startup.
As the successful startups grew, so did the business centre model and they became more accustomed to accommodating SMEs and corporate companies.
Certain international office providers such as Regus and Servcorp grew rapidly and opened business centres in multiple towns and cities globally. And other international, national and local providers and operators grew their models concurrently.
During the Great Recession of 2007/8, many businesses unfortunately failed or had to lose many staff members meaning that tenants had to either downsize their real estate footprint very quickly or move out and surrender their lease, which is not an easy thing to do.
For this reason, companies of all sizes started looking for office space that was available on flexible terms i.e. easy-in and easy-out, that would allow them to downsize into a smaller suite if required, or upsize when things started improving.
There were also many people who had had their roles made redundant and who were looking to set up companies on their own, so there was also a new wave of startups that would utilise business centres.
Due to the recession, there was also a global jobs crisis and young adults were entering the job market with very few traditional prospects. That said, the barriers to entry into freelancing work, other gig work, eCommerce and other online work, became a lot lower.
There was, therefore, a global group of one-person companies with laptops under their arms looking for a space to work.
Many of these one-person companies didn’t require office space, initially, they just needed a desk, to be in the company of likeminded people and to have a decent stream of coffee to keep them going.
This led to the introduction of new co-working space providers that led with hot-deks but grew to offer small private offices and then whole floors and even customised managed office buildings.
It also meant that incumbent office providers started to offer more co-working space products within their business centres.
So, these, plus other factors, including macro factors such as society becoming more used to shorter-term ownership or no-ownership – for instance, choosing streaming over DVD ownership – led to the growth of flexible workspace.
It shows no sign of slowing down either with commercial real estate agencies predicting that the flex space market will continue to grow year-on-year and will be worth in excess of £120 billion by the mid-2020s.
It was recently reported in Property Week that flexible workspace is on track to occupy a volume of 30 million sq ft i.e. 8.5% of total office stock in the UK, by 2024.
Q2:
You mentioned that your services are free, how can that be so?
With the flexible workspace tenant representation work that we do i.e. match an occupier with an appropriate flexible workspace, we do not charge any fee.
This is because when we place an occupier “tenant” in a serviced office, managed office, co-working space, business centre, business club or any other form of flex space, then we are paid a fee by the provider, operator or the landlord.
It would be unethical for us to also charge a fee to the party that is seeking the space and therefore our services are free.
We have this arrangement with all providers/operators/landlords that we work with and the fee basis is universal across the board meaning that we remain completely impartial and independent.
Here is a directory showing some of the providers and operators that we work with The Office Providers – UK Flexible Office Space and Workspace Providers Directory
Whether you are searching and comparing flexible workspace through us, when you are receiving advice, when we are arranging viewings, assisting with negotiations or signing a deal. You will never be charged a fee by us.
Q3:
How long have you been going?
The Office Providers was established in 2009. So, approximately 10 years now.
The combined experience of our office space advisors here is well over a century now, which is a little scary to think about. So we try not to!
Q4:
What happened with WeWork?
Well, I did say I would answer all questions. That said, this is a very big question and one that you could easily do a whole episode on.
There is a large volume of articles around the web written from different perspectives so I will leave you to discover and decipher those.
Purely from a flex space product and service perspective, which is what we and our clients are concerned about…all I can say is that WeWork have got some great products in some great locations and have set some great benchmarks for the rest of the industry.
And they’ve opened the world’s eyes up as to what a co-working space or a business centre can look and feel like.
Q5:
We need our own dedicated broadband – is this possible in a serviced office?
Yes, you can even have your own comms room in a serviced or managed office in many cases.
In most cases, this will need to be incorporated into your office space so you will have to opt for a size and configuration of office suite that will incorporate it.
This would be arranged by liaising with the facilities manager for the office provider who will, in turn, liaise with the property/facilities manager of the landlord. The occupier would be responsible for installation, maintenance, running costs and so on.
This is a very common request and so can easily be arranged.
How it is dealt with varies from provider to provider and property to property but yes, dedicated broadband is absolutely possible.
Q6:
Can I bring my dog to the office?
Ha, well many establishments such as cafes, restaurants and bars are now dog-friendly and office space and co-working spaces is not an exception, in many cases anyway.
A lot of co-working space centres are dog-friendly as are many business centres / serviced office centres and so on.
It does vary from property to property and from provider to provider but yes, there are many office spaces that allow well-behaved, clean and quiet dogs into your office.
Q7:
Can we have our own signage?
There are many business centres / serviced office centres that allow occupiers to place their company signage in the reception directory.
If you have a private office suite, then, in the majority of cases, you can have signage on your entrance door, too.
