If you are looking to lease or buy commercial property, there are certain factors you need to consider before choosing one. Whether purchasing a unit for a restaurant, bar, warehouse or shop, we look at some of the main factors involved with selecting the perfect commercial property for your business needs.

The area

One of the most important things that you need to consider is the location. For example, if your business is a restaurant or clothes shop, you will want to make sure that the premises is easily accessible for customers.

Location will also be crucial when it comes to hiring employees. You may find it difficult to recruit good team members if the place does not have good transport links, or the salary offered does not make the transport costs worth their time. Specifically, if you have technical requirements, you may struggle to source such personnel in small towns or rural areas.

The location of your premises will be even more important if you are a start-up, as it may be much more likely that you are hiring young people/graduates who are just starting their foray into the world of work, and so therefore may rely more heavily on public transport to get to their place of employment, rather than having their own vehicle in order to get to a less accessible area. It’s small, but essential things like this, that must be taken into consideration.

Having positive cash flow

If you are a new business, you should carefully consider how much you spend on renting or buying the facility. A start-up or new business should watch their cash flow carefully and avoid any risks of overspending on the premises in case business does not take off.

This can even be the case for fully-established businesses too. It may be worth being slightly strategic when it comes to how you choose a place to rent – for example, you may choose a prime location but decide to rent premises that are just off the main road to keep rent costs lower.

Lease or buy

Of course when it comes to choosing commercial property, it is essential you thoroughly consider whether to lease or to buy the premises. Generally speaking, it is recommended that newer businesses opt for leases on a short-term basis (around a year-long) this means that it is easy to restructure your lease at a later date than if it was longer term.

For larger, more established businesses, it could work out better to buy, especially if you plan to stay in the area for a lengthy amount of time, it may be more cost effective.

Key advantages of leasing a property

• Equity – As the owner of the property, you will have various options to draw upon the equity as collateral, for example if you wanted to self-finance a new project or new equipment.
• Rental income – If you have spare space then you could accept tenants
• Tax – Depending on how you purchase the property, there are different capital tax reliefs available, such as capital allowances or sometimes including rental income as well. Be sure to investigate the options before you buy.
• Capital growth – Over the longer-term, you would expect the property to increase in value over time. There are likely to be Capital Gains Tax issues to consider though.

Key advantages of buying a property

• Flexibility – If your business grows, or circumstances change, you can relocate. Be sure to arrange a break clause in the lease contract before you sign for this reason. Sub-letting some of your space may also be an option – again be sure to check this in the contract.
• Maintenance costs – Other than services charges and the requirement for general upkeep of your office or work area, most other building costs are not your responsibility. Similarly, your insurance is likely to be less extensive.
• Tax – Lease payments can be deducted from your income.

Regulatory and building requirements

The last thing you want is to find a great commercial property that seems to have everything going for it, putting a deposit down, and then discovering that the building does not abide to a whole host of building regulations, which may take a considerable amount of time to sort out.

Conducting a thorough survey for the property beforehand is essential before any renovations take place or the premises is open to staff or customers. This includes any potentially harmful substances or building errors that could put stakeholders at risk.

Return on investment

If you plan to sell the business and the property one day, will it indeed hold its value? Could you make a good return on investment if you sold in five, ten, or 20 years’ time? There are some areas that are undergoing regeneration such as Shoreditch, Tottenham and Wembley, which could turn into a good investment if you decided to resell your property or rent it out in the future.

Gareth Morgan, managing director of Liberty Marketing, discusses how completely refurbishing an office in a 1980s block allowed the company to put its own stamp on its surroundings.

We are a digital marketing agency that specialises in SEO, PPC and content marketing.

In our previous office, we had great facilities, but the cost was too high. When I was considering where to set up, I looked at somewhere that I knew could host good internet, as this is something we, as a digital marketing agency, cannot function without.

I ensured that there were great transport routes nearby as half of the staff come from the other side of Cardiff. We have a train station just a ten minute walk away, and a bus stop just outside the office. There are also great parking facilities too for both staff and clients. These were big things to consider when choosing an office.

“What is so great about the current property is that we were able to overtake the above floor as we expanded the company”

I wanted somewhere that I could put Liberty’s stamp on, which is why I chose an old building from the 1980s that would need completely renovating. The office was completely refurbished, and we definitely added our own stamps to make it fun and vibrant – people enjoy coming to work here and every one, including clients, love the vibe and individuality that the office offers.

Our old building had no space, so it wasn’t easy to expand the company. What is so great about the current property is that we were able to overtake the above floor as we expanded the company.

Again, the location really helps with staff morale. There are plenty of pubs around for a pub lunch or an after-work drink. Staff used to go for a pub lunch every Wednesday, and it took them over a year to try out all the different local ones. There are also two gyms within walking distance for those that enjoy a lunchtime spin class and also two supermarkets nearby as well as a Starbucks.

Absolute Commercial Interiors creates and designs places to work for clients. Here, managing director Phil Brown discusses how he navigated his own office move.

We work with the hospitality, leisure, and commercial sectors to transform the interior spaces of companies and iconic brands such as Leeds United. My previous trade as a joiner armed me with practical knowledge, but my team of design and space planners help to conceptualise and transform the region’s unloved and bland offices.

Since we started out at our Harrogate home, The Old School House, our headcount grew rapidly by around 20. Combined with a number of client wins, I was faced with the difficult question, ‘Should I stay or should I go?’. The answer to this all depends on whether you’re maximising the design and layout of your old space.

While it’s entirely possible to reduce many of the spiralling costs associated with moving premises by redesigning your current office, we felt the time was right for us to seek out a more spacious setting for the team. Our new office space, in the leafy Harrogate suburb of Hornbeam Park, now gives us free reign to fully customise the space to fit our needs.

“An evaluation of your current space and a clever redesign can accommodate more staff than you had anticipated”

Our old offices were split across two floors of the same building, but our new open plan layout now facilitates more flexibility and collaboration when the team are working on projects.

The move out of the town centre has also meant that access to the offices are far easier for both clients and staff when it comes to avoiding traffic and parking problems. The creation of our portfolio room means that we’re now able to hold boutique consultations with clients and prospects, allowing us to build mood boards to help with the creative process.

Dilapidations (returning the premises to its original state) can often come as a shock and spiral in expense, sometimes costing up to £9.54 per square foot! With this in mind, an evaluation of your current space and a clever redesign can accommodate more staff than you had anticipated.

However, like us, it might be the case that you’re ahead of your growth ambitions, meaning you will indeed need a brand new space! These days, contracts for offices can often mean businesses are fixed to their premises for up to ten years, so my main recommendation would be to make sure the decision is at the forefront of your mind before it’s too late.

Further Resources

Tax implications of buying commercial property as an investment [pdf] – A guide from Alexander & Co Chartered Accountants

Commercial property insurance – A good overview from The Association of British Insurers

Five things to consider when converting a property for commercial use – Advice on how stay on the right side of the law and make sure your property is safe and secure

The post What to consider when choosing a commercial property appeared first on Small Business UK.

Choosing the right office location is not to be hurried – you’ve got a lot of considerations around the space itself and how it impacts on your staff as well as your clients.

Run through the following points to focus your search, whichever stage you’re at.

Office lease or co-working space?

The first decision you should make is what kind of space to move into.

Office leases are more expensive and do tie you in for a longer period, but they give you more freedom in what you can do with the space. Personalising the space with your own branding makes a significant difference to your team’s morale and the image that you present to clients, especially in more traditional sectors like finance.

Co-working spaces will be better for you if you have fewer members of staff and some growth potential, or you only need the space for a limited period of time. What’s more, being in a co-working space strips away responsibilities like replacing coffee and toilet roll. These spaces often organise free classes, clubs and talks (and dish out free biscuits!) to promote worker wellbeing too.

Read Co-working space versus traditional office – which is better? for more detailed arguments on both sides.

Office prices in the area

Look up the price of other offices in the area to suss out whether that seemingly perfect space is actually a good deal.

According to 2018 research from Instant Offices, the average office rent cost (per person per month) for major UK cities are as follows:

Office prices in major UK cities

Hidden costs

When setting out your moving budget, remember to include stamp duty, fitting costs, solicitor’s cost and buying agent’s fees. Though rent will make up the bulk of your office cost, these will contribute a significant amount. It’s also worth learning what the business rates are for the buildings you’re interested in.

Remember to factor in running and cleaning costs once you’re in the office as well as the fees you might incur for the stuff that didn’t come with you if you have to pay for disposal.

Read through the lease before you sign up so that you’re aware of the costs to be covered by you and your landlord.

Fitting with the brand image

As we said previously, your office location is an extension of your brand image.

If you’re a slick tech start-up, people won’t respond so well to a dingy rundown office. However, if you’re a not-for-profit organisation with a more frugal identity, spending a hefty penny on your office space sends out the wrong message.

Legal considerations

Read up on the legal implications of moving office as they may have changed since you last made the shift.

Your new office must meet safety standards in terms of health hazards, fire protection (the local fire department can help here) and lockdown procedures. When moving offices and machines, don’t forget about handling data in line with GDPR.

Read: Office space required per person

If your staff do not wish to move office, you may have to offer them redundancy depending on the mobility clause in their contract.

It’s not exactly a legal consideration, but check out local crime rate figures on the Police website. It’ll give you an idea of how safe an area is for your staff and visitors as well as the likelihood of your office being burgled.

Room to grow (if necessary)

High-growth companies are going to need space to expand. Forecast how many more people you’re planning to hire and find a space that’ll accommodate this – it might act as a motivator in meeting your goals too!

