Frequently Asked Questions

Before serviced offices existed, you would have taken space on what we refer to as "conventional" lease terms. This would involve a long legal document (with advice from your solicitor) and the offices would be unfurnished. You would be responsible for all of the maintenance including heating, lighting, cleaning, repairs etc. and you would have to return the offices to their original condition before giving them back to your landlord at the end of the lease. No furniture or equipment would be provided by the landlord - you would effectively be leasing a shell, ready for you to fit out. In the UK a conventional lease used to be for as long as 25 years (although this is shorter now) whereas in Europe a lease would typically be for 3/6/9 years and in the USA for shorter periods of time. Conventional Offices still constitute the largest part of the commercial property market today.

A "serviced office" is the type of office normally found in a Business Centre. The term differentiates this type of office from a Conventional Office in that many additional occupier services are provided within an inclusive rent over and above those normally associated with a conventional office. In general, a serviced office rent will normally include business rates, receptionist services, furniture, heating, lighting, air conditioning, cleaning, maintenance, cable networking etc. Therefore although the rent might look higher to begin with, when all of these additional costs are included it easy to see that the rent represents good value for money because these services are bought at bulk prices by the serviced office operator.

The rent for a conventional office is typically expressed at a cost per square foot per annum eg £45 per sq ft. The rent for a serviced office is normally (but not always) expressed as a cost per workstation per month eg £500 per workstation. To try and compare these numbers isn't straight forward - remember to differentiate betwen apples & pears!

"Business Centre" is the collective term for an office building, or often just a floor or wing of an office building, in which a company provides a range of fully serviced offices to tenants on relatively short term licenses.

In smaller towns around the world a Business Centre will normally be a whole building which is owned, or leased, by a Serviced Office Operator. The operator divides the building into smaller office suites which are then let as "serviced offices". The operator undertakes to procure all of the services that would typically be needed by a business occupier such as building maintenance, heating, lighting, air conditioning, cleaning, security, etc. Because these services can be bought in bulk by the operator they will often be less expensive than they would be when bought in smaller quantities. In addition the operator will create a smart reception area with adjoining meeting rooms which can be used by the tenants for an hourly charge. A receptionist will be employed to greet all visitors to the companies using the serviced offices.

In larger cities, perhaps with very large or high-rise office buildings, a Business Centre may only constitute a single floor of a building but in every other respect it will be operated in the same way as above. In fact sometimes there may be more than one Business Centre operating out of one large building and owned by different business centre operators.

Some business centres will provide a wider range of additional optional services such as secretarial support, IT support, photocopying services etc and these will be paid for by the tenants on an "as used" basis.

Other terms that are used in different parts of the world for much the same concept are Executive Suites (often in the USA), Executive Offices, Managed Offices or sometimes even Managed Workspace or Shared Workspace although this latter term generally relates to desk space located in a larger office which is shared by people or companies that have no business relationship to each other.

A serviced office is an all-inclusive, fully managed workspace solution. Your single monthly license fee covers the physical private office, premium office furniture, high-speed business internet, building utility bills, commercial property rates, daily office cleaning services, and access to staffed reception support.

A business center (or commercial centre) is a dedicated property or commercial building managed by an operator that houses multiple serviced offices, coworking spaces, and communal facilities. It offers companies plug-and-play workspace layouts alongside shared boardrooms, kitchen hubs, and administrative support services.