There are different types of
UK serviced offices and their distinction is based on the type of businesses and occupiers and also the kind of providers. These are also determined by the scale of operations and activities that are carried out at the business centres. When it comes to small firms or businesses that are just starting out, they use these services spaces as the core centre of their operations. In case of larger firms, the tasks are much more specific and quite different from small businesses. Then there are the business centres which help to create a corporate identity for a business, establish their presence in the market and also add to their visibility in a way. There are several offices which conduct their business primarily in the "virtual" space and thus there are no real or formal workstations. The business centres provide numerous facilities such as mail services and telephone, board rooms and conferencing facilities and practically every other thing that are essential to setting up an office space.
A business centre is also used to gain market entry as it extends a quality base upfront, at the time when the market evaluation is still on. The motivation is quite different in this case for the business centre extends core space, both as a service and as a property. It provides all the in-built facilities and there is no long term commitment as well. Also the focus is more on service rather than on the real estate aspect. The business centre is an addition to the already available space and does not act as a substitute, in extending "virtual" or "peripheral" space.
These centres are often used for occupancy by satellite teams and for particular projects. When it comes to functional teams that are relocated, they frequently take the help of national/regional/local providers to find a property best suited to meet their requirements. A serviced office provides the organisation with temporal flexibility.
There have also been reports which suggest that a large number of established businesses are looking forward to serviced offices as a permanent base of operations. This holds true especially for the "gazelle" industries which includes sectors such as information and communication technologies and high tech. Professional business services also enlist their names in this regard with recruitment agencies, accounting firms, consultancy and management firms and media and marketing business going the same way.
One thing that is common to all the above mentioned businesses is the fact that they require comparatively less space as the staff is often out of their office. This has even prompted hot desking solutions and hotelling model. This encourages space flexibility when it comes to configuration as well as the aggregate space that is required. The centre extends a suitable environment in comparison to the traditional leased properties that are required for meeting such needs. The centres enjoy a central location and thus are situated in close proximity to some of the
great places to live or popular residential neighbourhoods.
