Studio Flats London

Opening an office in London can be a hugely beneficial step for a company to take. However, before you can begin reaping the benefits that the capital has to offer, you need to find new premises. In order to ascertain whether a commercial property in London is suitable or not, you will need to ask yourself a few pertinent questions.
The first consideration should focus around the sort of property you require and its location. Would it best to have the premises nearer to the business’s employees, its suppliers or its customers? Alternatively, it may be more important to have the business located close to a transport network, such as rail or road systems. And, importantly, the premises have to be within your budget.
Should you manage to find a commercial property in London that is suitable, it may be prudent to approach your bank manager or at least speak to the firm’s accountant to ascertain the impact that the new premises will have on the company’s budget. Next you will need to negotiate with the landlord to get rental terms that are favourable to you – often a difficult and frustrating process.
On the other hand, you may feel it better to place the whole procedure in the hands of a property expert. A commercial estate agent will have a great deal of experience in sourcing available commercial property in London. Whilst you will have to pay for their services, it is worth bearing in mind that mistakes with property can be extremely costly and have even in some cases resulted in bankruptcy.
A commercial property agent will have resources available that you will not, such as a database of existing and up-and-coming commercial properties in London. They can also help you organise the move within the parameters of your budget, taking into account things that you may have overlooked. Factors such as producing effective relocation plans, choosing suppliers during and after the move and a constant budget report can all be implemented by the appointed relocations manager and contribute towards a smooth and efficient process. A commercial agent can also take care of things like surveyors and solicitors and also ensure that the contract you sign provides you with favourable terms, taking into account factors such as the rent and possible increases, the length of the lease and how easy it is to give it up, to whom the responsibility of insurance falls, who is liable for repairs, service charges, financial guarantees and lease protection. These are all commitments that you can expect to find in an agreement, but a commercial property agent will be able to negotiate terms on your behalf that you may not be able to.
Renting a commercial property in London generally heralds a new beginning for most businesses; to ensure that your rental goes as smoothly as possible and does not affect the operation of the company, it would be prudent to research just what a commercial property estate agent in London can offer you.

Some of the best London commercial property in a central location can be hard to come by as regardless of any possible ‘credit crunch’ London commercial property demand for prime locations like commercial office space Holborn or commercial estate Covent Garden, is as high as ever.

When looking at the activity in the UK commercial property sector over the last year you can see a major difference in what has been reflected there in comparison to the type of continually positive results seen in the London commercial property sector. London commercial property in central London has always seen a high demand of interest and if you want to get hold of commercial property to buy or London commercial lettings, the best way to bag yourself a good deal is to contact a commercial property London specialist agency.

The commercial property industry is a completely different market to the residential property market and people don’t always understand this until they begin the process of finding a new London office space or a new London commercial retail outlet.

The guises of London commercial property fall into a number of categories, but to give a brief summary they can be split into three main sectors.

1. Commercial retail space

2. Serviced office space

3. Warehouse space

For many businesses finding a new office location can be a stressful process and when looking in a metropolis like London this stress can be multiplied. A way to make the whole process much easier to manage is to employ the services of a commercial property finder and a good tip if you are planning on following this route is to make sure you go with a well established and highly experienced commercial property agent. A commercial property agent, especially one which operates predominantly in the London commercial property sector, will be able to help you find an ideal property in your perfect central London location, negotiate on the best terms for you and help ensure the process runs smoothly.

The advice of a London commercial property agent can be priceless as inexperienced people can find themselves tied down to long inflexible leases with a higher rental price. If you have signed a contract for a number of years this can be extremely damaging to your business.

By seeking professional advice in the London commercial property sector you will stop landlords from taking advantage of your lack of knowledge while the commercial property agent’s local knowledge may also help put you in touch with other local businesses in the area which can help to boost your own business potential.

If you are moving to London from other parts of the country and have already had dealings in the commercial property industry it is still recommended that you contact a London commercial property agent as the market can almost be seen to function as if it is a separate economy to that of the rest of the commercial property market in the UK.

