Titanic Suites | Serviced office vs Traditional Lease

Serviced office vs Traditional Lease

Serviced office providers offer a ready to go furnished space. You just turn up, plug in your computers and are ready to go much more quickly and easily than through leasing conventional office space.

Serviced office providers offer a solution to the growing demand from companies looking for a greater degree of flexibility and the simplicity that serviced offices provide. Contract terms are significantly more flexible in a serviced office building and can be from as little as one week upwards in some cases.

Offices can vary in size but are traditionally sold based on the number of occupants in the space on a standard desk rate. This rate will usually include rates, heating, electric and water charges.

Providers will typically offer break out areas, meeting rooms, showers and modern office design. Another, lesser realised attribute of the serviced model is that many of the hassles of managing an office space are taken care of for you – there’s no need to organise cleaning, recycling, drinks stations – this is all offered as part of the service.

Everything is wrapped-up in to one all-in cost (N.B. if you have specific needs for faster internet, multiple meeting rooms etc. these often come at additional cost).

Paying only for what you need, when you need it, is a lifeline for many small businesses who want to put their capital into their business.

Serviced solutions relieve occupiers of the significant capital expenditure associated with setting up conventional leased offices and allows the flexibility to grow or contract your space to suit your needs - perfect for businesses that are just starting up, growing quickly, working on short term contracts or simply just don’t know what their headcount is going to be over the next 12 months!

Many small businesses also benefit from the collaborative nature of working within shared office space, which facilitates and encourage networking and sharing ideas.

Businesses will generally find that costs for serviced or coworking space will be higher per square foot when compared to similar space taken on a conventional lease basis – you are, after all, paying for the convenience, services and flexibility of terms offered.

It’s important to understand exactly what’s included and what’s not; it is not uncommon to hear of occupiers finding that the costs for a dedicated line / faster broadband, additional printing credits and/or extra meeting room hours (and in some cases access to the kitchen) have not been fully explained.

Good for:

  • Reduced upfront capital expenditure
  • Business requiring short term solutions or short term flexibility
  • Hassle-free management
  • Simple, single cost solutions

Not so good for:

  • Branding the communal areas
  • Businesses wanting unusual, bespoke solutions
  • Those able to commit for longer terms – you are paying unnecessarily for flexibility

How much do serviced offices cost?

The costs of renting serviced offices vary for different locations and between different operators as well as the amount of space you need and/or the number of service stations you require.

Conventional leased space

Leasing conventional office space involves renting directly from a building’s landlord on a price per square foot per annum basis and usually requires a contractual obligation of between five to ten years.

Businesses opting for this type of office space are usually more established businesses who have reached a point where they can take a longer term view on the amount of space they will require.

For businesses that can commit to longer terms, a conventional lease can work really well. The space that you rent is entirely yours, which allows you to put your own stamp on premises including branding, use of space and creative fit-out.

Businesses are given freedom to nurture, evolve and establish company culture and brand presence while focussing on employee productivity and satisfaction.

Leased office space

Good for:

  • Larger, more established businesses, with better scope to predict their requirements over the longer term
  • Businesses wanting complete control over the brand, design and culture of their workplaces
  • Brand Identity
  • Control as to how you use and manage your space
  • Lower long-term costs and overheads

Not so Good for:

  • Finalising the deal takes much longer than serviced space
  • High capital expenditure for office fit out
  • Capital expenditure for reinstatement at lease end
  • More management intensive
  • Responsibility for office service charges, rates and utilities
  • Important to accurately forecast growth as the space is fixed for the duration of the lease and opportunities to expand/contract are typically limited.
  • For younger companies, a substantial rent deposit is often required to satisfy the landlord’s perceived risk of you defaulting on paying the rent.

Benefits of Titanic Suites?

Titanic Suites is a unique serviced office provider in the heart of Belfast City Centre. We regard ourselves as the most flexible provider in the city and have even accommodated a number of businesses on extremely short term agreements from one week upwards.

We pride ourselves on our service and efficiency, so if you need to move in within 24 hours, that’s no problem so long as your deposit is paid and you’ve signed the licence agreement.

We’ll help you get settled in and will assist in your network connections, with a high speed shared internet connection included as part of your package. We also include a telephone per person if needed with a company DDI number which we’ll even answer for you at reception if you require, if not we can have all calls go directly to your office.

All our offices come inclusive of a desk and chair for every agreed space, this means you only need you have no capital outlay to get yourself going.

We don’t have any hidden costs. Your monthly fee is inclusive of: rent, rates, electric, heating, water charges, a shared internet, incoming calls, mail handling and a fully manned reception. We even provide the tea, coffee, milk and sugar in the kitchens!

The only additional charges you would have each month could be: Meeting room hire (and any associated catering), outgoing calls, outgoing post, a static IP address (if required) or a dedicated internet solution (if required).