Find out all the costs involved with renting a serviced office with our guide, so you can make an informed decision. We list the average prices for serviced offices to rent in all the key towns and cities in the UK, and we also provide information on the different serviced office grade types.
When you rent a serviced office, there are various costs that need to be taken into account.
Serviced offices may request references and credit checks to confirm you are able to pay your rent, although often not required. Rents are normally paid monthly in advance. It is important to ensure any payments due are paid on the due date, as standard contract terms usually give the office provider the rights to recover additional charges. These could be considerable.
Rental periods are often very flexible with serviced offices; can vary from one month up to six months. Research shows there are serviced offices that take tenants on a day-to-day basis. Sizes of serviced offices can be widely diverse, and the rent will vary according to the sizes.
In addition of the size variation, there are a variety of other factors that determine the rental costs including:
Business centres usually charge for telephones on a handset basis. You may be required to take a telephone for each desk space taken. The average price for renting the line and handsets is £35.00 per month. Call charges will vary depending on whether you are calling nationally, locally or to mobiles. Standard rates are in the order of four pence per minute.
The guide below illustrates typical rental prices for serviced offices in the most sought areas in the UK.
| Location | Per Person Per Month |
|---|---|
| London – Central | £750 |
| London – West | £625 |
| London – Rest | £600 |
| Manchester | £375 |
| Birmingham | £475 |
| Leeds | £350 |
| Bristol | £300 |
| Edinburgh | £425 |
| Glasgow | £375 |
| Nottingham | £350 |
| Sheffield | £275 |
| Slough | £500 |
| Belfast | £375 |
| Gatwick | £625 |
| Milton Keynes | £375 |
| Newcastle | £375 |
| Cardiff | £275 |
| Guildford | £400 |
| Cambridge | £400 |
Serviced offices that are classed as Grade B or C will be more cost-effective, as they are often located in the suburbs or significantly cheaper areas and within older buildings. The types of offices may not benefit from raised flooring or comfort cooling. The quality is usually much lower with Grade B & C serviced offices; internal decoration and furnishings will not normally be of the same quality as grade A rated offices. Please see below for detailed information of each grade.
Grade A offices refer to the category with the most superior quality;
Another major benefit of Grade A offices is its attractiveness and its likeliness to appeal to an international market. These premises are generally occupied by high profile companies, including banks, law firms and investment banking organisations.
Rental costs for Grade B serviced offices will be lower, typically between around 25 – 40 per cent under Grade A offices. The standards of Grade B offices are fair / good quality but not considered to be the highest quality. They tend to be well located with high functionality, but likely to have less attractive infrastructures and designs. Grade B offices are often older than 10 years old and can be ex Grade A office caliber.
Grade C typically includes premises typically older than those of Grade A and B. If the most important factor that you are looking for in a serviced office is low rents, then a Grade C office will be ideal for your business. Designs, furnishing and infrastructures are normally not as contemporary, as well as being located in less sought after areas.
Most serviced offices will require you to pay a deposit to cover service charges, which will most likely be refundable upon termination. Many now accept debit and credit cards to pay for your occupation in a similar way to hotel charges. Deposits are generally equivalent to one or two months’ rent, if rented for longer than three months. A typical length of termination notice is 28 days.
If you engage a solicitor to review your licence then you will incur costs but these will be much lower than those fees attached to preparing a lease.
Broker fees are usually paid by the serviced office provider.
Business rates, local authority charges for services, insurance, repairs and maintenance, running costs, EPC and SDLT need not be budgeted for, as an additional items as most agreements will be inclusive of these charges.
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