Upsizing or downsizing, establishing a second or even third office, relocating to a more prestige location or simply finding somewhere that is more affordable in uncertain times – these are many of the reasons that you may be looking for a new office space in London.
While location, location, location is always going to be the mantra when it comes to finding residential property – and may still be a significant factor in choosing commercial office space in London, depending on your sector and your particular needs – there may be another more important choice to make before you decide exactly where you’re going to move to: should I rent a serviced office space or a conventional leasehold commercial property in London?
Each has its benefits and its drawbacks. However, the following key factors should help you decide:
1. Flexibility of contract
There is no real question that serviced office space is more flexible in terms of your financial commitment – contracts tend to be extremely short and can be terminated with little or even no notice. A standard leasehold agreement for a conventional commercial office space in London would be for 5 years with a break in the 3rd year so represents a far more long-term commitment. However the flexibility of serviced offices comes at a premium and generally you would pay much more compared to a conventional space.
2. Flexibility of space
While contracts are flexible with a serviced office, your use of the space will not be and it is likely that, not only will you have to abide by regulations when using the space, but you will also be unable to redecorate or personalize the space to suit your business needs. That said, you can upgrade or downgrade as required – so if the physical nature of your business changes you can adapt quickly and easily.
Conventional commercial office space provides a much more bespoke environment for your office – you can redecorate, refurbish and redesign the space totally according to your needs: for customer-facing and cutting-edge industries such as design agencies, media companies or architects for example may require a more flexible space that reflects their business more effectively, provides a showcase for their services and an attractive place to bring clients. Of course, such a space will mean a certain loss of flexibility in terms of ability to expand or contract at will and therefore will suit well-established, essentially predictable businesses better than new, uncertain or rapidly changing businesses.
3. Price
For most businesses, the bottom line with office space is going to be cost and, while serviced offices offer a great deal of flexibility they are not a cost effective way of housing your business in the long-term. A conventional office space in London, particularly if you have sourced it through a company who can aggressively negotiate rents on your behalf (rather than a commercial estate agent who represents his clients interests first and foremost) will virtually always make the most commercial sense for an established business.

NB Real Estate, the central London office specialist agency, say that the huge interest witnessed from investors in the London market over the past two quarters shows no signs of abating. Many funds have been set up to take advantage of what was often characterised as the best buying opportunity for a generation but have been thwarted by the lack of stock.Yields have hardened, in some cases by over 100 basis points. As a consequence, investors are becoming more adventurous where funding availability allows them to be. Shorter income opportunities are now attracting greater interest as the mist starts to clear and a more positive trend appears to be emerging on the occupier side of the equation.A key factor in this has been the severity with which the development pipeline was switched off. NB Real Estate figures point to a remarkable 92% increase in take-up in the City compared to the previous quarter and an increase of over 50% compared to the same period last year. A substantial proportion of this is represented by Nomura’s take-up of 540,000 sq ft at Watermark Place.  At the same time availability in the City decreased by 14% since the last quarter.Grade A space suitable for major corporate use remains a scarce commodity. It would take only a handful of lettings to take out most of the available space of this type in the City.In the West End there are even fewer ‘destination’ locations with City feel and spec. When such space becomes available they attract premium rents but they do not, of course, typify the general run of West End stock. One is the new scheme at 23 Savile Row where a number of lettings have been agreed at headline rents exceeding £90 per sq ft. Another is Devonshire House in Mayfair where Bain Capital has recently agreed to take about 41,000 sq ft (albeit only 18,000 of additional space). The rent agreed was £90 per sq ft which underlines its premium status but with a rumoured 32 month rent free, a service charge cap and a £70 per sq ft capital contribution there is a bigger story behind the headline figure.

Businesses of all sizes are drawn to London. The capital is the global centre for many diverse industries and is full of attractive commercial property.
With a population of more than eight million and an eclectic mix of people and city offices, London has something to offer every firm. Moving offices or buying commercial property in London is sadly not as easy as one might hope, but with some expert knowledge and office relocation help, firms quickly enjoy its numerous opportunities.
Commercial property markets have struggled following recent international credit shortages. However, falling values have attracted numerous overseas buyers and some commercial property still retains a premium. The recent sale of Mayfair offices by Hermes Real Estate at a four per cent yield is a useful example.
Businesses looking to resize and move to new offices have to consider the cost of moving and the benefits of hiring office specialists to help. By employing an agent, a company can also continue driving its business forward, while an office relocation project manager takes care of the details.
Commercial property agents are best placed to understand these market developments. This ‘inside view’ could be of even greater help to companies moving to London for the first time. Experts say that commercial property agents can offer those looking for office space a number of key advantages.
When representing a tenant, they can be trusted to find a property at the right price – not necessarily one that the landlord is looking to achieve. Equally, the opportunity to harness the insider knowledge of commercial letting agents – who may know about good locations due to come onto the market, can give firms a head-start. Rather than simply scanning available office space and wasting time continually checking what is available, interested tenants can be alerted by those in the know.
The same grounding is also useful when it comes to the crunch. Commercial estate agents are aware of the market moves and will have their finger on the pulse when it comes to knowing what might be around the corner – will the location, for example, be set for major new transport links, like Stratford following the construction work done for the Olympic Games; or is the nearby Tube station set to close for the first six months of the commercial lease? With an understanding of the local area and the market conditions in what are changing times for the property market, an agent can help a tenant find the right space at the right price and make the new site or office relocation that much smoother.
Companies moving to London need first to decide where in the capital they want to be. London has excellent public transport connections, although even small companies looking for budget relocations should consider their choice of location carefully.
By using a commercial property expert, they can find a number of offices and benefit from specialist local knowledge.
New London mayor, Boris Johnson, has new plans to create more open spaces and waterways which investors hope will further add to the city’s qualities. The Times reported his planning advisor, Sir Simon Milton, saying Boris’s big theme is “quality of life”.
So whether it is in or out of work, companies planning office relocations can expect their staff to enjoy the best London has to offer.