Many business centres / serviced office centres are unbranded too so there is no signage displaying the brand of the provider / operator, just the occupiers.
Within your own private office room or suite, in the majority of cases, you can brand it however you wish.
For external signage, this is slightly more unusual and it really depends on the property, how much space the occupier has and on the permissions of the local authorities.
Signage in windows of external offices for instance, maybe permitted if it is approved by the provider, the property’s landlord and complies with local authority rules.
There isn’t one answer to this question because it really does vary depending on the situation.
If having signage and having it in a particular format is part of your ‘shopping list’ then we can help you find you properties that have these options.
Q8:
What is a ‘Floating Desk’?
Unfortunately, it’s not quite as cool as it sounds – a Floating Desk is another name for a Hot Desk i.e. it refers to the allocation of unspecified desk space within a co-working space.
So, if you have a ‘Floating Desk’ membership with a co-working space provider then it means that you have use of desk space but this space is not reserved by you and you may have to use another desk from one day to the next.
Many operators also provide ‘Dedicated Desk’ memberships which mean that a desk is reserved by you and no-one else can use it. You can make it your own with your own photos and decorations if you wish, in most cases. There is often a locker provided with a dedicated desk membership.
So, you’ve kind of got your own mini office but without walls or a door!
Q9:
Are serviced offices more expensive than leased offices?
There are various calculators and relatively simple algorithms on the web that claim to compare serviced offices with leased offices.
Some of these work and create a start in the process but more extensive research really has to be carried out and it should be done on a case-by-case basis.
Firstly, it should be noted that leasehold rent and the cost of a serviced desk cannot be compared directly as they are not the same. It’s not like for like.
Leasehold office rent applies only to the rent and on top of that, the occupier must pay a service charge, business rates, insurance, utility costs, install and pay for broadband, they need to furnish the property, clean the property, buy bathroom and kitchen supplies, and when they leave the property they need to decorate the property and fix any damage that they may have caused.
Leasehold office rent is, in the UK, a unit price of a square foot of floor space paid per annum. So, in Manchester that might be £30 per square foot per annum. In the City of London, that might be £65 psf.
Serviced offices are priced completely differently because an occupier pays a monthly licence fee and this covers all accommodation-related costs.
The unit is the cost per desk per month which in Manchester may be £250 per desk per month and in the City, this could be £500 per desk per month.
Some might go down the lines of working out that a desk takes up between 65 and 100 square feet and so breaks down the square footage cost.
But this doesn’t give the full picture.
It may be best for one company to have all of their costs rolled into one as they don’t have the resources to manage the various contracts and payments.
And it may be best for another company, for instance, a national or multinational, to opt for leased office space because they have the resources to manage the various contracts because they have an in-house facilities/property management function. That also means that they get economies of scale on certain contracts and suppliers.
Also, payment scheduling is different between leased offices and serviced offices. With leasehold office space, it is quite common for rent to be paid ‘quarterly in advance’ i.e. 3 months’ rent upfront. Whereas with serviced offices, the payment scheduling is monthly.
Again, it depends on a business’s individual needs as to what sort of payment scheduling works best for them. With leasehold offices, there will be several outgoings that pertain to the business accommodation and they might all be on a quarterly payment schedule.
So, it’s not an easy question to answer and depends on various factors.
It also depends on how individual businesses define cost, price and value on different items.
So, a difficult question to answer in general terms.
Q10:
What are serviced offices and what’s the difference between them and leasehold offices?
Please see the answer above. Actually, I will try and define both of them in a few sentences and hopefully this, plus the previous answer will fully explain the differences.
A leasehold office is a form of commercial real estate that is owned by a landlord and is leased to a tenant for a prescribed amount of time.
A lease documents the relationship between the landlord and tenant and the obligations and responsibilities of both parties and is bound by Landlord and Tenant Law (in the UK).
The tenant pays rent to the landlord as prescribed by the lease.
During the term of the occupation, the tenant is directly responsible for the demised (occupied) space in terms of repairing and insuring the space.
The tenant is responsible for the costs of operating the space. Contracts and associated costs are managed by the tenant and include, but are not limited to utilities, furnishing, cleaning, bathroom supplies and so forth.
The tenant is usually also responsible for the maintenance of the common areas of a property via a service charge.
Further information regarding leasehold (leased) offices can be found on this The Office Providers – Office Space for Rent
A serviced office is a form of commercial real estate that is operated by an office provider (also known as a serviced office provider) and is licensed to an occupier.
A licence documents the relationship between the office provider and the occupier. Licences cover a shorter period of time (usually up to 2 years) and do not offer the same protection to either party, than a lease.
