Small business – big change

Finding premises to rent for your company is not an easy task, particularly if your company is new or in its early stages of growth. Occupying the wrong premises could have a serious impact on your business’s future. 

Size, specification, location and length of your tenancy of an office as well as your total occupational costs should be considered in detail. You will save your business time and more importantly money, if you do.

Staying where you are could be an option to fall back on should your chosen deal fall though. We can help negotiate with your existing landlord on a rent review, lease renewal or dilapidations.

We can make this process as simple and as straightforward as possible. We specialise in acquiring offices in Central London, allowing you to concentrate on running your business. Contact us.

Key considerations

How much space you need?

• Allow 100-150 sq ft per person
• An open-plan layout is more cost-effective
• Allow for reception, meeting, storage and kitchen space.

How long will you require the office for, and from when?

• If you are looking for short term accommodation, serviced offices are a good option
• For a longer term, you will benefit from the advice of a surveyor
• Do ensure that your lease has favourable disposal rights that allow you to assign or sub-let if you out-grow your space quickly.

What can you afford? Typical outgoings include:

• Rent: Paid quarterly in advance, often negotiable
• Business rates: This is the equivalent of your home's Council Tax and many office markets have seen a sharp increase in charges
• Service charge: Your contribution to the maintenance of the building, its shared services and amenities such as the lifts and Commissionaire
• Fit-out costs: Bespoke partitioning, furniture, IT and telephony that you will need to operate in the office
• Dilapidations: The cost of ‘making good’ any changes you have made to the office.
  

Making an offer

When making an offer for an office we suggest you should:

• Propose terms i.e. length of lease, proposed rent and your key requirements
• Provide your registered company details, company number as well as references from your bank, solicitor, accountant and, if applicable, existing landlord
• Provide copies of your accounts for the last three years. If these are not available, you may be asked to offer a deposit or a guarantee of the rent
• Allow six to eight weeks for the transaction to complete.

Try us. Let us know if we can help search, negotiate or manage your new office.

Robert Rooney 0207 855 3550 rrooney@farebrother.net

Alice Blackall 0207 855 3550 ablackall@farebrother.net

For serviced office requirements, we suggest contacting brokers:

Tom Sly of Instant Offices and/or Paul Slinn at Flexi Offices.