On that note, if you want staff that work in-house, you’ll want to be near your talent pool. Check in with local recruitment agencies to establish what kind of talent is prominent in the area you want to move to.

Competition in the area

Figure out what the competition is like in your desired location.

Greater competition is often a driver for better performance. With that in mind, you might want to launch in an area that’s associated with your sector, such as being near to Silicon Roundabout in Shoreditch if you’re a fintech company. Then you’ve got the opportunity to work off other firms for customers and supplies, forming strategic partnerships you might not have planned for.

Be aware that competition could damage your business performance in certain sectors. For example, if you’re a marketing agency in an area which already has a high concentration of marketing agencies, you might suffer unless you have a niche like representing females or businesses in the food industry.

Convenience for your staff

Of course, your office needs to be accessible by bus, train, tube or tram. For employees who prefer to pedal, the new place must be reachable by bike too. Ensure it has a bike park or is near a docking station and provides decent on-site facilities like showers and drying cupboards.

If there isn’t a car park on the premises, tell staff where the nearest parking spaces are.

It’s universally acknowledged that wellbeing is crucial for employees. When considering location in relation to your staff, think about proximity to cafés, bars, gyms, banks and shops to take care of their basic needs.

Easy for visitors to get to

Your priority is to make your office easy for staff to get to, but what about visitors? More remote office spaces could be difficult to get to by public transport or to find on Google Maps. If it’s a bother to find, it could spell a bad start to your business relationships. Weigh up the cost of having a cheaper office that’s more difficult to reach versus a more expensive office in a place with greater business opportunities.

The right office space can be the difference between landing and deterring clients.

Being close to suppliers

If you rely on suppliers for physical products – especially items that aren’t widely available – you’ll want to be close to them. Moving further away and keeping your current supplier could be costly in terms of increased delivery miles so it’s worth trying to find someone closer to you if that’s the case.

Related Guides and Information

• 8 cool office spaces that we love – A gallery series exemplifying new trends in office design.
• Explore average office costs by city in the UK – part of Lambert Smith Hampton’s Total Office Cost Survey 2022. You can select a location from a map to see the occupancy costs for that area.
• Five sustainability solutions for an eco-friendly office – Flooring Republic advises us on how to encourage your team to build an eco-friendly, green office.
• How to improve productivity by investing in the right office furniture

The post 9 factors that will help you choose the right office location appeared first on Small Business UK.

The term commonly used to describe the situation of an employee not turning up for work with no prior authorisation for the time off is absent without leave, or AWOL. In more legal terms, the employee is classed as being on unauthorised absence which is technically a breach of contract because the employee has broken their contractual requirement to turn up for work.

This is a more common occurrence than people think, particularly in the early days of an employment relationship and can leave an employee with an unforeseen absence and no details on where the employee is, how they are and when or if they may return.

Clearly there can be many reasons for unauthorised absence. An employee may have been on sick leave which was covered by medical certificates and then fails to return to work when the sick note has run out; or fail to return from a period of booked annual leave. Alternatively they may simply not turn up for work as normal one day.

Whatever the reason, steps should be taken to contact the employee in the first instance. Employers should not jump to conclusions that the employee has simply taken the decision not to turn up for work. In some cases, something may have happened which prevents the employee from turning up and also prevents them from notifying you of their absence. However, attempts should be made to contact them, and that could also include contacting their emergency contact person if you hold those details.

If it still has not been possible to get in touch with the employee, the next steps would depend on how long the employee had been with you. Employees gain protection against unfair dismissal once they have been with you for two years and this is an important consideration because sometimes action by the employer can be deemed as a dismissal of sorts, called constructive dismissal.

Employers may be left in the position where they have no other option but to consider dismissing the employee because of the prolonged length of the unauthorised absence.

Where service is less than two years, a dismissal could be effected swiftly because there is generally no risk of claiming unfair dismissal.

Where service is two years or more, the employer needs to tread more carefully. The concept of ‘self-dismissal’ comes into play here and employers may think that they can consider the employee to have self-dismissed because they have not come into work and have not contacted the employer. However, this is a risky route to take.

Several tribunal cases have considered the concept of self-dismissal and it remains a grey area of employment law. As is the key with all parts of employment law, procedure is key and employers must ensure that they have taken all reasonable steps to contact the employee to ascertain whether it is their wish to resign. It is also important that the employer informs the employee of the possible consequence of their continued absence without contact ie that their employment will be terminated.

Written communication should be sent recorded delivery so that employers are able to ascertain whether it has been received and who by. If letters are returned undelivered, it may be appropriate to try other means of contacting the employee, including email and text message. Where possible contact details become known, ensure you try all of these. Records should be kept of all attempts at communication so that they can be used as evidence if required.

Only at the stage where the employers considers they have reasonably tried to find all possible contact details with which to communicate with the employee should the employer consider terminating employment.

Alan Price is employment law director of Peninsula. 

Further reading on absenteeism

• A step-by-step guide to managing repeated employee absence

The post What to do if employees fail to show up to work  appeared first on Small Business UK.

More and more people are choosing to work for themselves – and for that, they need a home office which boosts their productivity while reflecting their personality.

There’s a lot to consider here. You’ll need to think about legal implications like insurance, practical things like a comfortable office chair and design features like colour and lighting.

If you have a bad set-up, your health could be at risk.

It’s an exciting project to immerse yourself in, but setting up shop can be daunting if you don’t know what to do.

Fretting about the task ahead? Take some advice from an expert and a handful of small business owners who started where you are now.

Top tips for setting up a home office

The team at Cleveland Containers offer their advice on creating a home office that’s right for you.

Separate work from home

When working from home on a regular basis, it’s important that you create a clear distinction between home and work life. This is especially true if you decide to invite colleagues or clients over in the future.

If you’re working whilst sprawled on the sofa or lying in bed, how productive do you feel? The answer is probably not very. By creating a separate office environment, you’ll retain the professional and productive feelings you’d get in a more traditional workspace.

Firstly, you need to identify the best place for your office. If you have a rarely-used guestroom, or a spare room that doubles up as storage space, then they could both be good options.

If you don’t have a spare room, that’s not a problem: you can build an office in your back garden instead. Sheds and shipping containers are spacious enough to house an office, without taking up too much garden space.

Creating a home office will help to retain your privacy, whilst ensuring you aren’t distracted. After all, no one can be productive if they can hear a TV blaring in the background.

Make the most of what you’ve got

If your office is small, you’ll want to make the most of the space you’ve got. A cluttered space is off-putting and can sometimes feel a little claustrophobic.

While we all have our own ways of working, and some prefer an ‘organised mess’, the key is still organisation. Maximise your space by storing paperwork into file dividers or boxes – they’ll also stop you from frantically searching for that one document for ten minutes.

Purchase a pair of drawers to store away other equipment or stationery that isn’t needed on your desk. You don’t have to spend a lot of money kitting out your office. A quick trip to IKEA will give you loads of ideas.

Invest in the right equipment

When you’re working remotely in your home office, one of the worst things that could happen is for your laptop to suddenly crash, or your broadband to stop working.

It’s worth spending a bit extra to ensure your technology is up to date and working properly. Have a local, responsive web team on speed dial so that if you do suddenly have any issues with your devices, you can get them fixed fast.

Related: Better Business Technology – Advice and guides on how to better your business through improvements in efficiency, technology and collaboration

When creating your home office, you’ll also need to ensure that there are enough plug sockets. You’ll need space to charge your laptop and phone, as well as having space to potentially plug in a printer and a lamp. It may be worth buying a plug extension so you have enough sockets.

Another highly important piece of equipment for your home office is a chair. When you’re sitting down for long periods of time, you want to make sure that your chair supports your back and neck, and helps with your posture. You can find ten of the best ergonomic office chairs here.

Choose the best colours

Like music and pictures, colours evoke certain emotions within us. Whilst you may not be overtly aware of this, colour is more powerful than you think, and is something to bear in mind when decorating your home office.

Avoid cool colours like blues and lilacs, which encourage feelings of peace. Relaxation is great for your bedroom, but not so much for your office!

Instead, you could incorporate purple into your decor, which is known to stimulate the imagination, or even a cheery yellow – provided it’s not too bright.

If you’re unsure about reaching for bright colours, then try neutral shades like grey and cream. They won’t cause distractions, and are a great base for creating a feature wall further down the line.

“Incorporate purple into your decor, which is known to stimulate the imagination, or even a cheery yellow”

Find natural daylight

Natural daylight improves our mood and makes us happier, which is why having a window in your office can be beneficial.

If you’ve chosen to house your office in a shed or shipping container, then you can usually modify them by getting a window built in. Placing your computer by the window means that you can gaze out whenever you want to give your eyes a break from the screen.

If a window isn’t an option then don’t worry, you can cheat it! There are lots of lamps out there that mimic daylight, so you can enjoy the benefits of natural light even though you’re faking it.

Research has shown that we respond better to yellow-cast illuminations, and a lack of light can have a negative effect, even causing depression through Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), so it’s important you don’t leave the lights down low.

Once you’ve got the lighting sorted in your home office, avoid eye strain caused by glare, by ensuring your computer isn’t directly in the line of your light source.

A well thought-out workspace will improve happiness and productivity, and the best thing is, these tips to setting up a home office won’t take up much of your time.

Carol Mann, co-founder of We Get Digital

Carol is based in north London with her husband. She talks about making the most of the available space you have.

There are a few questions you need to ask yourself when setting up your home office.

Are you going to have clients visit you? If so, make sure you have easy access to the office and that the bathrooms are always clean, tidy and presentable. It’s also a good idea to have coffee and tea making facilities nearby.

