This is probably the fastest growing and most exciting sector of the European property market today. The rate of growth of the serviced office market has been nothing less than explosive over the past few years.
Serviced Offices are a total solution in the sense that they are fully fitted and furnished, ready for immediate occupation. The building operator takes responsibility for all of the services to the building, and, in addition, provides a range of business services including reception and telephone answering services, secretarial support, conference and meeting facilities, video conferencing and high speed internet access.
Whilst costs may look high initially, the rent that you pay includes almost all of the costs that you would normally expect to pay on top of rent in a traditional office. There are no additional costs for business rates, lighting & power, security, cleaning, building & plant maintenance, elevators, insurance etc. The only additional costs, on top of rent, are for telephone/internet usage which is normally charged at standard BT rates.
Neither are there any charges for furnishings which are normally the latest workstations with chairs, filing systems and tables for meeting rooms. This is usually a significant cost for any occupier and is included in the serviced office rent. Almost all serviced offices are fully fitted out with Category 5 wiring for computer networking.
A major difference between serviced offices and traditional offices, which is one of the main reasons for deciding to use them, is the length of the lease. A serviced office lease may be as short as 3 months, or more typically 9 or 12 months. This is very different from the 15 year lease normally associated with a traditional office and gives many organizations the much needed flexibility to shrink or expand as their business dictates.
