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With the credit crunch affecting all aspects of business, it’s important for companies to realize the areas where increased supply and falling demand can benefit them in terms of commitments in the short term.  Using serviced office providers as an example, an office building occupier that utilizes serviced over traditional office buildings has just unencumbered themselves of a restrictive lease (which for the most part are priced at pre-credit crunch levels) that never takes into account the currently falling prices of property throughout the multi-year term.

With traditional office leases, the owner/landlord may begin to offer more free rent periods in the hopes of ensnaring businesses that see this as a counterbalance for the higher-priced, restrictive leasing terms.  Unfortunately for them, in a year when the office market could very well reach record lows, they will be stuck in the same economically undesirable leasing agreement while their competition that have opted for trying out a short-term office solution like serviced/managed offices will be able to enjoy forging new rental agreements that exploit the adjusted market prices.  Imagine that the company with the traditional office is in the same market, and same area of business as the serviced office—it’s not hard to extrapolate the result of one company having a huge financial and flexibility benefit over their rival.

While not every business will benefit from short-term office solutions, it certainly remains the least expensive, lowest-risk alternative option for testing out new business locations, avoiding restrictive leases, and freeing-up revenue for the rough economic ride that many companies are in for as the full-effects of the possible recession come to fruition in the years to come.

There are lots of places around Soho and London to have your office space, but most of them look just like any old place would. One of the most challenging aspects of finding great offices in Soho or managed offices in London is that you find buildings that are unique a different.

Unique Victorian style buildings make fantastic offices for several reasons. First of all, your office should say a lot about you and about your business. You truly want to be sure that when someone walks into your office building, they feel like they are walking into a place that is professional, neat, and vastly different. Let’s face it, there are loads  of office buildings all over the area, and there are also loads of businesses. One of the most important things that you can do for yourself and for your business is to make sure that you stand out from the crowd. Having your office in a unique Victorian style building can do that. Not only will your customers and clients be able to remember the name of your business, but they’ll have the actual office building stuck in their minds. You can stand out from the crowd in this way, and so can your company.

It isn’t hard to find managed offices in Soho or managed offices in London. However, it is hard to find buildings that aren’t just like everyone else. Whether your business is hip and artsy, or whether it is professional and refined, the Victorian style buildings will add to the general appearance of your business, and help you to gain customers.

Customers and clients want to visit a business or office that is clean, beautiful, and unique. Don’t simply settle for the same old office space that everyone else is offering. Whether you want serviced office North London complexes, or whether you want office space London Central complexes, choose a company that will offer you the same great selection ,the same flexible offices in London, and the same deals – but with the added charm of the beauty  and excitement of Victorian style buildings. Your office says much about you – and these exquisite buildings will help you say even more. The buildings aren’t marked in any way ,which means that you can truly use them to make a mark on your particular industry with the offices that you’ll have there.

There is much competition in the world today, so be sure that you are providing yourself with the best offices possible. Don’t settle for offices that are the same as everyone else. You want what’s modern, what’s up to date ,but also an office that will help you explain to everyone just what you are about. You’ll be surprised to see how well you’ll be received if your office is in a unique and Victorian style building in Soho or London. Remember, what is on the outside might not reflect what is in the inside – but why not have the outside make you look very good as well?

As a creative centre of London, Soho is a nexus of creativity for businesses with a decidedly Bohemian slant, ideal for media and marketing industries alike.  In the exclusive and highly sought-after West End office location, any business can exploit the teeming metropolis made up of trendy wineries, night-clubs, restaurants, bars, and adult shops that have rapidly replaced the older establishments of the area since 1980.

Particularly with serviced offices, Soho creates an unrivaled location for a new start up or small business to create a unique identity to associate with their corporation.  As serviced offices in London go, the Soho area is very attractive for any new start-up, especially so for media/marketing firms.  As companies like Expedia and the English Football Association make their office homes in Soho, so do those businesses that thrive on the clients provided by the large wealth of cultural hotspots that make up the Soho area. 

Oxford Street, located on the West End, is world famous for the Oxford Circus and Tottenham Court Road offerings, and is littered with bistros and bars all within a few minute’s walk of office spaces.  In Leicester Square, many corporations claim the area as the centre of business for the entire Soho area due to a large array of creative culture, travel links, the low property costs, and excellent options for serviced London offices that exist there.  Regent Street is also part of the West End, situated near the very centre of Soho itself which lends well to attracting a vast amount of new clients for media-related businesses.

