Business Costs - Lease An Office Building Or Rent Multiple Serviced Offices?

Serviced Office Or Not?


In this article, we are examining the best way businesses should go when deciding on whether to lease an office building or rent one or multiple individual offices off a serviced office provider such as The Storage Works In Blackburn.

What is Included With Serviced Office Space?

Serviced office space with different providers include different things. It it is usually a good idea to ask the provider exactly what is included in the office rental.

You should check if the following are included;
  • Business Rates
  • Water Rates
  • Electricity
  • Heating
  • Call Answering Service
  • Internet
  • Communal Kitchen / WCs
  • Security
  • Service Charge
  • Maintenance & Repairs
We are examining one facility in this article, they provide office space rental in Blackburn. They are based in the North West of England where the prices are typically lower. Most of the above bullet points are included in their price and it roughly costs on an average sized office £16.50 per square foot.

Conventional Office Lease?

In a conventional office lease, quite often none of the above will be included however the price per square foot will normally be less. Bare in mind that whilst the price per square foot is less, you will also be paying rent on the corridors and kitchen etc. Business rates (unless you fall under business rates relief in the UK) will normally be payable at approximately 50% of your rent. 

The landlord may quote you £8.00 per square foot (typical rent for the North West of England) which sounds really reasonable compared with the above. Lets assume you are a smaller business requiring approximately 500sqft of office space for 8 staff to work from. Additional costs that are likely to increase your square foot price are below;

Business Rates £4.00/sqft
Water Rates £0.25/sqft (approx)
Internet £1.00/sqft (one incoming line)
Security £1.00/sqft (you may have to get an alarm installed)
Service charge £0.75/sqft - You may have to pay a service charge towards the land around the office building
As well as the above, your office building will need to be a minimum of 650sqft compared with the serviced office to accommodate a WC and kitchen. 

What Is Cheaper Based on 500sqft of Office Space?

Serviced Office Space = £16.50 per sqft
Conventional Office Space = £15.00 per square foot x 650 / 500 = £19.50

Not only does serviced office space come out cheaper, it also consolidates all your bills into one allowing you to budget easier and concentrate on what you are good at. If you are looking for office space, considering serviced office should be something businesses even with a large number of staff should at least look into. It is always worth asking a solicitor to review any contract you are signing up to to ensure the prices won't escalate whilst you are there. 

The Storage Works in Blackburn covers the following areas;





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