Retired

As planned, I retired at the end of March (except for a very small number of existing projects which I will see through to fruition) and will not be taking on any new work.

Since I started working as a consultant I have assisted a large number of centres and business centre groups and I know that the assistance I gave them has been useful.

The next few months will be very difficult and once the crisis is over, business centres will prosper again as companies spread their risk and both employers and employees have got used to, and embrace working remotely.

Over the past few years the flexible space sector has changed enormously and has been a force in developing businesses and entrepreneurial talent. It has been accepted into mainstream property yet has retained, and indeed, grown its focus on customer service.

I have thoroughly enjoyed working independently and will certainly miss being involved in the flexible space sector, as I am convinced that it will continue to grow again.

Many thanks to all of my clients, and to the exceptional people I worked with in Evans Easyspace and in the BCA.

I hope that you do not suffer too much during this crisis and continue to prosper.

Business Centres for sale or to let

I have a selection of centres which can either be purchased or let on my web site

Check them out at http://www.thebusinesscentrespecialist.co.uk/business-centre-opportunities.php

 

Old DocksHouse Preston

The most prestigious offices in Preston is now launched

WRKSP-DocksHouse-Minibrochure (2).
Formerly, the main dock office for Preston, this art deco
masterpiece has been lovingly restored and refurbished, and
ready to take on board businesses that are really going places.
Luxury offices and breakout areas are now available for all
company sizes, with a wide range of first class facilities available.
From a stunning, art deco panelled boardroom with flat screen
unit for presentations to beautifully restored porcelain
bathrooms – every detail is covered to help your business run as
smoothly as possible.

Opportunity to purchase an existing business centre and two outstanding opportunities to create new business centres.

I have a client in Scotland who wishes to sell his existing business centre as a going concern

If you are interested in Sheffield, there is an opportunity to create a new business centre. The landlord will assist in the funding of the fit-out provided suitable terms agreed. A rent free and stepped rental is a possibility.

In Preston, my client has property which is income producing but it would be better managed as a business centre. The landlord will also assist in the funding of the fit-out provided suitable terms agreed. A rent free and stepped rental is a possibility.

Contact me at thomas.m.stokes@gmail.com for details or on 07879485898

Brexit and the Flexible Workspace Market.

Just published in http://allwork.space/2016/07/tom-stokes-brexit-and-the-flexible-workspace-market/

Now that the initial shock of the Brexit referendum decision is over, it is perhaps appropriate to consider how this will affect the property market and specifically the flexible space market.

Mainstream property has been suffering and shares in some major property companies and funds have been suspended – but what will happen in the flexible market? By this, I am talking about serviced offices, managed workspace, light industrial units and coworking centres. ie, anything multi- occupied and let on flexible licences.

Possible outcomes of Brexit are that businesses shed workforce or even close and move abroad. Alternatively, they may delay investment decisions or not commit themselves to taking new leases.

On the plus side, our market occupies a strong position. There is plenty of evidence that over the past two years the amount of space occupiers have been taking in flexible environments has grown substantially. Research by Instant Offices shows that the flexible space sector grew by 11% last year with little effect on occupancy levels. The growth in coworking space is predicted to continue to grow exponentially.

But will this continue post Brexit?

Although it’s too early to know, the clues lead us back to the start of the last recession in 2007, when flexible space operators saw an increase in enquiries for smaller spaces as firms decided to shed staff. Many people decided to go into self-employment, start their own businesses rather than seek paid employment. Approximately a year later, the public sector, under pressure with their budgets, also started to shed their workforce and these helped create demand for small spaces as individuals decided to set up their own businesses.

Over the past few years the UK has seen unprecedented growth in start-up enterprises fuelling the demand for small flexible spaces and coworking. With the advent of modern technology it is now possible to work remotely anywhere. One possibility therefore is that the UK will adjust to the Brexit shock and eventually create more small businesses simply because many individuals will have no real choice or alternative.

The logical choice for these firms is to either take space with genuinely flexible easy-in, easy-out terms or adopt more flexible working arrangements, which allows their workforce to work locally.

In this scenario, the flexible workspace industry will be one of the main beneficiaries.

Brexit has caused uncertainty and one of the possible outcomes of any uncertain market is that longer term decisions are postponed. Again, the flexible workspace market can benefit when companies decide to reduce their risk by taking space on flexible agreements. The benefits of this are well known in the sector and provided the benefits are widely publicised, the sector can continue to grow.