Even if you aren’t going to see anyone in your home office, make sure that it is a really organised space for your business.

Think carefully about the growth of your business and have a place for everything. Treat it exactly as you would a professional office space. This really sets the tone for the working day.

Make maximum use of the space you have. How many people can you realistically fit into the space? If it’s just one, do you need more desk space or more storage space? Measure up carefully and buy your large items accordingly.

It is important to have a really comfortable yet functional set up as you will be spending more hours in your office than you think!

Get some good, strong shelving in place with storage boxes. There are some great second-hand furniture shops for desks and filing cabinets – it won’t cost a fortune if you shop around.

Don’t skimp on comfortable and ergonomic chairs though.

Make sure the lighting is good – directional lamps and soft lighting work well. Dimmers are ideal because if you are working late at night, you can dim the lights and get on with your tasks more comfortably.

I will stress again to measure up carefully. You don’t need massive desk space. Assess exactly how much space you need to work on and in. How much paperwork are you likely to have? A lot can be stored electronically.

As for the colour scheme in my own office, I go neutral neutral neutral – there is enough colour in the books, boards, files and folders.

We have two large white boards for organising and top priority lists on the wall. We have some paintings and certificates and a few fun motivational signs. Finally, we have one magnetic board for pinning important papers to which we keep as clear as possible.

In the past, we spent time in our dining room where we had a desk/cupboard space built so that we had one area apart from the dining table that could be used. This meant that when the room we use for the office now was freed up we did have a good idea of exactly what we needed.

We didn’t actually build anything for our office. The house already had an extension which we were able to access once the children had left! It was just a question of decoration, purchasing the desks and storage and putting up adequate shelving.

We have professional indemnity insurance and our general home insurance which covers us too.

Jon & Kelly Barfoot, co-founders of Vegbred

Jon & Kelly Barfoot, co-founders of Vegbred®, a 100 per cent natural bread made with fresh sweet potato, prioritise simplicity and practicality in their home office.

Function over form is our motto! It’s easy to get carried away with style and feng shui but a home-based office should, most importantly, be a quiet space. It doesn’t need to be flash: a basic IT desktop, Wi-Fi and a good chair will be enough to get you going.

I started out by trying to work from the kitchen table – or anywhere from a laptop – for too long. Just bite the bullet, set up a spare room or free up some space in an office. You’ll save yourself a host of well-intended frustrations!

Although it’s fine to get going with just your home phone and a mobile, it’s best to put in a phone line with a different number early on. This is an obvious one, but it keeps business and home life separate. You can also run a line/hub as a business expense so it’s definitely worth considering.

When we first came up with the idea for Vegbred®, we were brainstorming innovative new bread flavours, discussing the next health food trends, all while juggling family life with three young ones. Thinking of ways to better separate the two would be our future recommendation; benefiting both home and work lives.

“It doesn’t need to be flash: a basic IT desktop, Wi-Fi and a good chair will be enough to get you started”

Keeping your office fitout cheap

You can save money by working with what you’ve got. For example, plugging in your laptop to a keyboard and monitor rather than splashing out on a new PC can keep your initial costs down.

It’s important to have a supportive chair at the right height for your desk. Likewise, good LED lighting is essential. Having the right equipment is important to your health.

We converted an old unused outbuilding into our original home office space but as we didn’t add any cooking or washing facilities or change the roofing, there wasn’t any need for planning permission.

However, we updated our insurance with the NFU to cover office contents and liability insurance for businesses. The NFU were particularly helpful with data protection requirements.

We knew we needed enough space to seat four people, with enough storage space to keep the desk clear. So, we created a large central desk that we all sat around, turned a wall into a large white board with plastic laminate covering and got some cheap desk lights from IKEA. The conversion was a simple dry lining with insulation, flooring electrics and IT cabling put in. To keep things simple, we used the washroom facilities in the house.

The colouring matches our brand look and feel – books, plants and pictures add colour too.

As a fresh food delivery business, we added maps and anything branded that we had created to the walls, along with interesting food photography.

Lloyd Cox, owner of The Human Codex

Lloyd Cox runs his business, The Human Codex, from his caravan. He travels around the world, but there are extra implications when you have a moving office.

In my office, space is crucial as well as heat. There is very limited space in a caravan, so you have to be mindful of what goes where, and you have to make sure laptops don’t overheat or have their fans blocked.

We have all the chargers and monitor cables hooked up that won’t move when we tow, but the laptops are easily moved so we can work outside when the weather is nice. You have to be as paperless as you can be!

You have to be minimalistic with the tools you need as well, so everything must be essential. If something isn’t used on a daily basis, like a printer or scanner, it isn’t in there!

The biggest mistake I made was trying to have a PC in there – it took up too much space and overheated quickly. You just can’t lug a PC tower outside as easily as a laptop. We also made the mistake of trying to have equipment we didn’t need such as mouses and paper.

We almost lost quite a few important documents at first, but now everything is scanned so if the hard copy is lost we have an electric copy.

You have to be very careful of wattage in caravans too. Appliances plus laptops can easily blow the fuses!

We have normal caravan insurance (just for the van itself, but we also have travel and business insurance for everything we use). It’s not so easy to nip down to the shop to get a replacement, however the cover we have does deliver a replacement within the EU.

Using the space

We had to play with what we have – it’s important to be flexible. The layout for us is quite lucky as the bed is separate from where we work, although you can work from bed (one of the perks of remote working). The lighting can be tricky – there are plenty of windows, but with more light comes more heat, so it’s kind of a balancing act to make sure you can see but also don’t overheat.

We haven’t changed the colour of the office section yet, although when we can. We would like to paint the office the colours we use on The Human Codex platform (white, grey and purple) but again, we need to be mindful not to make it too dark.

What actually goes on the walls is an ongoing debate between myself and Toni (CEO). I would love to have our logo and motto – ‘We each have a story to tell, we each have a lesson to teach’ – but it isn’t very practical with the limited space we have.

I’m trying to see if we can have both painted on the walls rather than have them hanging up.

Jessica Morgan, owner of Carnsight Communications

Jessica had to get planning permission for her converted garage, but the transformation (and the bi-fold doors) were definitely worth it.

Having worked at my kitchen table before, the most important thing for me in a home office was space – to be able to leave documents where I’d left them without having to hurriedly tidy up every evening and set things up every morning.

I wanted a dedicated space that was only occasionally used for something else (we have a sofa bed in here, so it can also be used as a spare room).

Doing up the garage

We did the work as part of an extension so planning permission was needed. We connected the detached garage to the house so there was quite a bit of work involved. Because we’re on the edge of the Cotswolds it was quite a strict process but being at the back of the house, we had more flexibility with this room. We’re covered on contents insurance with the house.

The key elements were a good desk, a printer and a filing cabinet. My layout then changed again when my first employee joined.

I also had to do a layout plan to know where sockets were going to go. Looking back, one of my biggest mistakes was not putting enough sockets in! I tried to anticipate where everything would go but I’d say, as a general rule, try and have sockets on every wall you can.

Having a space that was as separate from the house as possible was important, both for me and for people who come here. We have a bathroom here and there’s an area of the utility room which adjoins with a fridge, our kettle and a coffee machine so we don’t have to go into the kitchen at all.

I would have chosen underfloor heating next time as our radiator doesn’t keep us really warm on freezing cold days. There was a lot of snow last winter!

Forking out a bit more

I went for a slightly more expensive desk which felt sturdier and had a lot of space. I paid a bit more for office chairs because good posture is essential. Electronics-wise, I invested in a good Wi-Fi extender and a decent printer and cartridges. We have a good speaker and we spend quite a bit on coffee!

Bi-fold doors were probably the biggest expense but they’re definitely worth it in summer when we can work with them fully open.

Frames on the wall were cheap as were picture ledges. We’ve got some personalised stationery but otherwise I have a back-up of cheaper pads and pens.

“I would have chosen underfloor heating next time as our radiator doesn’t keep us really warm on freezing cold days”

Getting the office feel right

The look was important to me as I wanted to enjoy spending time in there, so I chose complimentary neutral fittings and furnishings and cushions.

Maximising light was really important as we face south and I wanted to sit in front of a window to see the greenery in the garden. I chose white walls and a white wood effect floor as well as white and wood fittings and pendant lights.

We were working with designer Helen Baker at the time and she customised her garden birds print so we could use it as a blind in my favourite turquoise colour. It’s perfect as we often look up and see birds feeding outside the window. We have a bright yellow pinboard and wipe board and the other key bit of colour is the cushions on the sofa. We sit there to have catch-ups or have a coffee with clients.

It’s mainly light and pale in the office to maximise light and space with some splashes of colour. I think the pale colours also help us to feel calm when it gets frenetic.

Some of the recent coverage I’m proudest of is framed on the wall. For me, it’s important to celebrate the wins as you so quickly move on to the next project.

We have magazines and papers on picture shelves for reference and of course, some pictures of my children. We also have a bright yellow pinboard and wipe board so we can pin up things like thank you cards. The other painting is one by my great uncle, the artist Glyn Morgan.

Ingvar Gudmundsson, owner of SimplyBook.me

Icelandic entrepreneur Ingvar used to work flat-out before he built his current home office, which allows him to balance work and family life. He advises that you stay off the laptop for long-term work.

The first thing to consider is how you will arrange the work schedule so that you can participate in family life while still delivering an effective day at work.

A lot of people see a home office as a great opportunity to stay at home when taking care of children. Unfortunately, it’s not so easy. To have an effective home office it is important to separate your personal and professional areas while you are working. I remember times when my wife was out at work and our little one was only nine months old.