Most licences give both the office provider and the occupier the right to terminate the agreement with a relatively short notice period.
The occupier pays a licence fee to the office provider as prescribed by the licence to occupy.
The licence fee covers the occupancy costs. In most cases, the office provider is responsible for the costs of operating the space. These contracts and associated costs are managed by the office provider and include, but are not limited to utilities, furnishing, cleaning, bathroom supplies and so forth.
Further information regarding serviced offices can be found on this The Office Providers – Serviced Offices
*In some cases, the office provider is also the owner/landlord of the property.
Q11:
What are managed offices?
Managed offices are a little more difficult to define as they are unique to each situation.
They have been described as sitting somewhere between a leasehold office and a serviced office.
In most cases, 3 parties are involved; the Landlord, the Managed Office Provider and the Occupier.
In most cases, a normal office lease is drawn up between the landlord and the managed office provider for a particular amount of time.
At the same time, a legally-binding agreement is drawn up between the managed office provider and the occupier.
The agreement documents how the managed office provider will manage the occupied space on behalf of the occupier.
These agreements are bespoke to the parties but cover items including the fitting out of the space, the technical specifications of the space and so on. It may include other items that may ordinarily be included in a serviced office licence such as cleaning, utilities, broadband contract management. It may also include the provision of reception staff and other items.
To occupiers, managed offices provide the benefits of increased security because the space is held by way of a lease albeit through a 3rd party, other benefits include the ability to customise their space, and the ability to outsource some or all of the facilities and property management items that would normally fall to a tenant under the terms of a conventional lease.
Q12:
What about the security of information in a co-working space?
When working in any open or public space, it is important to be vigilant.
When in a co-working space, hot desking centre, members business club, business lounge or any other form of collective shared workspace, ok, it’s not the same as working in a completely public space like a coffee shop or a bar but it is somewhat useful to treat it as one.
Oftentimes, in a co-working space there is absolutely no issue at all; everyone is likeminded and in the same position and for that reason, they are ‘self-policed’. But that being said, why take the risk.
Close your laptop or even carry it with you if you are leaving your desk. In the same way that many office workers would do.
If you are in a hot desking centre and you opt for a dedicated desk, there are many centres that provide lockers at the desk and others have communal changing areas with lockers.
If you are working on something that you wouldn’t work on in a public WiFi zone like a coffee shop, then you would be wise to apply the same rules to a co-working space.
Q13:
What’s the difference between an office broker and an office agent?
Both deal in commercial real estate and both are focused on office space.
An Office Agent traditionally would only deal with traditional/conventional leased office space. However, as the office space market has evolved over the last decade, office agencies have been listing and marketing more and more flex space products.
Traditionally, an Office Broker may refer to someone that only deals with flex space options such as serviced offices, managed offices and co-working spaces. Helping providers fill their business centres with occupiers and helping occupiers find an appropriate flexible workspace centre.
As the traditional office space and flexible workspace markets continue to converge, the titles of Office Broker and Office Agent tend to be used a bit more interchangeably as an Office Agent now includes flex space products in their portfolios.
?Although, it must be said, that the Office Broker title, in the UK anyway, wouldn’t refer to someone that deals with leasehold office space and would tend to mainly deal with flex space products.?
Side note: An Office Broker could technically be an investment agent that buys and sells commercial property on behalf of clients but only focuses on office buildings, but this is not usual practice. In that situation, they would most often still be referred to as an Investment Agent albeit one that specialises in offices.
Q14:
I’ve looked at your Dublin page and I think I could work out of 2 or 3 of them very happily. ‘Could I try before I buy, so to speak?’
Yes, this is quite a common question and there are usually a few solutions to it.
But firstly, the main thing is to tour the market and actually view suitable options from all providers. When you actually physically touch and feel a space you can get a true sense of it, the atmosphere and how it will work for your business.
If you have done that and are still undecided, we can look at a few things for you.
If the cluster that you like belong to the same office provider, this makes things quite easy, in most cases, particularly if the space has a co-working space function, the office provider will be happy for you to work out of a few them whilst you decide.
Many providers have a multiple-location or ‘club’ membership option available allowing you to use multiple locations.
You could take a short ‘club’ co-working space membership before committing to one. Or you could use ‘club’ membership as a long term solution, especially if you prefer variety in your working environment.
If the cluster that you like belong to various office providers then we can arrange a short term office contract or co-working membership at the various properties that you like so that you can perform your own short term trial of the space before you commit to a longer contract.
Q15:
What’s the difference between a Hot Desk and a co-working space?