Business Centre Seminar – 29th June 2016

If you would like to attend our next seminar please let me know.

Office Pods

It would seem that one of the essential ingredients of a co-working centre is the need to have a quiet space for customers to make private telephone conversations or hold private meetings.

Office Pods may be the solution for this but in addition, they can be used to fill under-utilised spaces or create additional lettable space to increase revenue.

Let me know if you want details

Flexible Workspace Still a “long way short” of Mainstream Acceptance

NEWS & TRENDS March 1, 2016

Tom Stokes FRICS, former Managing Director of Evans Easyspace and a consultant to the flexible space sector, discusses the industry’s lack of mainstream recognition at regional level and asks, what must be done to promote the serviced office market and educate traditional property professionals?

In the past year there have been a number of reports about the flexible space market by large property consultants.

DTZ published their reports on ‘The Coworking Revolution‘ and ‘How You Work.’ Deloitte reported on ‘The Growth of Serviced Offices‘ and whilst about London, its conclusions could have applied to most parts of the UK.

All this would suggest that the flexible space market has turned a corner and is being accepted by the mainstream property industry.

That is far from the truth.

At a local level, and outside London, when a client requires a valuation or a report on their property the local surveyor clearly does not understand the serviced market and questions why they are not offering more traditional FRI (Full Repairing and Insuring*) leases.

The property market has strengthened since the end of the recession with more occupiers in the market. Coupled with little development outside of London, and the availability of property shrinking due to offices being taken off the market and converted to residential, it has caused a shortage of supply and resulted in the property industry reverting back to its preferred position of requiring FRI leases.

Yes, there is evidence of shorter and more flexible leases. But these are a long way short of what the flexible space market is offering.

The flexible space market has changed considerably over the past few years and is continuing to evolve. This is driven by technology, occupier demand and a new generation of workers entering the workplace. Many operators are now struggling to catch up.

So where does this leave the traditional property market? In my view, it is falling further behind what occupiers actually want and this could hinder the growth of our sector.

To ensure that there is a supply of suitable properties available for our sector to facilitate growth and to ensure that there is a strong market for owner occupied business centres, it is up to us all to promote the flexible space market and educate the property professionals.

What do you think can be done to raise the profile of the serviced office industry at regional level? Share your thoughts @OfficingToday or viaFacebook.com/OfficingToday.

*FRI lease: An abbreviation of ‘Full Repairing and Insuring Lease’. An FRI lease imposes full repairing and insuring obligations on the tenant, thereby protecting the landlord from the cost and liability of insurance and repairs.

Here is the Loc8 Commercial serviced office sector round-up for 2015 and a look ahead at what we can expect in 2016 across the UK.

Here is the Loc8 Commercial serviced office sector round-up for 2015 and a look ahead at what we can expect in 2016 across the UK.

2015 Round-up:

With total office take up over 7 million square feet in the City in 2015, the serviced office sector has lead the way with over 10% of the total according to the latest report from Savills, published at the end of the year.

With 2015 completing a three year period of office growth across the City it was the serviced office operators that set the biggest record. They accounted for more than 1.9m sq ft of the total office space over 2014 and 2015 which compares to a total of around 1.5m sq ft between 2005 and 2013.

Office take up was dominated by four strong sectors. Professional services accounted for 19% of the total space taken followed by Insurance and Financial services at around 17% and the TMT sector at 12%. One of the surprising changes has been the 9% take up by the Banking sector after a few years of low performance.

Of the planned office space scheduled to open in 2016 more than half (54%) is within the area known as the City Core, which covers EC2, EC3 and half of all the EC4 postcodes in the City of London. With Carter Jonas predicting further growth in commercial property investments in Central London of 8.8% in 2016 this anticipated new space may not be around for very long, especially as 2015 ended with healthy occupancy levels in London of almost 96% (Savills December 2015).

The planned new building called the Undershaft

With the latest plans submitted in December for what will be the City of London’s tallest tower, the Undershaft due to open in 2019, it’s important to note that a total of 5.2m sq ft of new and refurbished space will open in 2016 which is set to fall short of the expected demand.

The scramble for take-up of the expected space is set to mirror 2015 and continue the growth seen since 2013 and will see occupancy rates return to pre-recession levels. The serviced office sector in particular, will continue to experience the increases seen in 2015 helping to cement the sectors growth back to pre down-turn levels last seen prior to 2008. And this strong growth will continue to be driven by the Central London market with growth over 10% in 2015 set to continue. Southwark led the way in 2015 at 17% whilst the Greater London area saw significant growth of around 30% last year.