To give me work time, we would have him stay awake late in the evening to enjoy time with his mum, which gave me time to work, and then this allowed him to stay asleep ’til noon, giving me time to work the whole morning.

Once he’s awake, the concentration moves from the work and to the baby and not much gets done. However, by arranging the schedule between the parents like we did, I got a full working day, although not in continuity.

You will be torn to pieces mentally if you try to do both at same time!

The first time I had a home office, it was before I had children and I was simply always at work. From when I woke up, eating my breakfast by the computer, until I went to sleep in the evening, I hardly went out for fresh air. I just sat in my chair trying to achieve the goal I set for that day (I was programming), and if I achieved it earlier than I thought, I set a new goal for the same day.

Now I regret that I did not give myself a bit more time off to do sport or physical activity. I believe it would have done me good, and possibly left me being more productive.

Make it efficient for work and life

To have an effective home office, buy a screen and a good mouse and sit or stand by an office table. Don’t fall in the trap that you can work on your laptop long-term, it should only be used for working on directly short-term.

I used a laptop as my work station with the consequences of getting bad office injuries, which consisted of bad pains in the mouse finger which was becoming stiff, a tennis elbow as well as a back pain from always leaning forward. If you need to save money, get a cheap phone, and consider yourself off work when not by the computer.

In a home office we stare constantly at the screen, even in the evenings, so have a large screen and use a tool like f.lux to make the screen automatically dimmer in the evening. This also helps to keep your sleep routine intact, even if you’re working late.

I work a lot by the computer, but when I am off, I am no longer at work. If there is something serious, I can still receive calls, but I rarely use my phone for internet or email, so there is no need for an expensive phone.

“Use a tool to make the screen automatically dimmer in the evening. This helps to keep your sleep routine intact, even if you’re working late”

A good office chair is extremely important and it doesn’t need to cost thousands of pounds. Try them out and find a chair that keeps you in a comfortable working position. Another thing I would recommend is a table that can be raised. They don’t cost too much and allow you to change position while still being effective at work.

The finer details

I have never thought about the legal or safety requirements concerning having a home office. This is relevant in some countries where you need permission. But in other countries, there are no special legal requirements concerning this.

I recommend that entrepreneurs start paying themselves salaries when possible. Apply for grants and supports from the government while building the business when possible, this can aid in paying your salaries.

Always do everything according to rules, and never break laws like not submitting correct VAT returns. The sleepless nights alone would not be worth it.

Other Web Resources on Home Office set-ups

Includes some examples of home office designs for different types of businesses.

• Home Office Lighting Ideas – Advice from Ideal Home on how to brighten up your work space
• A Photo Gallery of Home Office Examples – Architectural Digest magazine has collected 65, (count ’em! 65!) home office examples to inspire you to design your own work-friendly space in your own home. Some lovely photos here to sift through.
• 40 Creative Office Organization Tips – clear up the clutter and make some space.
• The Art of the Hidden Desk – get some more inspiration on creative ways to free up space from this Pinterest gallery.
• Business Broadband Options for Small Companies – advice helping you to tailor the type of Internet connection best suited to your business office set-up.
• Becoming a Paperless Office – save time, money and space and you’ll find your day-to-day business becomes faster and more seamless than ever before.
• 15 Home Office Essentials You Didn’t Know You Needed – looking beyond the standard desk, chair and IT stuff, here are some innovative products that could be ideal for your personal office. We particularly like the footrest, clear wall calendar, and the ‘mug warmer cum phone charger’ – yes, this contraption will both charge your phone and keep your coffee hot (although not at the same time…)

Finally, looking for some inspiration?

How about this ‘Work From Home Office and Desk Setup Tour’ from Matthew Encina?

The post The essential guide to setting up a home office appeared first on Small Business UK.

Spring is traditionally when we think about tidying up and decluttering at home, which makes it the ideal time to also tackle putting our work life in order as well. But tidying and decluttering your digital space is just as important as decluttering your physical living space.

Over the last year there has been a huge increase in the use of connected digital devices due to the pandemic and lockdowns. And the more we use digital space (e.g. when working online from home), the more “virtual clutter” we create. This is bad news because virtual clutter distracts us, slows us down and makes us less productive.

Productivity is already a burning issue for UK companies. Recent research shows that the country’s productivity levels are 16 per cent below the average for the other members of the G7 group of industrial nations (ONS survey). The 2021 Budget also saw UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak announce a new £520m Help to Grow scheme to help small businesses increase their productivity.

>See also: Four-day week – how it could boost your small business

So how can you best tackle this issue? We’ve put together the below tips to give you step-by-step actions that you, and your team, can take to declutter your digital space to become more focused and productive in work during 2021.

#1 – Tidy up your computer desktop

Research has shown that the average knowledge worker spends about 2.5 hours per day, or approximately 30 per cent of the working day, searching for information. If you have a messy office or desk space, you are going to end up wasting valuable working time searching for documents and information. The same goes for a messy computer desktop.

It will help if you start thinking of your computer desktop like you would your physical desktop – it’s important to keep it clean and tidy. Organising your desktop is also a great place to start when decluttering your virtual space. Go through all files and folders on your desktop and delete unneeded documents, file items you want to keep, then create folders for anything that doesn’t already have a designated place.

#2 – Clear your email inbox and embrace ‘inbox zero’

Following the so called ‘inbox zero’ approach is a great way to manage the digital clutter that accumulates in your email inbox. The goal is to keep your email inbox clear, archiving or deleting anything you don’t need to act on, whilst filing everything that does need action in its designated place.

You can start by deleting emails you don’t need anymore, as they have become bits of digital clutter that will slow you down and turn your attention away from the task at hand.

Sort your email inbox by the sender when trying to clear your inbox as being able to see numerous emails from the same person grouped together can make clearing things out much quicker. Just remember to change your sort order back afterwards.

Try to stick to ‘inbox zero’ in future by deleting all emails you don’t need, as you go.

>See also: 3 steps to improve productivity during the pandemic

#3 – Limit social media consumption

Social media is overwhelming. You can’t keep up with the speed of information and messages that are aimed at you. Think carefully about how to avoid it taking up too much of your time. For instance, you should only use the platforms where your community is most active, instead of being active on every social feed.

Purging is your best friend here. Write down all the groups and platforms you use and how they enhance your professional life. Then, deactivate or delete any that don’t add value. Be sure to spend time unfollowing any pages/groups that don’t benefit you too.

Don’t forget to limit notifications from social media to avoid being distracted. You can normally do this under your account settings and notifications.

#4 – Uninstall all unwanted apps and programs

Don’t be afraid to delete all the free apps and programs on your computer that you never use as they can slow you down and distract you from the task you’re focusing on. You can always download them again if you ever need them after this.

Too many apps promise to solve our stresses, but the choice and variety can slow us down. It’s much better to find a few apps that save you time and make you more productive, learn them thoroughly and keep using them.

Also remove excess applications on your dock or taskbar so you only see the shortcuts you really need, based on what you use the most at work.

Deleting unwanted apps and programs and only having the ones you really need on your taskbar will remove clutter and could increase computer speed as well.

At a time when increasing productivity is a priority for the UK’s small businesses, decluttering your virtual space now will help you become more focused and productive in work in 2021.

Dorothy Spira is head of community at productivity and organisation app Evernote

Further reading

Working from home – How to manage your time and increase productivity

The post How to spring clean your digital space to become more productive appeared first on Small Business UK.

An unprecedented number of employees are continuing to work remotely during the coronavirus pandemic. Small businesses new to managing remote staff are often unfamiliar with their legal health and safety responsibilities for homeworkers.

The migration to working from home (WFH) has presented many challenges for employers and employees. As companies have been forced to focus on business continuity, it is possible that remote workers’ health and safety will have been overlooked.

Legal responsibilities for homeworkers

Employers have the same legal duty of care for remote working employees.

The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 is the primary workplace safety legislation. The act makes no distinction between home and in-office workers.

The Management of Health and Safety Regulations 1999 specifically states that “employers are responsible for the health and safety of homeworkers, as far as is reasonably practicable”.

The regulations require employers to carry out a risk assessment of their employees’ workplace.

The assessment should identify any potential risks so the employer can then seek to remove or mitigate the risk.

According to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), the home is the most common location for an accident to happen.

Although most homeworkers will be working at home at a desk with a PC or laptop, health and safety risks must be considered more broadly. Risk assessments should also consider areas like electrical hazards, obstructed access and manual handling.

>See also: Remote working coronavirus: am I covered by home insurance?

How to conduct an ‘at-home risk assessment’

Employers should adopt the same approach to the assessment of home workers as they do to in-office workers.

It is not necessary to visit the employee’s home to carry out a risk assessment – especially during the lockdown.

HR managers can provide the employee with a detailed self-assessment questionnaire as part of a firm’s legal responsibilities for homeworkers.

If your company does not have one already, there are many free templates available online. The HSE’s display screen equipment (DSE) workstation checklist is a good starting point.

Employers should make every effort to support and guide the risk assessment. The exercise could be supported over the phone, but a video call will enable the HR representative to see the workers environment and give constructive input.

What needs to be assessed?

The employee’s work area should be well lit and ventilated and provide enough space to work comfortably.

Computer workstations should enable continuous use without discomfort or fatigue. The monitor should be placed at a suitable height, and the display clearly legible and free from glare or reflection.

Ergonomic peripherals (such as keyboards) and office chairs can also greatly improve comfort and prevent strain.

