Choosing your place of business
If running your business from home is not a viable option, you’ll need to think about renting, leasing or buying business premises. This will be a major cost to your business so you need to choose your business premises carefully. When comparing costs make sure you understand exactly what is and isn’t included in the price, so you’re comparing like with like.
Always take advice from a solicitor, chartered surveyor or licensed conveyancer before signing any legal documents.
IF YOU ALREADY KNOW WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING CLICK HERE TO SEARCH FOR AN OFFICE IN YOUR AREA
What type of business premises will you need?
This is probably obvious, dependant on what your business does. For example if you’re a professional services firm you will need office space suitable for meeting clients , if you’re a clothes shop you will need retail premises and possibly warehouse or other secure storage space for your stock, if you’re a garage you will need a workshop or industrial premises as well as a place to safely store your waste by-products until it can be properly disposed of.
If you run a large operation you don’t necessarily need to locate all your staff or all your business functions in one place. It may be more cost effective to have the warehouse or production facilities in a purpose built industrial premises, and the administrative staff in more conventional business office space elsewhere. Think also about whether you’ll want access to any of your business premises 24 hours per day or whether access is only required between, say 8am and 6pm Monday to Friday.
Business rates explained
Whether you rent or buy, you will need to pay rates on your business premises. Business rates are calculated using a rateable value, set by the Government’s Valuations Office Agency (VOA), and a multiplier that is applied by the local council. Local councils are responsible for sending out the bills and collecting the rates payable.
Check the rateable value of properties and find contact details for your local council.
Choosing the best location for your business
This is perhaps even more important for your business than it is for your home. Things to consider when choosing your business location are:
- Will customers visit your business premises? If so will they be prepared to travel to you or do you need to take your business to where they can easily reach you.
- If you’re likely to attract business from ‘passing trade’ you need to place your business premises where you are most visible to your target audience, eg near a bingo hall if you’re targeting housewives or the elderly, near a café if you’re targeting the young and trendy, on a business park if you’re offering services to other businesses, and so on.
- If customers are unlikely to visit your business premises, you may consider a more out-of-town location such as a business park to be a more suitable choice. Think about whether you need to be near public transport links, good road or rail or even air links? Should you choose a location that’s near your suppliers, or near where you or your employees live?
- If you’ve got people driving to your place of business, whether its customers, suppliers or staff, the parking should be close by and ideally ot should be free. It can be very off-putting for visitors if they have to find their own parking space in an area that maybe unfamiliar to them. If necessary make sure you also provide enough space for heavy vehicles to turn, load and unload.
- How secure will you and your workforce be inside the business premises you choose, and in the surrounding area? Are the on-site security facilities adequate? If you produce or store high value items you may need to improve the existing security arrangements.
- Finally you should also consider your hours of operation – if you’re a 24 hour business, or operate outside the normal Monday to Friday 9 to 5 window, make sure this is acceptable and catered for in your chosen location.
Fully furnished office , or empty shell?
Serviced office spaces are fully furnished and ready to go. Ideal if you can’t predict your growth with any certainty, want a very short notice period or want a high-quality location for receiving visitors. This can seem like an expensive option but remember you’re paying for the convenience and the additional services that may be included, such as office furniture, IT equipment, receptionists, secretarial services, drinks and refreshments, cleaners and so on.
Find serviced offices available in your area
If the business space you’re thinking of using is essentially an empty shell, you’ll need to check with your local authority whether you need planning permission to make any internal or external changes. You’ll also need to check with your local authority what ‘type of use’ classification the business premises has and whether you need to make an application to change it for the kind of business you’ll be carrying on there.
Make sure you consider the costs of any planning or alterations, decorating, equipping, furnishing, as well as ongoing heating, lighting, IT, communications, staffing and maintenance costs into your cost comparison calculations.
Rent or purchase your office or industrial space?
Buying commercial premises should be undertaken with as much care as you would buying a home so you’ll need the services of a surveyor, a solicitor, and possibly an estate agent and a mortgage broker as well. It’s a large investment but it has the advantage of giving you control over what you do with the building (within planning regulations) and the security of knowing that you’re not going to have any nasty surprises sprung on you by an unaccommodating landlord. Bear in mind also that the property will become a business asset, and one that could potentially increase in value.
Renting commercial premises will give you tha advantage of not needing to make a large monetary outlay, but remember that the rental will mean you have a significant ongoing cost that your business has to bear, even when times are hard. You’ll need the services of an experienced solicitor to carefully check the terms of the lease.
See Understanding property contract terms for a plain English definition of property contract terms.
How much space do you need?
Look at the current size and space requirements of your business. Consider how much equipment you need, how much storage space, and how many staff you employ. Now think what these numbers may look like in 3 years time. How about 5 years? 10 years? It may seem like a long way off but if you’re considering a 15 year lease you need to know that you’re not going to out-grow the business space within that time. To save costs in the early years you could look at whether you can sub-let any unused space until your business grows into it.
When making your calculations make sure you comply with, or preferably exceed, the minimum health and safety regulations for space and ventilation (a minimum of 11 cubic metres is required for each employee). You also need to ensure that the temperature is at least 16°C (although 19°C may be more comfortable) for sedentary workers or 13°C for active workers.
