There will come a time in the life span of any new company when they will have to consider their first business premises and this is one of the most important decisions that can be made in the early stages of any company.

London offers phenomenal advantages and services to businesses of all sizes. It is served by five major airports, European rail networks, Underground network and is at the centre of a vast motorway network. London is the nerve centre of business in the UK, a driving force of the economy with virtually every business facility you care to think of.

A London business address carries a significant amount of weight in clients’ perceptions of your company; a London business can appear more dynamic than a similar one that is located in other regions of the UK. One question, and especially in today’s economic climate – is whether to rent or to buy?

While buying commercial business property can eventually lead to your business having some collateral, it can also present a number of problems that are not experienced by those who choose to rent; initial outlay being the first. In order to secure buying a business space, you are going to need a lump sum to put down and, very possibly, a commercial mortgage.

Rental offers you the freedom to view substantially more available premises and move into your choice, without the worry that your investment is going to affect the company’s profitability. In addition, as has been proved in recent months, bricks and mortar are not guaranteed to retain their worth.

An important part of any business is the monitoring and control of cash flow; renting office space generally allows greater flexibility and fluidity. As the recent economic downturn has shown, mortgages are subject to the fluctuations of interest rates, whilst rents are usually fixed for a minimum of 5 years – and of course, there is always the consideration that you may find it hard to borrow at all in the current climate. In London, due to the fact that many offices face the prospect of becoming unoccupied as a result of a series of redundancies, the supply of office space is beginning to significantly outweigh the demand. The result is that landlords are already being forced to drop their rents, meaning that there are a number of rental bargains waiting to be snapped up in the capital – with the likely possibility of more to come.

London’s stagnant property market also means difficulty for the owners of business space who may want to move. For a tenant, it is simply a matter of giving notice at the right time, finding new premises and moving on.

If a company who own the office space find their business expanding and the space they own insufficient, the current climate in the capital presents a huge hurdle; how are they going to sell the property? If they are lucky enough to do so at the moment, it could be at a loss.

London’s facilities have enticed and supported businesses for hundreds of years. The current economic climate in the capital has turned the odds in favour of the tenant and it looks to remain that way for some considerable time to come.

For interviews, quotes, images or comments contact:
Shivani Gurtu-Louth
Devono Operations Manager
Tel(DDI): +44 (0)20 7096 9911
E-mail: sg@devono.com

Environmentally responsible business practice is now an ingrained part of corporate office life across the UK. Office recycling, energy-saving measures and supply chain monitoring are all part of this process as is, increasingly, the issue of green commuting – encouraging the workforce to travel to and from the workplace in as eco-friendly a way as possible.
Many of the larger corporates have the resource and infrastructure to set out incentive schemes and work up green transport strategies for their employees. For example, back in 2005, Pfizer earmarked more than £800,000 a year to encourage its 1000 employees at its Walton Oaks site to opt for a green commute. When planning permission was granted for the site in Tadworth, Surrey, the company agreed to a transport plan setting out stringent green transport goals, including single occupancy vehicle, public transport and car-sharing targets.
But for those businesses at the other end of the spectrum, whose resources won’t stretch that far, the notion of trying to manage a sustainable strategy over an activity that takes place beyond the office boundaries can often be a bridge too far.

Solutions in the serviced officer sector
Recently, however, this has begun to change, as some of the UK’s top-end serviced office providers are turning their attention to the issue. By adopting eco-friendly office procedures and providing an infrastructure which allows for a greener approach to running a business, the serviced office provider enables its occupiers to automatically slot into an existing sustainable culture, rather than having to start their own from scratch. And as part of this, provision for adopting a green commuting strategy is part and parcel.

For example, to support the growing trend of cycling to work, Argyll business centres, a leading operator of executive office suites around London’s West End and City, provides “spa-standard” showers, body products and towels for their occupiers, as well as parking for bicycles.

Green cars -104 g/km carbon output vs 243g/km for a traditional London taxi
It has also formed a relationship with Climatecars, the ultimate eco-friendly car service (for when a bicycle really can’t do the job), which runs a fleet of Toyota Priuses all using state-of-the-art hybrid technology for maximum fuel efficiency and minimum carbon output. Run in the same way as a taxi service, each Climatecar is fitted with a bicycle rack (for those moments when the bicycle needs transporting, too), while inside the car, the client can enjoy a range of Condé Nast magazines for reading material, and a bottle of Belu Mineral Water, from the first water company that does not contribute to climate change.

Where there’s a will, there’s a way
Speaking about the demand for environmentally-friendly services, Emily Taylor, Marketing Director of Argyll business centres said, “we have seen an increase in demand for cycle parking and our high quality shower facilities as more and more Londoners take to their bikes.”

British Commuters

• 25 million people commute to and from work in the UK
• Nationally, just 14% of commuters travel to work by bus or train
• Nationally, 11% of commuters walk
• London has the second highest percentage of commuters who cycle to work – at 5% (behind Yorks & Humber with 6%), and the lowest use of the car
• London commuters face the highest average daily commute in the UK, of 86 minutes (DfT Regional Transport Statistics: 2006)

So, while there is still some way to go in achieving a truly green commuting model, it seems now that the will is there: according to a recent Prudential Car Insurance survey, while 57% of drivers see car use as a necessary evil, 20% of urban drivers experience what they term as “green guilt”. At the same time, a recent Barclaycard survey showed that the proportion of us driving to work fell from 92% in 2003/4 to 75% in 2005. It is therefore up to everyone in business – whether occupiers or office providers, to work together to tackle this significant issue – and the executive serviced office providers propose to be at the vanguard of it.