A Hot Desk is a type of co-working space. Although you can also have a co-working space/building/property that offers Hot Desks. It depends on how it is worded as different providers refer to certain products in different ways.
Co-working is generally a term that refers to a style of collaborative working where people are working on their own but sharing certain items whether that be lighting, heating, the roof over their heads and so on. Much like a café or library which are also co-working spaces, technically.
So, a co-working space can refer to a space or a property that provides desks and places to work in a shared workspace environment. Or it can refer to a desk within said property.
The desks or spaces within a co-working space/property usually come in two varieties which are determined by your membership package:
- A ‘Hot Desk’ also known by some as a ‘Floating Desk’ – this means you can plonk yourself down at any available desk, plug in and get to work. If you leave the building for lunch or for the day, there is a good chance someone will have chosen your spot when you come back and you will need to find a new Hot Desk.
- Dedicated Desk – these are also in a co-working space/property but the desk is yours (for the duration of your membership) so no one else sits there, you will have a locker to keep your valuables and in most cases you can leave your things out on your desk and ‘make it your own’ so to speak. Within reason, of course, most centres don’t have ‘clear desk’ policies but they do want everyone to be happy.
A Dedicated Desk is the closest to having you own private office room but in a shared workspace environment.
A Hot Desk membership is the cheapest co-working space membership package.
Q16:
It says on your website you work with the majority of office providers/operators in any location…Why not all of them?
We are adding new properties to our website every day and these are from both existing and new providers and operators.
There are some locations where we do work with all of them, some that we haven’t met all of them yet because they have just started operating, for instance.
Some office providers also don’t wish to work with brokers because they have their own marketing channels, they are full, or for other reasons.
There are certain properties that we wouldn’t wish to promote as they wouldn’t be suitable for our clients.
So, in answer to the question, we only list approximately 99% of the flex space market because 1. We haven’t got round to some, 2. Some providers don’t work with brokers and 3. Some of the properties in the market wouldn’t work for us and our clients.
We do our utmost to show clients everything that a market has to offer.
Q17:
We like the look of some of the business centres / co-working centres but they appear like they might be noisy with ping pong tables and so on…
These are marketing shots and the workspaces are not as loud as they look – they just couldn’t be.
The majority of co-working spaces are community-driven so there are unwritten rules about noise and so forth.
These are, after all, places of business and the providers and operators of these spaces know that productive space is profitable space for them.
There are break-out areas where there is usually a low-level of chatter but then there are also phone booths for calls and so forth.
Many do have recreational areas but these are kept away from quiet zones.
Q18:
What is the best office space in London?
This is a big question. There are over 30 boroughs in Greater London and hundreds of districts.
There’s a process of answering various questions and then condensing from there on in really.
It really depends on what a company is looking for in an office space location, is proximity to public transportation important?
What sector are they in and is important to be close to others in that sector?
Do you need to be close to your clients and customers?
Is the style and architecture if the commercial property that the office is in important?
What are your technical requirements? Cabling, broadband, security etc.
What sort of obligation would you like to make? Lease or Licence
Do you have a facilities/property management function in the company or is it best to look for all-inclusive serviced office space?
What sort of amenities and facilities would you need to be close to?
Once you have answered these or at least some of these then it is easier to start narrowing down as to where is the best area in London for your business to have an office.
You may only be able to answer one of the questions, for instance; if the only thing that is important is a prestigious business address then head to Mayfair.
If your company is within the financial services sector and it is important to be among others in the same field then head to the City.
Same applies if you are in FinTech or general tech, head to Old Street or Shoreditch.
If location isn’t top of the list but specific technical elements are then you can broaden your search outside of central London to West London like Hammersmith or Ealing, or South London such as Croydon, and so on.
If you decide that you are only interested in serviced offices in London, or the space must be a co-working space facility then that is not limiting. Most London districts offer flex space options although you will find a greater range in central London in a variety of styles to match a range of budgets.
The best thing to do initially is to speak to an office space advisor, such as one of ours! Who will be happy to have the conversations to drill down exactly what is the best London office space location or a particular business.
Phew, I think we may have to make that the last question of this session!
Thank you for sending in all of your questions. This is very much an ongoing thing that we will do. Like an office space surgery or workshop – not sure of the correct title! We’re guessing that future Q&A episodes will be shorter as we may have covered certain topics in earlier sessions. But we shall see.
If you have any questions, comments and feedback please email contactus@theofficeproviders.com and mark the subject ‘Podcast’ so it gets to the right place, or contact us through Twitter which is www.twitter.com/topsdotcom where you can DM us.
So, we hope this has been useful. Thank you for listening and until next time, take care.
An audio version of this Q&A session is available on the link.