Why should I use an agent?

That Dreaded Moment…

when your MD or CEO says to you “Our lease is about to expire – we need to move to a new office. See what you can find” Or maybe you are the business owner and you think to yourself: “The business is going well, we’re expanding, and we need to find a bigger office space”

Your reaction…?

Probably: “Blimey, I don’t know quite how to go about that!” We all like to think that we’re an expert at something – and generally we make our living from that expertise. However that expertise is unlikely to cover the London office market – unless you’re a London Office agent, of course!

Where do you start?

Knowing where to start is generally the first stumbling block. Just how do you acquire enough immediate knowledge to manage such a complex task on behalf of your company? Find a London Office does what is says on the tin – we can definitely find you  your new office But we offer something else in addition to this core service. This website provides enough base managerial information about the office relocation to get you started – certainly enough to enable you to get it right from a business management perspective. You can read many empowering check lists and blog posts in The Knowledge part of this website. We suggest your first port of call should be reading our blog post 5 Questions you should ask, before you look for Office Space in London

What is your plan?

Finding your new office is near enough impossible, without first deciding what it is you’re looking for! Understanding what it is that you need first – and the search for the right space becomes so much easier. You’ll probably have a gut feeling about the sort of office space you want. The key questions you should be asking yourself are:

• What style should it be?
• Where should it be?
• How many people does it need to house?
• How long do you intend to stay there?
• What is your budget?

Of course, we are there to help you work all this out at the outset. Most agents will ask you how much space you are after. Office space in London is measured in square feet. This is a tricky question to answer, unless you’re in the property industry and have an instinctive grasp of floor space in square feet! Not any more! Have a look at our London office space calculator. It’s very easy to use. Firstly simply enter spaces that you want. For example: a private office, a boardroom, open plan space, a reception etc. It will calculate the total floor space in square feet, as you add more spaces. Then select one of the London business locations from the dropdown and it’ll tell you the approximate budget cost for a smart office in that location. This is just the start of what Find a London Office can offer: making the challenging job of finding a new office so much easier – dare I say it – a pleasant experience!

What do you really want? We can help you find out

After hundreds of property deals, we know the right questions to ask you. Your answers will give us a clear idea of what type of office you want and where that office should be. Remember that our knowledge of the market enables us to suggest other locations that will fit the bill just as much as you initial choices, but will be much more cost effective. Why pay more than you have to?

We have access to all the options

Educated decisions are always better. You should have the full range of suitable options in front of you, before you make that decision. If you only see some of the available office space, you’re at a distinct disadvantage. Being at the centre of the London property industry, we have detailed access to every option available to you. We know all the agents  – and we’ve probably negotiated against them in the past! We have access not only to offices on the market now, but also space that will come on the market soon – before everyone else. Some of these offices will be the amongst your best options.

Leave us to get on with the donkey work

We will collect all the available options, weed out the ones that are patently not what you want ( we don’t want to waste your valuable time) and pull it all together in a report. We will advise you on your best options. We will help you create a shortlist, and then arrange for you to visit the offices on that shortlist. We will come too, deal with any “admin” –  keeping the entire process trouble-free for you. We’ll do this all at a time to suit you and your colleagues. And we keep going on this basis until you find the one that you want

Negotiating the deal

We keep our ears very close to the ground. In our day-to-day work, we acquire a great deal of extremely helpful information – who paid what rent for what property. And if we don’t know an exact answer, we can usually find out! This means that we can set a deal at the right rent, together with a myriad of other items that have to be agreed. Some of these are immediately obvious: the length of the lease, the service charge basis and cost, the rates. But there are some other points you may not have considered. Who might you share the office with further down the line? Perhaps a group company? If it’s not agreed in the lease, you probably won’t be able to do that. Will you be allowed to put up your logo and replace the landlord’s house style with your own corporate branding? I would imagine this is important to you? It has to be agreed at the outset, before the lease is signed. We can get negotiate the best deal for you, including a lot of the detailed bits and pieces you may forget. If there is stiff competition for the chosen office space, we can quite often queue-barge on your behalf, as well!

The Legal Stuff

After the deal has been agreed, your solicitor will then prepare the legal documents. Your solicitor will thank you if you are able to present a clearly set out basis for the agreed deal.  Clarity is very important. Your solicitor needs to be fully aware what has been agreed, and  – by omission- what hasn’t been agreed. We will make sure that all information is presented clearly to your solicitor. And we are available to answer any questions that might arise. We will also chase the landlord or their agent if necessary – if the process slows down, or extra information is needed.

How else can we help

So the lease has been signed and you are ready to move in to your new offices. Or are you? There is generally an endless list of things to do before you can move in.

• Do you need a decorator or someone to fit out your offices?
• Do you need the rating assessment checked out?
• Do you need telecoms and IT

We can help with all of these related office services and more

Could you do this all yourself?

Some people do. But the problems are plentiful and painful. Let’s have a look at what could possibly go wrong: You won’t be able to get all the information on all the options, so you won’t have a complete choice. Even after you have found out who to contact, there will be in excess of 500 phone calls and emails to collect the necessary information. How much rent should you pay? You could end up paying far more than you need to. Even when the deal is done, without the process being managed by a professional, there is plenty that could and does go wrong. If the timing gets confused or delayed, you may find yourself without an office and having to temporarily rent an expensive serviced office (with a minimum period longer than you need, this will cost you money)

Or should you leave it all to us?

Compare finding an office in London with owning a car in the 21st Century. If you encountered a problem with your car, what would you do. Would you try to fix it yourself? With modern high-tech motoring – where everything is computer-controlled and finely tuned, would you even dare to go under the bonnet? Wouldn’t you be very concerned that you could get it seriously wrong, and possibly incur some huge cost? Or would you be more likely to think: “I don’t have the knowledge, skill  or experience to fix this, so let’s go to someone who has”? That’s where we come in. You need a decent, experienced professional on your side – after all the landlord will have a good agent on their side. Ultimately it comes down to time and motion! We do this day in, day out. We are set up to do it properly and cut through the process fast. Speed is of the essence in business – as we all know time is money. Using Find a London Office will save you money.

So what does it all cost?

We are not just finding you an office, we are project managing the whole process for you. This includes:

• understanding exactly what you are looking for
• researching the full range of available space
• advising on the best options, and suggesting cost-effective alternatives
• saving you money by negotiating a deal with the landlord
• saving you time and and stress by taking on the donkey work and managing the whole process

Our charge covers all of the above and is based mainly on the money we save you:

• Reducing the rent
• A rent-free period
• Money from the landlord to carry out works?

If we save you money, we’ll charge you a percentage of that total saving – but you keep the majority. Our detailed terms of business can be downloaded here (pdf)

What should you do next?

One of  the following…

• Tell us what you want here
• Get in touch – either by phone or email
• If you don’t know what you want yet, why not try out our office space calculator

Once we are in touch, we can help you develop your plan from there, and project manage the process from thereon in…

We really do make finding office space in London straightforward