The risk assessment should also seek to identify:

• Trip hazards: the workstation vicinity should be clear of obstructions such as trailing cables
• Electrical hazards: ensure that electrical equipment and fittings are in a working condition free from damage such as frayed cables. The employee should understand the safe usage guidelines for any equipment you supply
• Fire hazards: overloaded extension cords and dust-clogged heat vents are a common fire risk. Smoke alarms and fire extinguishers should be provided if necessary. A fire escape should be identified and kept free of obstruction
• Manual handling: if the employee needs to move work equipment, it’s imperative that they undergo proper training to minimise the risk of injury
• First-aid: the employee should have easy access to a suitable first aid kit and contact details of who to call in the event of an accident
• Training needs: For example, if the employee will need to lift heavy boxes or move equipment, manual handling training will be necessary
• Personal protective equipment (PPE): such as wrist rests and eye strain glasses
• Special needs: is any assistive equipment needed for disabled employees?
• Other home-specific risks: such as the presence of children

>See also: Should you be outsourcing health and safety for your small business?

Employee mental health

Employers also owe a duty of care to identify and minimise the risk of harm to an employee’s mental health.

Some workers flourish when working from home. For others, the psychological impact of isolated work can be insidious.

It is more difficult for employers to recognise stress, anxiety and mental health problems in remote workers.

Developing active communication channels and a means of maintaining virtual contact – such as through regular video calls and messaging platforms – can improve mental health in addition to productivity. Encouraging colleagues to leave video or audio channels open throughout the day can help emulate an office environment.

 Employees should be informed about healthy work patterns. For example, research by the World Health Organization found that taking regular breaks and incorporating exercise in between work sessions was beneficial for both physical and mental health.

Employer’s Liability (EL) insurance

The Employers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969 requires all employers to have EL insurance to cover the cost of any compensation paid out to employees in the event of an accident.

However, if a company fails to carry out an adequate risk assessment, it could invalidate the company’s policy if the employee suffers an injury or illness.

Revise your health and safety policy

Whether COVID-19 will usher in a new WFH world remains to be seen. At the time of writing the conversation has moved on to “getting back to work”. It seems likely that the number of people wanting, or needing, to carry on working from home on an ongoing basis will increase.

For some businesses, the logistical success of the unscheduled experiment may even prompt them to embrace WFH.

Making WFH work will require HR teams to approach the remote management of health and safety as an ongoing task. Adopting a more consultative approach will help to secure employee buy-in.

Risk assessments should be seen as more than an audit trail exercise. The process should consider the needs of the individual. A template risk assessment may be sufficient in the short term, but HR managers should consider a subsequent, more bespoke assessment for specific employees as part of their legal responsibilities for homeworkers once the dust settles.

Now may also be a good time to revise your health and safety policy to incorporate homeworking more fully.

Chris Salmon is a co-founder and director of Quittance Legal Services, a panel of occupational injury solicitors

Further reading

Health and safety checklist for small businesses: 9 things you need to do

The post What are my legal responsibilities for homeworkers? appeared first on Small Business UK.

When the UK government enforced social distancing back in March, hundreds of thousands of small businesses, and millions of employees, found themselves remote working almost overnight. The transition to the new working environment happened remarkably quickly, and for many businesses this digital-only world was completely new ground for them.

As we all settle into what’s been termed the “new normal” however, a number of questions are being raised about how secure businesses really are with their entire workforce working remotely, and what remote working insurance they need in place to ensure they remain fully protected.

>See also: Working from home – How to manage your time and increase productivity

Am I covered for remote working in my household insurance?

Probably not. It is unlikely that your household insurance will cover any business activities unless they have been disclosed to and agreed with your insurer.

This is because most household insurance policies are only intended to cover domestic activities and not commercial activities (which may include working from home). If you work for a company, then that company won’t be a party to your household insurance contract either, so it’s important that the company has its own insurance policy which covers employees working from home.

Does my Employer Liability insurance extend to my staff remote working?

Insurance policies differ so you will need to check your policy documents. Digital Risks for example provides automatic cover for employees anywhere in the UK (including when they work from home), though it’s best to always check the terms and conditions to be safe

Please remember that an employer’s liability insurance is a legal requirement for employers in the UK. Your businesses must have this in place under law. Failing to have an employer’s liability policy can result in a £2,500 fine for each day you don’t have it.

What if employees are faced with a data breach? How can businesses protect against cyber security threats?

With so many of us now working at home, it’s likely that employees will be downloading applications, working on unsecured Wi-Fi networks and using personal devices. These are all elements that can increase the risk of a cyber-attack happening. In fact, the World Health Organisation, perhaps the most recognisable organisation on the planet right now, has revealed that it has seen a fivefold increase in attempted breaches since the Covid-19 outbreak began.

Small businesses can be easier targets than their corporate counterparts because they have less cyber security resources available to them. They therefore need to be particularly wary of the increased threat while employees are working from home.

As a first step, taking out a cyber insurance policy is crucial. This will cover a business’s liability for a data breach involving sensitive customer information, such as credit card numbers, passwords and personally identifiable information (PII) etc. But above and beyond this, it’s all about educating staff on how to identify and avoid security threats before they happen. Remind employees to keep an eye out for any suspicious email, and definitely do not open them or click unknown links. Avoid downloading any applications on work devices that are not for business use and have not been vetted by the wider company. And where possible, only use secured networks.

Security breaches do happen though, and SMEs therefore must have an effective response plan in place to control the situation as quickly as possible. This will ensure minimum impact on operations and to your customers.

>See also: Section 44 – what if an employee won’t return to work post coronavirus?

What if my IT is taken home by staff and then stolen? Is it covered by my insurance policy or theirs?

It’s unlikely that company owned property will be covered by an employee’s household insurance. Employers will need to check their business insurance policy to see what equipment is covered and where. Also, it’s vital to check your sums insured – particularly if you have purchased additional equipment for people working from home. Digital Risks provides cover for computer equipment anywhere in the UK (including at employees homes) as standard.

What if a staff member has an accident while working from home? Does my health and safety insurance cover it?

Employers liability insurance can cover your liability to employees for accidental injury if you have been negligent in providing them with a safe working environment. If you have a group personal accident policy, you will need to check the policy to see where and when your employees are covered.

Ben Rose is chief underwriting officer at Digital Risks

Further reading

Top 5 Facebook groups for small businesses during coronavirus

The post Remote working coronavirus: Am I covered by home insurance? appeared first on Small Business UK.

If you’ve ever managed an office move you’ll know how stressful and time heavy the moving process can be. Most offices consist primarily of computers, filing cabinets, and other delicate equipment which is likely to be a task when transporting. However, with some preparation and making sure to stay ahead of the game, you can help to make the transition as smooth as possible.

Plan it out

An office move, like any move, is a major project which needs proper preparation. With so many things to consider, it’s easy to see why, for most, moving an office is ranked as one of life’s most stressful events. Now, there is a way to make moving less stressful because like any process, it can be broken down into simple tasks and checks. This excellent checklist from Instant Offices breaks down moving office into 5 distinct time periods, from 6 months out to actual moving day.

Planning documents, spreadsheets and office relocation checklists won’t only help you plan the move but can also act as a roadmap for the tasks ahead. When creating your documents make sure to include all the tasks that need to be completed and the individuals, teams and companies responsible for each milestone.

Choosing the best location

Out of all of the things you should consider, location is by far the most important. You don’t just need to consider how easy it is for your customers to get to you, but you also need to consider your employees too.

Some employees may not be able to relocate to an office that’s further away. This would lead you to have to find new staff, which is both time consuming and costly. You also need to factor in the cost of running an office in your chosen area.

You may find the perfect office space, but if it isn’t located in a convenient area, it wouldn’t make a lot of sense to move.

Howver, there’s more choice than ever ever before when it comes to locating your company’s home. Long gone are the days where you need to buy a whole space to set up shop, now you can rent desk spaces instead of rooms where everything is installed and arranged for you, from internet connection to a cleaner.

Coworking spaces are popping up all over the UK’s towns and cities, companies like WeWork give small businesses the opportunity to afford their own workspace and compete with the big players in their industry. Of course, if you’re looking for a long-term solution, or you’re in need of a lot of space, then you may still want to look at traditional offices.

Related: Co-working space versus traditional office – which is better?

It’s important to plan for the future, not the present when it comes to choosing your location.

At the moment you may only need room for three desks, but what about in a year’s time? So it’s important to take a few minutes to think carefully about your future expansions plans.

If you’re thinking of taking on extra employees in the coming months, or even years, then you’re going to want to find somewhere flexible. Flexible in space and in contract, try not to get locked into a lengthy arrangement in a building which gives you no room to grow.

Leasing

One of the most important documents you will sign as a business is your office lease. It gives you room to expand and grow, but it also needs to be fair and affordable. Stay away from signing overly long leases that lock you into the same right or don’t contain a break clause. After all, you can’t predict where the market will be in a couple of years, so unless you’re signing up for a deal which is too good to refuse, then look for flexibility.

See also: How to negotiate a commercial lease – tips for negotiating with a landlord

The office space

It’s easy to get overly excited about a new space, what colour you’re going to decorate it, drafting up a new seating plan etc. but before you pull out the Dulux colour chart, bear in mind what type of office space you actually need and whether it has the facilities you need.

One of the most important things in an office is connectivity. You need to make sure your new office space is suitable for your choice of phone network and high-speed internet as there’s nothing worse in this day and age than struggling to work with connections, so check the providers in the area and be sure there are no cabling or connectivity issues. Don’t forget server room space. And make sure everything is installed before you move in.

