Serviced office vs. traditional lease.


So, as you may have seen over the business’ socials GKR & the RE family have officially moved office from Sloane Avenue, to Thomas house in Victoria.

I had a keen interest in how this was going to play out for RE – I felt like I was in the know considering much of my client & contact base either advise, broker, acquire, fit-out or even operate serviced office space in London. I spend so much time talking to people in this sector and I was finally able to become apart of the flex revolution.

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from the move to be honest. We had a huge floor in our last office, it was definitely too big and there was a lot of excess space. When we moved into our new office it felt so much smaller… nowhere to hide but having had a couple of weeks to adjust… the difference is insane. For us, being in a vibrant sales environment is infectious, the team feels energized and in a weird way, its easier to work as a unit.

But we haven’t lost space… we’ve gained it.

Although our desk space may be a little tighter, that is a mere compromise on the actual space we have. The ground floor is a behemoth café style break out area that’s incredible for meeting candidates and clients; we’ve got a roof terrace with amazing views of our city’s skyline & fresh coffee everyday along with copious smoothies, protein shakes, hot & cold food as well as breakfast options without getting rained on when going to the local pret. They have created an environment where its easier & more enjoyable to stay in the office. 

Having only been in situ for 2 weeks, its so clear to see why the co-working/serviced market is as buoyant as it is. I don’t think this is a ‘fad’ whatsoever. Yes, there will be cynics that will sight the WeWork collapse – but that was just a bad model. This is a product that has huge appeal to SME’s, start-ups, creatives, freelancers, corporates looking to relocate & yes, the odd recruiter.

If your lease is about to expire, or you are looking at moving office in general, but think you need to be a 20-something tech entrepreneur to even think about looking at Serviced office space, you should really take a look what the flex world has to offer.

Don’t believe me? Drop me a line and I’ll show you round our new crib.

Written by Luke Joy, Head of Commercial at GKR London Property Recruitment. 
Tel: 0207 048 3304 
Email: jobs@gkrlondon.com 
Web: www.gkrlondon.com