Flexible Office Space on the rise in Brentford and Beyond

Offices have taken up soaring levels of property in Central London recently. Flexible offices alone have taken on more market share than sub-5,000 sq. ft. in London. London is the main coworking hub in the UK; meanwhile Scotland is catching up. Read on about why flexible office space growth will continue to flourish.

Making Better Returns by being Flexible

It is becoming rarer to match a great long-term occupier to a single space. Since international trade barriers have decreased and more businesses in all sectors are becoming increasingly fast changing as tech and the Internet advances. Additionally, growth of ‘micro-multinationals’ makes the increased demand for flexible office space is understandable. Last year (2018), there were thirty-one thousand new companies registered in the UK alone, making a 2% increase difference compared to the previous, and 99.5% of all businesses were SMEs.

Thus, it makes sense for a landowner to make a higher return by offering shorter term leases and flexible contracts to keep the flow of the occupants more frequent, similarly to the hospitality industry.

Sharing Amenities in a Serviced Office

There are many benefits to sharing office equipment and amenities other than simply cost saving. Improving employee wellbeing at the workplace can be as easy as choosing a serviced office like The Mille that has bicycle storage racks and locker room showers. Encouraging employees to bicycle to and from the office enables them to get more exercise and fresh air in for their health. Benefits of cycling include improved blood circulation and immune system.

Having access to equipment that a business might not immediately purchase due to complicated specifications can have a business’ productivity unhindered. Also, considering a business that is frequently changing in size, it can be extremely inconvenient to worry about workspace supplies and furniture. In a flexible serviced office, basics like desks and chairs can easily be added or removed from your workspace. Plus, a well-designed office is linked to better employee productivity. It’s no wonder why serviced offices industry average annual growth rate is about 17.2%.

Virtual Business Addresses and Dedicated Receptionists

‘Digital nomadism’ has brought about the trend of virtual business offerings. Business centres, including The Mille have been expanding their services to include virtual business needs for virtual business addresses, mail forwarding, phone call answering, serviced meeting rooms and more. Many businesses cannot afford hiring and manage office assistant and reception management systems. Having the flexibility to choose when to work remotely or at a coworking desk and book a meeting room whilst the serviced office manages it, is greatly advantageous in the sense that you can then simply focus more on your work.

Networking

Just as some animals are co-dependent, some businesses depend on networking opportunities. An active workplace can also spark creativity and energise productivity in many cases. The benefits of boosting your company’s innovation from networking can be the difference of your business surviving or not. The more occupiers there are coming through, the higher the chances of producing a good collaboration or simply receiving good referrals. Hence, we can see the sustainability of flexible office spaces.

Flexible Space in Mixed-Use Centres

Buildings are the type of assets that can deteriorate due to different variable including trends. We find that the less popular shopping centres are becoming (partially due to ecommerce competition), the greater the need to change their business models to create mixed-use space. Renting out unused units to a wider variety of potential occupants gives greater opportunity for both property owner and occupiers. Flexible office spaces can also mix up space bookings by renting out some space for e.g. events and popups.

In the future, we could see more developments of mixed-use building complexes that include onsite restaurants, retail, leisure, residential living spaces and offices in Brentford.

To find out more about The Mille’s flexible office space, coworking and virtual business address offerings, please don’t hesitate to contact one of our joint sole agents.