Regarding décor and layout of your new office, relocating gives you a unique opportunity to completely redesign your working space which can play a vital role in how productive and happy your employees are. It’s worth at least looking into having the offices professionally designed but whether it’s a DIY or pro job, decide on your budget first. The move is also an excellent opportunity to declutter. Bring out your inner Marie Kondo (but with your business hat on…)

Moving equipment

When you’ve decided on your brand new location and signed a flexible lease, it’s now time to pack up your building and actually transfer your equipment. Luckily, there are many dedicated commercial vans dotted around the country which you may want to consider to help you move.

Rather than just throwing your stuff into the nearest box and labelling them with sharpie, removal companies are experienced in moving, and sometimes even in restoring and setting up your equipment. Although it may cost a bit more, but these are fees you’ll potentially make in terms of working time, and if worst comes to the worst, lost equipment.

Just remember all this hard work is worth it when you see your shiny new workspace. Happy moving.

Further reading on moving office

• Is London the worst place for your start-up business?

The post What you should know before moving office appeared first on Small Business UK.

Bristol is an attractive spot for Millennial and Gen Z workers, being a lively city with plenty to do and a place safe enough to raise a young family. It’s a great spot for creative co-working spaces too – take a look at these five for some welcome inspiration.

Mild Bunch

Location: 108c Stokes Croft, Bristol, BS1 3RU

Features: The Mild Bunch has been going since 2010. It’s a well-lit space with more of a communal feel and member discounts at local cafés, pubs and restaurants. Oh, it has a panini press too.

It’s a close-knit community made up of 13 regular members but they’re always open to meeting new people – or have a coffee with them on the roof terrace.

Price: You’re looking at a flat fee of £225 a month for a full-time desk. However, extra cash for shared items like tea, coffee, milk and toilet roll is expected.

Pollen Place

Location: 15-17 Backfields Lane, Stokes Croft, Bristol, BS2 BQW

Features: The colourful Pollen Place is an ideal spot for creative freelancers and small businesses.

Do whatever work you need to do using the professional photography studio and green screen facilities as well as a flexible and configurable meeting room. Post is received, signed for and processed. And for the all-important perks, take advantage of free tea, coffee, milk and fruit with free beer on Fridays. If small plates are more your thing, get 20pc off at Poco Tapas Bar.

By night, partake in networking, creative workshops, supper clubs and talks.

Price: £195 a month for fixed desk; Meeting rooms are £20 per hour or £150 per day. They’re £30 an hour on evenings and weekends.

A private photo studio is £20 an hour or £150 a day; green screen hire and lighting hire are both £10 a day.

Raw Space

Location: 111 Gloucester Road, BS7 8AT

Features: Raw Space is dog friendly, has around-the-clock access, unlimited tea and coffee, a roof garden and community manager, free car park.

Price: Costing works on four levels. All are on a 30-day rolling contract and you can use them to use the space to host events.

Bronze: £59 per calendar month. Access for 30 hours a month, 5 hours of meeting room use, 20 pages of printing.

Silver: £99 per calendar month. Access to 60 hours a month, 10 hours of meeting room use, 30 pages of printing.

Gold: £199 per calendar month. Unlimited access, 15 hours of meeting room use, 50 pages of printing.

Diamond: £299 per month. Unlimited access, 20 hours of meeting room use, 100 pages of printing.

Raw Space offers a 7-day free trial so you can pop in and have a look before you settle on a co-working space.

Redbrick House

Location: 6 York Court, Wilder Street, Bristol, BS2 8QH

The space already hosts creatives like illustrators, photographers, product designers, artists and party planners.

Features: Redbrick has many a food and drink perk. Think unlimited artisan coffee and tea plus fresh fruit, weekly coffee and cake socials, monthly brunch and pub trips. The fun doesn’t stop there – involve yourself in social and networking events for members.

Nab day passes for colleagues and clients plus a discount on bookable meeting rooms.

Get in on the studio space too. The single cubicles to twin shared studios have free day-to-day printing and a large painting sink. Use Redbrick House as business address for your post and your meetings.

Price: Co-working membership comes in three price tiers.

£60 a month for 30 hours

£100 a month for 60 hours

£140 a month for unlimited use

Member’s day passes are £15 a day (free day passes are also available if you’d like a trial).

Other than membership, a fixed desk costs £175 a month. Unlimited access to single studio spaces (5m squared) is £200 a month and twin studio spaces (9m squared) is £360 a month.

Origin Workspace

Location: 40 Berkeley Square, Bristol, BS8 1HP

Features: Membership at Origin Workspace comes with unlimited tea and coffee, Origin Workspace member portal and connect card. Get your workout with gym and fitness classes on-site and then chill with a post-sweat bev on the roof terrace.

Price: Once again, membership is on four levels.

Lounge membership: from £90 pcm. You won’t be surprised to hear that this membership comes with 10 days of members’ lounge access per month.

Hot desk: from £195 pcm (one month free for a limited time). Has access to hot desks in the co-working workspace with 10 days’ building access per month.

Dedicated desk: from £368 pcm (one month free). This membership has a dedicated desk in co-working workspace with lockable storage and unlimited building access.

Cellular office space: from £468 pcm. Cellular has dedicated secure office space for your business, unlimited building access, reception and post handling service and Origin Gym membership which includes all classes. Rest assured you’ve got access to all Origin Membership perks. It’s an ideal package for teams of 1-16 people.

Can add extras onto cheaper packages like storage lockers, gym membership and guest pass.

If you’re more serious about your workspace, consider the Origin Startup package. It comes with a quarterly commitment fee of £2,000 to do the package for 12 months, but there are bursaries on offer. The package has a facilitator, some help in developing your business plan, a weekly session from a business mentor and a dedicated desk for everyone in your business.

Read more

5 of the coolest co-working spaces in London

5 of the coolest co-working spaces in Manchester

The post 5 of the coolest co-working spaces in Bristol appeared first on Small Business UK.

Co-working spaces are a growing part of the working scene in Manchester with entrepreneurs finding themselves with more and more choice.

Data from Avison Young shows that flexible workspaces now dominate Manchester’s city core market so it’s just a case of choosing the right one.

We’ve got five cool co-working to get you started.

Beehive Lofts

Location: Beehive Mill, Jersey Street, Ancoats, Manchester, M4 6JG

Founded in 2014, Beehive Lofts is for people working in the digital and creative fields. Brands itself as a luxury co-working space – perhaps one for small businesses who are a little further along.

Features: As its name suggests, it’s a collection of lofts which are well lit and have extra large desks. It’s more of a place for getting stuff done. Height adjustable extra-large desk with optional monitor, desk lamp, plant and custom desk kit. Where some co-working spaces lack in terms of back support, the swivel chairs at Beehive Lofts are tall, mesh-backed and fully adjustable.

As a member you have full access to a business class A4 printer, copier and scanner plus phone booths.

Price:  You’ve got three simple price points here.

One month: £320

Three months: £295 a month

Six months: £275 a month

The Sharp Project

Location: Thorp Road, Manchester, M40 5BJ 

The Sharp Project is a 200,000 square foot space for digital entrepreneurs and production companies specialising in digital content production, digital media and TV and film production. It’s occupied by electronics company, Sharp.

Features: The vast warehouse houses two collections of offices and 32 shipping containers. Over 60 companies are based there already.

A substantial 50,000 square foot of this building is available for TV and film production. Work in one of four production stages and four green screen studios. You’ve got round-the-clock access if you’re working into the night as well as easy load-in points for hefty goods and equipment.

Backstage facilities include make-up rooms, a wardrobe area, dressing rooms and a prop store. Stave off hunger with catering available in certain studios on request.

As for your more traditional office spaces, you’ve got blue and gold level offices. The gold level has internal courtyard in centre for £19.50 per square foot per annum inclusive of service charge and business rates.

As with co-working spaces, The Sharp Project runs regular events and workshops for its customers.

Price: Single containers are 160 sq ft (8ft x 20ft) and priced at £65 + VAT per week; the double units are 320 sq ft (16ft x 20ft). Both include one parking space per user.

Blue offices (290 sq ft to 4,600 sq ft) are £18.50 per sq ft per annum.

Gold offices (500 sq ft to 1,300 sq ft) are £19.50 per sq ft per annum.

Huckletree

Location: Express Building, Manchester, M4 5DL

Part of a chain of co-working spaces around England, the Huckletree is the latest offering. They have four locations in London, one in Dublin and one in Oslo.

Features: Manchester’s version of Huckletree hosts a podcast studio, Imaginarium meeting room and provides bottomless tea, coffee and water. On the social and wellness side, you’ve got a weekly wellbeing programme music in the live lounge and social events.

Price: Unlimited: £195 a month + VAT. Full access to hotdesking zone and breakout spaces.

Resident: £300 a month + VAT. You get your own dedicated desk in open plan workspace with 24/7 access and meeting room credits.

Studio: £360 a month + VAT. Round-the-clock access to a studio, meeting room credits and a registered mailing address.

Meeting rooms start at £10-£40 an hour + VAT.

Accelerate Places

Location: 101 Princes Street, Manchester, M1 6DD

Created by digital venture builder, Blenheim Chalcot. It’s good for ideal for tech start-ups and scale-ups as well creative and digital services.

Features: To help you with the day-to-day running of your tech business, Accelerate Places gives you unlimited printing and free use of event room or meeting spaces. Pop in and out as you please with 24-hour access.

It has on-site design services providing you with homely bespoke branding and help to solve your team’s productivity puzzle. Bolstered by a programme of tailored workshops, meet-ups and talks.

