Essential guide to finding a new office

Finding the right office is crucial to any business and its important that the following points have been considered:

  • What style of office works best for you? A corporate office, a period office or rather an office which is better suited to media companies such as a converted warehouse?
  • Do you need your office to be laid out over one floor, or would you be able to be split over more than one level?
  • Do you need a self contained building or is a multi-tenanted building better for your needs?
  • Do you need raised floor or perimeter trunking for your IT infrastructure?

Make sure you get the size right!

You must plan your office size requirements carefully. Taking on the wrong sized office is likely to be a very costly mistake. Too much space, and you will be paying an excess for unused space throughout the course of your lease.  Too little space, and you are likely to end up with cramped, uncomfortable working conditions; the result of which is likely to lead to unhappy staff or further moving costs.

Your fit out contractor should carry out a space audit for you.  They should help you to decide how much space you will need based on your existing space and working practices as well as any future expansion or contraction plans. It’s worth knowing that the averages office works out at around 100 sq ft per person.

Make sure the location and surroundings are right for you and your staff

Consider the following:

  • Travel links (for example, buses, trains and access to the motorway)
  • Local amenities
  • The availability of parking

You may also want to consider whether the distance from your new office from your old office is going to be an issue. A major change in location may mean some staff chose not to move with you. Similarly if you have regular clients visiting, consider whether the new location is going to be too far for them to travel.

It is worth hiring an office broker or property agent to help you find the right office space. A good office broker will usually have access to most properties available on the market and can save you hours searching the web and speaking to individual agents to see what properties they have available.