With all the doom and gloom associated with today’s marketplace, how can anyone tell whether a move into a serviced office will benefit them over traditional offices in either the short or long term?  Generally speaking, if things are progressively getting worse for an office in terms of finances, serviced offices will undoubtedly provide benefits that will help turn losses into profits.

It’s becoming increasingly hard for large companies to secure loans for expansion plans that were planned before the credit crunch hit the world’s economy.  In addition, smaller corporations and start-ups may be unable to generate the initial capital needed for traditional office solutions.  A recent Cushman and Wakefield survey listed 25% of all businesses in the UK were actively seeking to reduce the amount of office space they require—20% of businesses simply intended to move staff into one location, while 10% simply sought cheaper office solutions (including a search for more energy-efficient locations as opposed to aging buildings with high electricity/utility costs).  Every one of these businesses would find the answers to their problems (and other additional cost-saving benefits for both short term and long term concerns) by seeking out options in serviced offices.

For large businesses that are locked into lengthy, expensive leasing agreements, a shorter term is the simplest solution in order to reduce occupancy costs.  Small and start-up businesses have the flexibility to realize maximum growth of company size while dedicating only a minimum amount of resources and expenses for the initial capital on shorter-termed lease agreements with serviced offices.  Fully-furnished telecoms and IT infrastructure takes out most of the other concerns that may halt a fast realization of revenue for new businesses, and provides an easy alternative for expansion projects with bigger businesses who are trying to find a way to make their plan work in rough economic climates.

A business planning a company-wide consolidation effort has many difficult decisions to make ahead of them. A sure sign of the times, many industries that are finding a slower market will attempt to restructure their assets into one main office location to streamline expenses and centralize a revenue flow. Looking at short-term office options in this case is a great way for many organizations to accommodate as flexible a consolidation effort as needed.

With each unique corporation comes a unique set of risks and gambles associated with a consolidation effort. While short-term offices are not always the answer, it always presents an alternative towards continuing to hemorrhage funds with an undesirably strict conventional office leasing agreement. A number of companies use temporary serviced office solutions for aiding in expansion efforts, in between nailing down ideal properties especially at times like the present where companies are faced with wildly uncertain office market property values. Signing a lease today for a multi-year agreement that tomorrow could vary by significant term according to a fluctuating market standard presents such a risky business venture that a short-term option almost always makes more fiscal sense.

In addition to securing a more financially-viable rental agreement with an option to expand in the future, short-term offices allow almost limitless freedom in relocating to an ideal business area. The importance of this benefit cannot be overstated, especially for those corporations that are involved in client-heavy relations where a prestigious business address could be a difference maker in closing deals and generating more profit. Whether consolidating as a preemptive move or a way to exploit decreasing property costs, businesses serious about financial success in troubling economic times may find unforeseen benefits within short-term office solutions

A rising trend among many businesses in the face of the current financial uncertainty is to opt for short-term office solutions over traditional offices.  With more focus on conserving revenue and limiting losses, the idea of long lease terms with high upfront costs that are associated with conventional offices are fast becoming a corporation’s worst nightmare.  Short-term offices, on the other hand, provide everything that a cost-sensitive corporation or smaller independent company is looking for in office solutions currently: flexible leasing terms, little or no start-up costs, immediate availability, and the freedom of selecting an ideal location.

Short-term offices are good alternatives for both a smaller business hoping to avoid start-up hurdles, as well as the larger corporation that needs a flexible alternative for office property needs.  Serviced offices come fully-furnished with office equipment and reception staff depending on the leasing agreement. This takes out one of the bigger initial concerns for most start-up business owners who would rather deal with more pressing business decisions than be forced to manage the telecoms/IT infrastructure, handle office furniture orders, or devote time to filling support staff positions.  Using serviced office providers also gives a new business the flexibility of safely entering a shaky marketplace without being bound to a lengthy lease if the unfortunate happens and their business endeavor fails to take-off after a few months.

For the successful start-ups, short-term offices are easily expandable to accommodate any future changes in company size, thanks to the shorter rental agreement.  The fact that relocation to a more prestigious business area is a simple phone call away is yet another advantage, unlike those corporations who are locked into an undesirable business property with a multiple-year lease.  Large established corporations that are looking to escape their inflexible traditional office spaces can also take advantage of short-term offices to exploit constantly-changing office property values.