And if you have guests coming in, they have a full-service café which is also available for business catering.

Get familiar with the area with a range of discounts like money off gym membership at The Gym, £5 bowling and 20pc off food and drinks at All Star Lanes and 2-4-1 cocktails at The Alchemist.

Price: Accelerate Places has two key packages.

Private office: from £325 + VAT. For teams of ten or more people.

Flexi-space: £295 + VAT. Terms start from three months – buy a desk, bank or partition your own part of the co-working space which is suited for teams of up to 20 people. You get individual desks, chairs, secure lockers and full use of the business facilities.

Colony

Locations: The Astley: 70 Great Ancoats Street, M4 5BG (pictured)

Jactin House: 24 Hood Street, Ancoats Urban Village, M4 6WX

Piccadilly: 5 Piccadilly Place, Aytoun Street, M1 3BR

Each of Colony’s workspaces has a different character. The Astley is well-lit with floor to ceiling windows, placed in the city’s cultural Northern Quarter.

Features: Free tea, coffee and snacks, access to meeting rooms, phone and screen booths.

Price: Block of day passes: £175 pcm + VAT. Drop in at any location during 9am – 5:30pm with no commitments or expiry date.

Floating desk member: £200 pcm + VAT. Have 24/7 access to all workspaces with registered address and mail handling. Free printing and scanning, free guest allocation.

Dedicated desk: £250 pcm + VAT. All other member benefits plus your own dedicated desk and personal storage. Larger desk, access to dedicated zones.

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5 of the coolest co-working spaces in London

5 of the coolest co-working spaces in Bristol

The post 5 of the coolest co-working spaces in Manchester appeared first on Small Business UK.

London has among the highest number of co-working spaces in the world. But with almost 1,500 to choose from, where do you go?

We’ve picked five of the best – featuring plants, free barista coffee, wood working studios and meditation workshops.

Mortimer House

Location: 37-41 Mortimer Street, Fitzrovia, London, W1T 3JH

Features: Mortimer House promises more in the way of luxury rather than fun. Members have access to the Mortimer House loft and gallery, living room, den and meeting rooms as well as a yoga and reformers pilates studio, gym and in-house events.

Price:

Club: £80 a month (includes VAT). Club is for those who just want to network. Invite up to three guests to see DJs, talks, workshops, live music and monthly events from cultural figures in the living room and den.

Traveller: £250 a month (excludes VAT). Traveller grants you access to all communal floors, meeting rooms, gym and event during the weekend as well as on eight weekdays out of the month.

Resident: £500 a month (excludes VAT). With Resident, you have unlimited access to communal floors, meeting rooms and events any day of the week and ‘unfettered’ access to all working lounges.

Home (Bureau): from £1,000 a month. Have access to a dedicated single-serving workspace and unlimited access to communal floors, meeting room, gym and events any day of the week.

Home (study): from £6,000 a month. The study option gives you a dedicated team office (ranging from five to 26 people) who all enjoy access to communal floors, gym and events any day of the week.

A joining fee of £250 applies for all memberships.

Makerversity

Location: Somerset House, Victoria Embankment, London, WC2R 1LA

Situated in the basement of Somerset House, Makerversity is a practical space for creating with co-working spaces attached to it. It’s well-suited to designers, engineers, entrepreneurs, technologists, inventors, craftspeople, technicians and artists.

Features: Makerversity is very social, with weekly members breakfasts, talks, skill shares and events, regular community socials. It also promises free use of meeting rooms, free tea and coffee and a central London postal address.

Most of its appeal is in its practical workspace. Find all manner of tools in the wood workshop, digital workshop, textile workshop, engineering workshop, sound studio and assembly space.

Price:

Full-time membership: from £390 a month. This will give you permanent deskspace, available 24 hours a day.

Roaming membership: from £240 a month. Includes hot desk space for up to 60 hours a month.

Under 25 membership: free for three months. Under 25s can get 24-hour access to hot desk space. The free period is followed by nine months’ membership at 50pc discount. You’ll have the chance to present in front of Makerversity’s member businesses and broader network and be mentored by a longer-term member.

Makers with a Mission: Free for six months. The package gives you 24-hour access to hot desk space. To be eligible for this programme, you must be working on a project which will improve the world ethically, socially or sustainably. Make an application through the Makerversity website.

All membership comes with access to all tools and machines.

The Coalface

Location: 46 Clifton Terrace, Finsbury Park, London, N4 3JP

Features: In a welcome north London location, The Coalface offers up free barista coffee, herbal tea, flavoured water, free breakfast and retro sweets. It also has mail services and phone booths and is pet friendly.

To liven up your presentations, you’ve got AV equipment in meeting rooms. The meeting rooms themselves accommodate between four and 14 people.

Price:

Memberships: from £225 + VAT per month.

Private offices: from £375 + VAT per desk per month.

Fixed desks: from £325 + VAT per month.

Meeting rooms: from £30 + VAT per hour.

Fora

Location: 35-41 Folgate Street, E1 6BX

Fora has a ten-strong network, mostly based in London: Brick Lane, Old Street, Clerkenwell, Fitzrovia, Soho, Shoreditch (Great Eastern Street), Borough, Southwark and a space in Reading.

Features: The earthy workspace dishes out free tea, coffee, snacks and breakfast alongside regular workshops, get-togethers and monthly drinks. Fitness buffs can do a spot of yoga, hit up HIIT classes and get some personal training – all subsidised. For some serenity, spend time in the wellness studio, residents’ garden and roof terrace and the Spitalfields Conservatory.

Price:

Open desk: £375 per desk per month (£450 desk rate across the whole network). Guaranteed deskspace in a co-working hub and use of all facilities.

Owned desk: £575 per desk per month. Your own desk and chair with lockable storage. Includes access to Fora facilities across the network.

Owned office: from £775 per desk per month. For businesses of two people or more, the basics are taken care of and you can size up as you like.

LABS

Location: 1 Water Ln, Camden Town, London NW1 8NZ

The latest in the LABS portfolio – Hawley Wharf – is one of three in Camden with another five in the Holborn area.

It houses LABS Incubator, designed to support newer businesses with tools and room to grow. Membership is open to entrepreneurs and businesses that have been operating for no more than three years and have fewer than 15 people working for them.

Features: LABS at Hawley Wharf has free tea and coffee, allows pets and has an events space that you can hire.

Price: All of the LABS spaces work off three price points.

Roaming: Starts at £199 + VAT pcm

Private: Price on application.

Enterprise: Quote available upon request.

Quotes for event spaces are also available upon request.

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5 of the coolest co-working spaces in Bristol

5 of the coolest co-working spaces in Manchester

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A sizeable crop of cool co-working spaces have come up since the first official space opened in 2005. Many are designed to appeal to the quirky nature of the freelancers and start-ups who frequent them.

But co-working spaces aren’t just for free coffee and Digestive biscuits. They’re a force of serious growth, partly down to an increase in outsourcing and the gig economy.

The number of co-working spaces is set to reach 25,968 by 2022 according to Coworking Resources. That’s up 42pc from 2019.  In fact, their findings reveal that a new co-working space opens every five days in London.

As the off-beat artwork and yoga classes would suggest, there’s a clear target market in mind here. Gensler figures show that 62pc of Millennials work in co-working spaces versus a mere 5pc of baby boomers.

You’ll find offices like these in major UK cities which attract locals as well as those who live rurally and want to network.

If you’re still unsure about whether you want to get involved in the co-working culture, read Co-working spaces vs traditional office: which is better?

Otherwise, have a gander at some of the coolest co-working spaces below.

London

Unsurprisingly the biggest hub of co-working spaces, London is a first call for those in the south and south east. As of June 2019, the capital had the most co-working spaces in the world – Statista reports a whopping 1,423. We’ve rounded up five of the best.

Bristol

Bristol is home to some of the UK’s creative industries including the internationally renowned Aardman animation studios. Cool co-working spaces are ideal for this type of talent. Whittle down your search by checking out five of the best shared offices there.

Manchester

As one of the fastest-growing cities in the country, Manchester is attracting more and more workers looking for a less hectic life than they’d have in the capital. Here’s a look at five of the best co-working spaces that the city has to offer.

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Choosing a co-working space that meets your business needs

8 Cool office spaces that we love

The post Cool co-working spaces in the UK for your start-up or small business appeared first on Small Business UK.

Paul Slinn, founder of Flexioffices, a provider of virtual and serviced office spaces, has a few useful tips about what to do when you are setting up your own company. Quite a few household names have started in their founders’ garages: Apple, Amazon, Google, HP, Disney and many more have all been there.

What are serviced offices and how do they work?

Serviced offices are simply flexible office spaces where you pay a monthly cost fully inclusive of your outgoings with additional services included or available on a pay-as-you-go basis. Typically the costs will include rent rates, service charge, heat, lighting, cleaning, office furniture, shared kitchen and reception facilities. Internet and telephone will be provided but charged separately, as will the use of meeting rooms.

Related: Co-working space versus traditional office – which is better?

Who uses them?

All types of companies use serviced offices – start-ups, small to medium-sized companies and multi-nationals. Flexioffices has helped more than 1,000 clients find office space including Spotify, British Airways, BBC, Transport for London, Disney, IBM, HP, Pizza Express, DreamWorks, Adecco, various government departments, major UK charities, to name just a few.

What are the benefits of serviced offices for start-ups and small companies?

