Is a serviced or leased office space best for your business?

If you’re looking for office space for your business, one of the decisions you might be facing is whether to choose a serviced or leased office. To help you see which one’s right for your business, we’ve put together everything you need to know in this short and helpful guide.

Convenience or freedom

The first thing to consider is which of these is most important to you. Serviced offices are generally more convenient as more or less everything is done for you. All of the important stuff is there, including chairs, desks, and storage. And the essential infrastructure will be in place too. Many serviced offices will have ready-made break out areas, meeting rooms, and cafes or restaurants onsite.

With a leased office, you’ll need to sort out the fixtures and furniture yourself, as well as many of the services. This can take much longer to organise than you might think, so many businesses prefer the convenience of a serviced office. However, you can configure your office space however you like, so you can put your brand stamp on it more than with a serviced office.

Long-term commitment

Leased office spaces are usually a longer-term commitment than serviced office agreements. It can also take time to agree contracts, especially when compared to serviced office agreements. You can usually have more flexibility in the term if you take a serviced office agreement too. This is useful if you’re not sure how long you want to stay in a premises or if you need to move to a larger space as your business grows.

Costs

One advantage of a long lease is that you can sometimes control your overheads, as you can negotiate costs for services, and you know the price of your lease won’t change over the length of its term. With a serviced agreement, you can budget easily as you know what your monthly or annual costs will be, however, you won’t be able to save on overheads as you can with a lease. There’s also no guarantee your costs will be the same if you renew your agreement either.

As with all business decisions, understanding the numbers is vital before you sign anything, so it’s important to make a business plan that includes your projections for the future. This will help you decide which type of office space will suit your needs now and going forward.

St James Business Centre is an 80,000 sq. ft. building offering serviced, conventional, and virtual office space to rent in Warrington town centre, close to train stations and with extensive on-site parking. We also offer co-working space for anyone needing flexible working without the demands of permanent office space.

Our meeting and conferencing facilities, plus spacious internal courtyards in Warrington means your business has access to everything it needs under one roof. Contact us for more information.