Outside of the strong London market, Manchester saw the serviced office market grow by 9% with workstation rates across the city rising by some 5% year on year. Interestingly Bristol and Cambridge made up the trio with Manchester to lead the growth in England with Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh in Scotland and even Belfast showing significant increases in both the number of new serviced office centres and workstation rate increases compared to previous years.

Looking ahead:

So what’s in store in 2016 in the UK commercial property market?   Well according to the latest reports from both CBRE and Savills the record growth in the market seen since 2014 is set to continue but with significant improvements coming from the recovering local regional economies, particularly the South West and North West. Which means the good news will be continuing for serviced office providers who have grown their portfolios with new business centres and refurbishments.

Picture courtesy of DBOX for Eric Parry Architects

2015 in summary

This is a great summary of the year 2015 published in

15 Key Moments in Flexible Workspace in 2015

FEATURED December 31, 2015

What a year! 2015 has been a fast-moving 12 months of furious activity in flexible workspace, with countless expansions, mergers, and outside-the-box thinking. There have been closures, challenges and departures too. But above all, 2015 has seen yet another spectacular flurry of growth and change within our industry, which has laid yet more strong foundations for 2016 and beyond. It’s time to look back and celebrate as OT counts down 15 momentous moments in 2015…

1) It was a year of mergers and acquisitions:

In 2015, Regus stole the spotlight several times having acquired Abby Executive Suites at the start of the year, followed in quick succession byLondon’s Avanta and later BusinesSuites.

2015 also saw Stark Office Suites acquire Plaza Executive Suites, Central Europe’s DBH take over Exact Business Solutions in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, and Bizspace’s sale to Värde Partners. Finally, in what marked the flexible workspace industry’s “growing maturity”, Clarendon Business Centres doubled in size with the acquisition of Reflex Managed Offices – which came at the same time as London’s Ventia Offices was sold to Christo Wiese’s Boutique Workplace Company.

2) Expansion, expansion, expansion:

In what marks further growth for the global serviced office industry, OT was inundated with stories of expansion and big moves in 2015. Prospect Business Centres opened a new location in London following £1.5million investment, The Executive Centre ventured further into India with its first serviced office in Pune, and ABCN continued its expansion in the Middle East.

Premier Business Centers set up in Miami Tower, Jay Suites launched on Madison Avenue, and Metro Offices opened its 10th location. We also heard positive news from IZA Business Centers, which continued its expansion trail in Mexico City, while Basepoint Business Centres announced a largescale expansion plan in England for the coming years.

Landmark Plc opened a new floor at its Dover Street location in London’s Mayfair, and Bulgaria’s Sterling Serviced Office Group finished the year on a high note with a stunning new business centre in Sofia.

3) Tech took center stage:

Perhaps one of the most notable advancements in the serviced office industry in 2015 was that of technology, and 2016 promises to bring much more in the way of time-saving automation than ever before. Leading the field is essensys, which has taken automation to new heights with its award-winning platform JEFF. According to CEO Mark Furness, the platform is set to introduce yet more new streamlined abilities to the sector in 2016 and beyond.

With Internet proving to be more important than location, good technology is essential for the continuing prosperity of the global serviced office and coworking industry. So it’s encouraging to see more bright ideas and innovation from acclaimed suppliers such as WUN Systems, which are reforming and reinvigorating workspace technology.

4) Office furniture and desks got ‘smart’:

Adaptable furniture that’s as flexible as your workspace might not be mainstream, but leading suppliers and designers like Schiavello, Turnstone and Steelcase are delivering innovative, intelligent solutions to furnish the office of the future. We hope to see more intelligent office furniture designs – including smart desks – in 2016.

5) The industry kept on growing:

All this innovation, smart technology, partnerships and acquisitions led to fast-paced growth within the serviced office and coworking industry. Instant Offices crunched the numbers and recorded impressive expansion within the UK market, as did Deloitte, which found that London’s serviced office market alone has swelled by 67% in the past decade.

There are many other growth indicators too, including this one from Urban Station – a coworking brand that’s doing great things in Latin America. After six short years, Urban Station has strengthened its leadership position in the Latin American coworking market and now plans to continue its expansion in the USA and Canada.

6) Conventional landlords joined the party:

New market entrants are another indicator of growth, and we’ve seen plenty of conventional workspace operators attracting corporate clients with new, flexible contracts and short lease terms. JLL’s HiRise is one example, although they’re not the only corporate giant to blast into the flexible workspace sector.

