Free office space for the Tories causes them problems

January 6, 2009 - 11:28 pm

Donations to political parties are something of a hot topic in the current climate, and the office space industry isn’t immune to the spotlight. The Conservative party, based in the West Midlands, is facing an inquiry from the Electoral Commission about a donation of office space that has allegedly not been declared. The office space used by the Tory party is worth several thousands and was donated by a right-wing organisation, yet allegedly hasn’t been declared.

The allegations were brought to light by John Mann, a Labour MP. He reported the alleged infraction to the commission, who monitor political spending. The office space is owned by Coleshill Campaigning Services (CCS), who has allowed the Tories to use the office space free of charge.

John Mann hopes that the inquiry will shed light on the use of funding from the Tory party. He states:

Evidence that the CCS and the West Midlands Conservatives shared an office seems to fly in the face of the recent report that these organisations operated separately. But more importantly, where is the donation for the West Midlands Conservative office space in their Electoral Commission register?

The £80,000 per year rent on the office space was paid by IM Properties, a company owned by Robert Edmiston, who is a supporter of the Conservative party.

New Year’s party in your own office space?

December 31, 2008 - 5:49 pm

Whether 2008 has been a successful year for your business, or a struggle to keep moving through the collapsing global economy, you’ll want to bring in 2009 in style and look to increased profits and growth in the New Year.

With this in mind you’ll want to ensure that you have a suitable office New Year party, highlighting your intent for the coming year for your employees. Obviously, with money being tight in many industries and sectors, you’ll want to keep expenses down and not fritter money away when you don’t need to. With that in mind you could have a cheap New Year’s Eve party in your office, rather than paying to rent a venue elsewhere.

It doesn’t have to be expensive or extravagant to be a great night. Alcohol can be provided cheaply enough, certainly cheaper than paying nightclub prices for your staff, and you can use your own office furniture as a temporary bar. You can provide the entertainment with a rented sound system, DJ or karaoke machine, all of which would be very popular with your staff.

You could even have your staff do a whip-round for funds to provide the food and drinks if you want to further cut down on costs.

Oldbury town centre plans include office space development

December 31, 2008 - 1:21 pm

Sandwell council has received a planning application by an office space development company for a new development in Oldbury town centre. The plans are for a £6.6 million development which will see a new complex built on the site of a bus station on Halesowen Street that is no longer used. The development is planned to have a combined library and office space solution for 300 council workers. The library part of the development is expected to cost in the region of £400,000.

The development is planned to be environmentally friendly with plants on the roof for better drainage. Included in the development are parking for the disabled and an area for staff to keep their bicycles.

The planning application comes with a statement that reads:

The building has a distinctive profile and will have good quality materials and colours to lift the atmosphere of the area.

If the development is approved, the building will be christened the Jack Judge House, after the local musician who wrote the song “It’s a Long Way to Tipperary”. There is also planned to be a plaque added to the building.

The new development is expected to be completed by 2010.

Avoid the hangover, check your office lease

December 31, 2008 - 9:30 am

Tonight is New Year’s Eve, where we all celebrate, spend too much, drink too much and tomorrow we pay the price with the hangover of all hangovers. This scenario is much like the credit crunch. The banks lent many of us too much money, we all celebrated, and borrowed more than we could afford and now we’re all paying the price with a financial crisis that is gripping the world.

At times like these, as we are discovering, everyone pays the price. Large high street names are going under, even bank shares are no longer a safe bet and it is important at times like these to make sure that our business, whether large or small, does not suffer from the same hangover.

To survive, businesses must cut their costs and make as much money as possible. The cost of office space is a large cost on the bottom line, so it is important to either minimise this cost by perhaps reviewing the lease on your office space, moving to a cheaper serviced office or perhaps even by using a virtual office instead. Alternatively, if you are lucky enough to be doing well in this climate, then be sure that if you upgrade your office space that you make the best use of it that you can.

Every company wants the prestige of that London West End office address, but be certain it won’t cost you the earth.

A London office without London prices

December 30, 2008 - 6:54 pm

How can you get that prestigious London office address without spending the sort of money on office rent that only the biggest, or most established businesses can afford? London is one of the most prestigious cities in the world, with a history of success and profitable business stories. Having an office in London says that your business is moving forward and successful enough to afford office space in the nation’s capital. However, you can have a London address without the expense associated with a London address.

The solutions lies in a virtual office, which can give you any address for your business, without the expense associated with it. Among the advantages of a virtual office are the fact that you don’t have to pay office space rent, lighting and heating costs and other costs that you would expect to pay to run a standard office. With a virtual office you can have that London office address for your business, showing your clients your pedigree, without the cost.

In the current financial climate, with businesses having to cut costs on non essential expenses, the humble office space could be one such cost that businesses are cutting back on.

Increasing productivity in your office space

December 30, 2008 - 8:12 am

In the current economic climate, we all have to watch the pennies and businesses large and small have to do the same.

Serviced office space has become increasingly popular in this economic climate, particularly in areas such as London and London’s West End, where companies want the prestigious address but are unwilling to pay the usual corporate office lease prices.