• flexibility of the agreements
• allowing short-term space to be taken quickly
• if your business grows or shrinks, you are able to move between spaces
• all your furniture, telephone lines and infrastructure are provided, together with reception facilities, meeting rooms and call answering

A benefit of being in a business incubator centre, apart from subsidised low rental costs, is the social capital – knowledge transfer and collaborating with other entrepreneurs. Business incubators have an average success rate of 98 per cent of companies succeeding while in the business incubator and 87 per cent surviving after five years according to UKBI, a professional association for start-ups. These are very impressive figures if you compare them to a national average success rate of less than 30 per cent of all small and medium-sized companies registered.

Things to consider before setting up space?

• What is the right location for your office? – do you want to be close to home, close to your clients or near a pool of skilled labour?
• How much space do you need? – Serviced space is usually price per workstation i.e. number of users. So you should only need to take a space big enough for your current workforce. Some providers however will allow an additional desk to be added to an office for no or little extra cost.

If your company grows you can simply move to a larger office in the building with little inconvenience as you will keep the same address and telephone number. Serviced offices have a short and simple licence agreement when compared to a standard lease. It is usually a small two paged document but with small print. Make sure you read this carefully and if you are unsure of any points query them.

Tips on how to get started:

• Companies generally start with a location they want, be this city centre, close to transport.
• Once you have a focus for your search see what’s available in the market. Always view more than one option and ask for quotes.
• If you are shortlisting – ask to speak to existing occupiers – that’s the best way to get impartial advice.
• Ask about the frequency of cleaning and check all the facilities.
• Check the small print of the agreement.

Flexioffices database of office space includes thousands of properties which and can be searched online by postcode, street, town, stations, airports, and countries. They can set up viewings and send quotations.

Further reading on office and homeworking

• London’s ten most iconic office spaces
• Five fun and clever office ideas to inspire your small business

The post Top tips for finding your first office space appeared first on Small Business UK.

We’ve all seen them. Bearded hipsters playing table football in the street-level windows of co-working spaces. Or punky girls sprawled on beanbags poring over laptops. These slightly intimidating co-working spaces are sprouting on every high street.

Indeed, the market for flexible office space in Britain is growing at 13pc per annum, according to CBRE research.

London has cemented its position as the global leader for flexible workplaces, outstripping New York in terms of both space and number of venues. Since 2012, flexible workplace leasing has carved out a 10.6pc share of the market in London, compared with an average 2.9pc in Manhattan, according to estate agent Cushman & Wakefield.

In fact, expansion in London has been so fast that WeWork is the second-largest occupier of office space in the capital after the government.

As a trend, flexible working shows no sign of slowing down.

IWG, the world’s largest service office group, posted a double-digit rise in revenue in Q1 2019, with occupancy up 4.2pc.

Up to 30pc of corporate portfolios could be flexible workspaces by 2030, according to JLL Research, with the global market having already doubled in size since 2014.

Chantal Robinson, operations director at co-working space LABS, says: “The way we work is changing. People don’t want to work in mundane offices anymore. They want a space where they want to come in to work. There’s a move away from the individual boxes to breakout spaces where people can be a bit more creative. Those planned meetings are becoming less planned and more spontaneous.”

Indeed, the trend seems to be spreading to “enterprise” companies – those with over 250 employees. It may be large companies need space for special projects or want to appeal to a younger, hipper crowd or need to open a satellite office in a foreign city.

Forty per cent of demand for flexible office space will come from large and corporate companies by the end of 2019, according to Instant Offices.

Robinson says: “The advantage for the larger enterprise client is that it takes the headache out of worrying about the coffee order and the security and the air-conditioning maintenance.

“For a lot of larger companies looking for employees to join them, they need to be in a central location, and they need to offer those perks. They need to be able to provide beautiful spaces where people can think and produce beautiful work.”

Increasingly, traditional landlords with multiple company tenants are creating workspace-like buildings which allow enterprise companies to stamp their own brand on the flexi-offices.

And co-working brands are also offering what they call HQ Space that can more easily fitted out with corporate identities.

Robert Pearson, associate director UK tenant representation Savills, says: “Back in the day, serviced offices were for entrepreneurs and start-ups. That isn’t the case anymore. You’ve got big corporates taking big project space.”

Savills predicts increasing niches in serviced offices as brands differentiate themselves: workspaces specialising in fintech, fashion or social-purpose companies will spring up.

The benefits of flexible office space

Co-working office spaces try to provide everything you need to run a business smoothly, including:

• Kitchen facilities
• Fast WiFi broadband
• Ergonomic furniture
• Cleaning, security and maintenance
• IT such as printers and scanners
• Meeting booths and conference rooms
• Hot drinks
• Complimentary snacks such as fruit and biscuits

For a start-up, a flexible office removes the headache of fitting out a traditional office yourself, is cheaper – at least in the short term – and appeals to those fickle snake people.

Flexible offices enable you to scale up (or downsize) quickly, saving you the exasperation of negotiating with a landlord.

And co-working spaces surround you with like-minded entrepreneurs who are also starting out of scaling their small businesses. This provides on-tap chances to share war stories, best practice and harvest networking suggestions. And these connections with your peers might endure for life.

These soft benefits, the networking and the social side, do appeal to younger employees in an age where staff recruitment is the number one headache for growth businesses. Serviced office provider LABS offers free yoga sessions, organises running clubs, hosts TED-style talks and social events.

Robinson says: “We’re seeing increasing demand from start-ups through to small-to-mediums and now enterprise companies. Yes, you’ll always have companies which will want a traditional lease, but this trend will continue as more and more beautiful spaces become available.”

Advantages of co-working

Cash flow

One of the attractions of co-working is that it lets you to work in a central location without high upfront costs or long-term commitments. The office has already been kitted out. Expenses such as office furniture and renovations are included in your rent, as is electricity, high-speed internet and other utilities.

Cushman & Wakefield says that the average cost of renting flexible co-working in London is more than half the cost of traditional space.

WeWork says that worldwide, a company of four individuals can save 35pc on average over traditional office leasing.

According to IWG, 65pc businesses say that flexible workspaces help them reduce both capital expenditure and operating costs.

Scalability

As we have seen, flexible offices enable you to expand or contract quickly without capital outlay. When you are growing quickly, it is easy to upgrade and move into a new space. Most co-working leases are for one year only with a six-month break clause, and many offering rolling monthly leases.

Simplicity

Many new tenants signing the lease on a traditional office do not realise how much they have to do: fit carpeting and run ethernet cabling, install a kitchen, create meeting rooms out of what is essentially an empty cube.

Pearson says: “In order to take a traditional lease, you need a significant amount of capex: your traditional office is vacant with a metal floor and metal ceiling but no walls and no carpet, no meeting rooms. You almost need to build it from scratch. It’s a big project. You don’t want to be fitting out a whole office if you’re only going to be there for a few years.”

Co-working allows you to concentrate on getting your business up and running, provides 24/7 support and invoices you monthly, taking care of everything else.

Robinson says: “As well as the flexibility to both upscale and downsize without having commitments of a long-term lease, flexible workspaces such as LABS manage everything with the convenience of the single invoice, taking away all the headache about business rates, cleaning, utilities, security, etc.”

CO-WORKING SPACE - PROS AND CONS

Disadvantages of co-working

Too expensive

The simple truth is that adding desks to co-working spaces becomes increasingly expensive. And even if the cost-per-head remains the same, a traditional office can offer twice the space per desk.

Also, some tenants of co-working spaces complain of sudden rental hikes and opaque monthly bills that spill over from the previous month – and the next.

How do you calculate which is better value?

With a serviced office, an all-inclusive fixed price per desk plus VAT is easy to calculate.

When it comes to a traditional office, you calculate the rent, rates and service charge over the lease period, plus capital expenditure and dilapidations at the end, minus the rent-free period. Divide that by the number of desks over the period of term.

Too cramped?

One of the criticisms of the craze for co-working spaces is that many of them are converted out of traditional offices, and service operators try and cram in as many people as possible.

Savills says that WeWork operates at quite a high density and you have to share facilities such as kitchens.

One of the reasons why flexible working has taken off in London is because so many offices under 2,000 sq ft of space have been converted into private homes.

Some workspace providers have adopted the low-cost airline model by maximising desks to uncomfortable levels. Office buildings designed for much lower headcounts are bursting at the seams, complain renters. One flexible workspace member has complained that its desks are 20cms narrower than is normal, and that its co-working spaces are becoming increasingly cramped.

The right image?

If you work in a stuffier sector which requires face-to-face meetings with clients, a co-working space may be too informal.

While some co-working venues have the option to reserve conference spaces, for the most part, you cannot be sure of complete privacy. Several other people will probably be in the room, which could put off sensitive clients.

A trendy co-working environment may not project the right image for your company. While flexible office brands such as WeWork and Spaces put a high premium on trendy design, the focus is on their brand, not yours.

Too distracting

The buzz of co-working can be distracting. The noise or even low-level hum of constant activity may not be right if you need monastery-like quiet. If you have difficulty staying focused, you may find a co-working space less productive than a sequestered, private office. Having snake people whoop while scoring ping-pong can be distracting.

TRADITIONAL OFFICE - PROS AND CONS

What’s better – co-working or a traditional office?

Estate agent Savills has a rule of thumb that co-working is great if you’re company is growing but once you have reached stable headcount, a traditional office would be best.

Cal Lee, head of Savills’ Workthere solution, says: “It’s not so much size as growth. How quickly are you growing? If you’re continuing to grow at more than 25pc year on year, it makes more sense to remain in a flexible space. You can stay in a flexible space now until you’ve got 500 employees or a thousand.”

Related: 9 factors that will help you choose the right office location

The post Co-working space versus traditional office – which is better? appeared first on Small Business UK.