7) And then there was WeWork.

If there’s one name that’s guaranteed to get tongues wagging, it’s WeWork. The high-value workspace junior has shouldered its way into the flexible workspace industry with impressive gusto, making plenty of noise in the process (but not always in a good way). From questions over its sustainability and concerns over whether beer and startups is really a good mix, WeWork’s rocketing valuation just keeps rising. The headlines are impressive, but the paperwork a little less so – amid concerns over “wildly” forecasted workstation revenues and under-estimated lease expenses.

8) Flexible workspace went on holiday:

2015 saw a surge in the ‘digital nomad’ trend, spearheaded by forward-thinking coworking operators like Outsite and Surf Office. Thanks to the ever-increasing reach of wireless Internet access, flexible workspace is taking off in exciting and exotic new locations, from the rice paddies of Bali to the shores of remote Atlantic islands. All the signs point to a continuing ‘coworkation’ trend in 2016.

9) There was outside the box thinking:

Whoever thought of pop-up coworking at a three-day equestrian event? Clarendon Business Centres did, and it was a great success. Other operators who’ve been experimenting with flexible workspace include Citibase, with their semi-private workspace ‘pods’, and Regus’s strategy to win over the new generation of workers. We also saw Servcorp step away from its habitual corporate colours with a cool graffiti sprayed mural at its new London coworking venue, while UBC, Circle Offices, and Stockholm’s City Office have all been pushing the boundaries of flexible workspace with creative new ideas.

10) And lots of events:

2015 saw ABCN take to the stage at its Strategic Summit in Washington D.C., and a host of coworking events including a thought-provokingSocial Workplace Conference organised by coworking evangelist Jean-Yves Huwart, who says that the social workplace will eventually “become the standard work environment for all of us.”

We also heard the latest from DeskMag’s resurrected Global Coworking Survey, announced during the Coworking Europe Conference in Milán, and the entertaining story behind GCUC China, held in Shanghai, which became the world’s biggest coworking conference overnight.

11) There were success stories:

In 2015, as Business Environment celebrated its 21st anniversary, we heard about their slightly unconventional beginnings which eventually led to the creation of one of the UK’s most successful serviced office companies.

More success stories come from The Hub in Singapore, part of the global Impact Hub network, which raised an impressive $1.1 million (S$1.5 million) in a “series A” funding round; Landmark Plc’s record client satisfaction levels; and Metro Offices, which has been named among the Top 25 Women-Owned Businesses in the Washington, D.C. area for the third year in a row.

12) There were more female-only workspaces:

Continuing the theme of women-owned businesses, 2015 saw the launch of more gender-specific workspaces including The Ventura – Australia’s first co-working space designed specifically for female entrepreneurs. While some argue that exclusive workspaces – be they specific to gender or sector – may cause more harm than good, many of these spaces continue to flourish, which suggests that they play a vital role for its users.

13) There was a lot of giving (and not just at Christmas):

Scores of serviced office and coworking operators and companies all over the world spent 2015 giving back, and engaging their workspace communities to help needy causes in ways big and small.

14) …and there were well-deserved awards:

We saw many worthy award-winners this year including the fantastic and often-mentioned Kathlene Buchanan, founder and CEO of Metro Offices, who has been acknowledged for her superior efforts and leadership in the serviced office industry.

Lisa Gufford’s Executive Suite Professionals (ESP) beat off heavyweight competition to scoop the 2015 Best Business of Jacksonville Award, and in November, the BCA awarded Business Environment’s Minories location with the Business Centre of the Year Award. Other winners on the night included Will Tattersall of Instant Offices (Broker Representative of the Year), Hubcreate (Trade Supplier of the Year) and Stonebridge Offices in Leeds (Independent Business Centre of the Year).

15) And we’re still left wondering: What will the future really look like?

There are so many possible futures for our industry. From superfast construction and automated reception services to powerful independentsand operators edging into the hotel business, what opportunities does 2016 hold?

We’re already privy to some innovative office design predictions for 2016, and we certainly hope to see more sympathetic workspace design catering to individual personalities. No doubt the Internet of Things will continue to help operators create smarter, tech-savvy workspaces in 2016, aided by the industry’s leading technology suppliers.

One thing’s for sure, the future of flexible workspace is bright and we’re looking forward to another action-packed year in 2016. Keep those stories coming in and be sure to connect with OT and its reporters on Linkedin, Twitter and Facebook. Happy New Year!