Yes, the rules have changed with the office market in lieu of the credit crunch that affects the world’s financial status.  Gone are the days where landlords held absolute power over tenants, charging record highs (and being able to close deals!) for prestigious office space in prime locations.  Nowadays, the freeze on many businesses’ expense accounts as a result of the credit crunch gives them less freedom to have a ‘Class A’ mentality on doing business, opting instead for functionality over form.  Landlords are (for the first time in a long time) at the mercy of tenants as demand for office space falls, and will continue to fall by all expert opinion.

It’s this shift in power from the landlords to the tenants that has created an ideal opportunity for an alternative means of finding office solutions.  Instead of submitting to restrictive, multi-year terms offered on properties that are must-have locations for many businesses, the better option is to research a managed or serviced office alternative.  Exploiting the ability to rent for months at a time, instead of being locked into traditional office leases gives a company more power to focus their efforts on staying successful in times of economic change.  The power shift to tenants is best realized in these short term office solutions, where prices reflect current market values (unlike traditional offices), flexibility in rental terms exist (unlike traditional offices), and the freedom of selecting from a wide spectrum of ideal business locations without concern over high upfront costs or credit/reference checks can be realized (ibid).

It’s time for corporations to accept the mantle of power that the credit crunch has passed to them in terms of their office solutions.  After all, the only route that exists for businesses to take which leads to prosperity in these turbulent times is the one they have the freedom of navigating themselves.

While bad news for landlords that aren’t operating in the West End area, the City of London continues to increase office market supply while the demand sharply falls.  This stagnation in the traditional office space market presents a clear opportunity for ambitious businesses that seek to relocate under more-favourable terms to strike while the iron’s hot.

But not so fast—how likely is the market to continue the steep decline in pricing?  Many experts maintain that normal prices will not return to the office market until at least 2013—which astonishingly is the general time that most traditional office space leases will expire.  While it may be quite an attractive option to accept ballooned rent free periods in exchange for a traditionally-high priced, traditionally-restrictive lease agreement, perhaps a serviced or managed office solution with a short term rental agreement makes more fiscal sense for the frugal company looking for a great office space.

In Soho alone, current rents have seen steady declines to well below GBP60.00 per sq. foot of space.  While this is not the case with the more prestigious areas of business like the West End, it hardly means that prices are locked in for that area either.  It is entirely possible for the resilient business that selects a short term office lease to eventually find an affordable property in a historically-exclusive district during this caustic economic period while landlords scramble to revitalize the market with increasingly attractive offers.  Instead of being chained to a lease that lasts until the end of this opportunely favourable situation for office seeking tenants, a short term lease will provide the flexibility to hold a wide array of options when things eventually go back to normal.

With a challenging future laying ahead for most businesses post-credit crunch, there is an added need to be aware of all alternatives for conducting business in the event that the ‘old’ ways cease working.  Although operations such as serviced office solutions and business centres are not new, they are fast becoming an ideal operation for smaller businesses, and even larger corporations that want to test out the waters in areas that could potentially be more financially-friendly.

The biggest draw of alternative office market choices such as the serviced office solution is the short-term nature of it.  As a monthly license (compared to a multi-year contract subject to legal fees and strict regulation) the freedom gained with a serviced office over a conventional setup gives a company more room to focus on making profit (rather than juggling expenses and handling perpetual property headaches).  Office tenants in short-term office establishments share the cost of many of the services included in the monthly invoice, drastically reducing the overall cost as compared with a conventional office.  This also has an added bonus of helping smaller businesses network with their fellow office tenants, possibly engendering a future business-to-business relationship down the road.

Yet another draw of alternative office choices like serviced office solutions can be the high-quality services offered: reception staffing/telephone answering service, free IT support, fully-equipped telecoms, state-of-the-art copy/fax machines, and free access to meeting rooms just to name a few.  Many businesses that merely want a prestigious business location, without paying a prestigious price or agreeing to a prestigious 5-year lease can have just that on a month-to-month basis with alternative office solutions.  Whether trying out an alternative method, or sticking with a traditional office space setup, any business that is serious about surviving (and thriving) in a rocky economic period should look at all available options before making decisions that affect their future flexibility.