NOW GO AND CHOOSE FROM A SELECTION OF OFFICES IN YOUR AREA
Choosing your place of business
If running your business from home is not a viable option, you’ll need to think about renting, leasing or buying business premises. This will be a major cost to your business so you need to choose your business premises carefully. When comparing costs make sure you understand exactly what is and isn’t included in the price, so you’re comparing like with like.
Always take advice from a solicitor, chartered surveyor or licensed conveyancer before signing any legal documents.
IF YOU ALREADY KNOW WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING CLICK HERE TO SEARCH FOR AN OFFICE IN YOUR AREA
What type of business premises will you need?
This is probably obvious, dependant on what your business does. For example if you’re a professional services firm you will need office space suitable for meeting clients , if you’re a clothes shop you will need retail premises and possibly warehouse or other secure storage space for your stock, if you’re a garage you will need a workshop or industrial premises as well as a place to safely store your waste by-products until it can be properly disposed of.
If you run a large operation you don’t necessarily need to locate all your staff or all your business functions in one place. It may be more cost effective to have the warehouse or production facilities in a purpose built industrial premises, and the administrative staff in more conventional business office space elsewhere. Think also about whether you’ll want access to any of your business premises 24 hours per day or whether access is only required between, say 8am and 6pm Monday to Friday.
Business rates explained
Whether you rent or buy, you will need to pay rates on your business premises. Business rates are calculated using a rateable value, set by the Government’s Valuations Office Agency (VOA), and a multiplier that is applied by the local council. Local councils are responsible for sending out the bills and collecting the rates payable.
Check the rateable value of properties and find contact details for your local council.
Choosing the best location for your business
This is perhaps even more important for your business than it is for your home. Things to consider when choosing your business location are:
- Will customers visit your business premises? If so will they be prepared to travel to you or do you need to take your business to where they can easily reach you.
- If you’re likely to attract business from ‘passing trade’ you need to place your business premises where you are most visible to your target audience, eg near a bingo hall if you’re targeting housewives or the elderly, near a café if you’re targeting the young and trendy, on a business park if you’re offering services to other businesses, and so on.
- If customers are unlikely to visit your business premises, you may consider a more out-of-town location such as a business park to be a more suitable choice. Think about whether you need to be near public transport links, good road or rail or even air links? Should you choose a location that’s near your suppliers, or near where you or your employees live?
- If you’ve got people driving to your place of business, whether its customers, suppliers or staff, the parking should be close by and ideally ot should be free. It can be very off-putting for visitors if they have to find their own parking space in an area that maybe unfamiliar to them. If necessary make sure you also provide enough space for heavy vehicles to turn, load and unload.
- How secure will you and your workforce be inside the business premises you choose, and in the surrounding area? Are the on-site security facilities adequate? If you produce or store high value items you may need to improve the existing security arrangements.
- Finally you should also consider your hours of operation – if you’re a 24 hour business, or operate outside the normal Monday to Friday 9 to 5 window, make sure this is acceptable and catered for in your chosen location.
Fully furnished office , or empty shell?
Serviced office spaces are fully furnished and ready to go. Ideal if you can’t predict your growth with any certainty, want a very short notice period or want a high-quality location for receiving visitors. This can seem like an expensive option but remember you’re paying for the convenience and the additional services that may be included, such as office furniture, IT equipment, receptionists, secretarial services, drinks and refreshments, cleaners and so on.
Find serviced offices available in your area
If the business space you’re thinking of using is essentially an empty shell, you’ll need to check with your local authority whether you need planning permission to make any internal or external changes. You’ll also need to check with your local authority what ‘type of use’ classification the business premises has and whether you need to make an application to change it for the kind of business you’ll be carrying on there.
Make sure you consider the costs of any planning or alterations, decorating, equipping, furnishing, as well as ongoing heating, lighting, IT, communications, staffing and maintenance costs into your cost comparison calculations.
Rent or purchase your office or industrial space?
Buying commercial premises should be undertaken with as much care as you would buying a home so you’ll need the services of a surveyor, a solicitor, and possibly an estate agent and a mortgage broker as well. It’s a large investment but it has the advantage of giving you control over what you do with the building (within planning regulations) and the security of knowing that you’re not going to have any nasty surprises sprung on you by an unaccommodating landlord. Bear in mind also that the property will become a business asset, and one that could potentially increase in value.
Renting commercial premises will give you tha advantage of not needing to make a large monetary outlay, but remember that the rental will mean you have a significant ongoing cost that your business has to bear, even when times are hard. You’ll need the services of an experienced solicitor to carefully check the terms of the lease.
See Understanding property contract terms for a plain English definition of property contract terms.
How much space do you need?
Look at the current size and space requirements of your business. Consider how much equipment you need, how much storage space, and how many staff you employ. Now think what these numbers may look like in 3 years time. How about 5 years? 10 years? It may seem like a long way off but if you’re considering a 15 year lease you need to know that you’re not going to out-grow the business space within that time. To save costs in the early years you could look at whether you can sub-let any unused space until your business grows into it.
When making your calculations make sure you comply with, or preferably exceed, the minimum health and safety regulations for space and ventilation (a minimum of 11 cubic metres is required for each employee). You also need to ensure that the temperature is at least 16°C (although 19°C may be more comfortable) for sedentary workers or 13°C for active workers.
NOW GO AND CHOOSE FROM A SELECTION OF OFFICES IN YOUR AREA