Serviced offices are much more flexible and so many companies have taken advantage of their serviced office lease to either upgrade or downsize, whichever suits them. However, there are other ways to increase productivity within your existing office.

For instance, you could take a look at your office furniture. There are different sizes and layouts of office desks, some of which take up more space than others, so first of all you could look at using smaller desks.

Secondly, you should take a look at the type of office furniture you are using. Studies have proven there is a relationship between comfortable office furniture and the productivity of staff, so check that the office chairs are comfortable and the office desks are adjustable to the correct height. If you have a high level of absenteeism in the office then perhaps you should look to the office furniture to help increase productivity.

Reducing costs with a virtual office

December 29, 2008 - 10:08 pm

With many retailers suffering as a result of reduced sales this Christmas, and impending quarterly store rents due in January, there have been some notable casualties on the high street this month. MFI and Woolworths had already gone into administration before Christmas, and then on Christmas Eve, Zavi (formerly Virgin Megastore) and the Officer’s Club both fell into administration as well.

It’s expected that as quarterly rents are due in early January, and forecasted sales for stores going into 2009 are not great, that there will be further casualties before too long. The same can be said of any business though, just most businesses aren’t in the limelight the way that high street retailers are. With that in mind, businesses are looking for ways to reduce costs so that they don’t fall foul of the economic downturn.

One such way is reduce costs on office space by opting for a virtual office. With a virtual office you save money on office rental, lighting costs, heating costs, security, HR and other office related expenses. With a virtual office your staff are able to work from home, or from any remote location, communicating with each other and with their line managers over the Internet.

There are drawbacks with the virtual office, but as a method for cutting costs in business it’s something that every business owner should investigate.

Boston Software Systems Inc

December 29, 2008 - 5:00 pm

Using a virtual office to keep the costs of running your business down is a good idea, but there are pros and cons involved with doing it. You need to carefully weight up the advantages of a virtual office, and offset them against the disadvantages to make an informed decision on whether a virtual office is right for you, or whether you’d be better suited opting for a serviced office or even a traditional office space solution.

One of the advantages of a virtual office, besides the obvious cost saving benefits, is the benefit it provides to your employees. Sharyn Katz is the account manager at Boston Software Systems Inc in the USA, she says she enjoys the benefit of a virtual office because it helps her manage her workflow:

I enjoy the independence and freedom of being able to set my own workflow based on the company’s needs and priorities.

Other employees say they love the freedom that a virtual office offers, such as being able to work from any location, from the library to the coffee shop. A virtual office gives employees independence, and frees them from any distractions faced in the workplace.

There are downsides to a virtual office as well, with one of the most common complaints being the feeling of isolation one feels when working from home. A serviced office or office space solution affords workers the opportunity to chat and share their thoughts, whereas a virtual office can be a very lonely workplace.

Another common problem with the virtual office is that some employees find it difficult to concentrate without having other employees to chat to and to bounce ideas off of. They can find it too easy to wander off to do other things, such as watching TV, running errands or making a coffee.

A final problem reported with virtual office solutions is that when you require more information from a line manager or project manager before completing a task, they may not be on hand easily. When you’re in a standard office you can walk into another office or pick up the phone, but the isolation felt by a virtual office means that colleagues aren’t always on hand when you need them quickly.

UK businesses can develop flexible working

December 29, 2008 - 9:14 am

According to one industry expert, new communications technology and its rate of growth means that more UK businesses than ever before are able to introduce flexible working.

Managing Director of ntl:Telewest Business, Stephen Benyon, claims that many companies are realising that the number of hours an employee spends in the office is no longer the main measure for productivity. He told computerweekly.com that new, faster computers, quicker broadband connections and advanced telecoms services means that virtual offices are not only increasingly popular but are increasingly undetectable by consumers.

Many companies are now opting to use virtual offices instead of corporate office leases. The advantages to a company are the prestige of a city address as well as pay-as-you-use services like telephone answering, mail forwarding and even meeting rooms for hire. More workers enjoy flexibility now and new technology like video conferencing, instant messaging and VOIP are making this possible.

In the current economic climate, companies need to cut costs and allowing workers more flexibility not only means cheaper office costs but also a happier and more productive workforce too.

Make your business seem bigger than it is

December 28, 2008 - 7:59 pm

In business, image is everything. If you’re looking to attract new clients, new customers or bigger customers, you need to portray an image that your business is big enough to handle their business.

This can mean that if you’ve been servicing a lot of SMEs that can be difficult to make that leap up to dealing with the truly big companies. Similarly if your business is brand new and you don’t have any clients, convincing a potential client that you’re able to handle their needs could be difficult.

One way to do this is with your business address. If you have a prestigious business address in the heart of a major city, such as London for example, then your business will seem more established than it already is. Business addresses can be expensive though, as buying or renting premises in London can be costly. You can save on this cost however if you take advantage of a virtual office. Virtual offices allow you to have a business address in any city, for some of the best postcodes, without paying the expensive prices associated with staying at those addresses.

If you can’t afford an office in London, a dispatch centre in New York and a headquarters in Paris, you can still give the impression that you can with a virtual office.