Rent a serviced office for £1

September 8th, 2008 | by Simon Rattray

Your eyes are not deceiving you, this offer is genuine.

The much publicised price war between Office space serviced office serviced officesserviced office providers in Office space Manchester serviced officesManchester seems to have picked up a notch this week with the announcement by MLS Business Centres that they will offer workstations for just £1 per month - for one month only.

However it seems this offer is not limited to Manchester - it applies right across the Office space UK serviced officesUK.

You’re thinking there must be a catch right?  Well it is not clear from their website what the T and C’s might be - we will update you on this.

It is probable that you will have to sign a certain length of license and extras will be charged for (e.g. meeting rooms, telephony etc).  Extras aside, it is still a great way of enticing tenants into the serviced office market.

You could potentially be renting office space in Mayfair for a £1 - not many businesses will be doing that!

What does this mean for the Serviced Office industry?

Some providers may find it hard to compete with this aggressive pricing strategy.  Others may not want to compete with this offer as it only encourages more price cutting.

There could be other ways to entice tenants - perhaps promoting the superior service levels they offer.  I suspect some of the major providers will not want to follow this kind of offer as it may impact on their brand - e.g. they will not want to be seen as a “bargain basement” office provider.

Still if you’re a tenant there could hardly be a better time to be renting office space.

What do you think?  Please leave us your comments below…

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  1. 5 Responses to “Rent a serviced office for £1”

  2. By philip grace on Sep 10, 2008 | Reply

    At UBC, we’re seeing like for like enquires up month on month, we’re also converting enquiries month on month into good quality business. We’re seeing no reduction in demand for space across the UK.
    • I speak to the internet brokers, they confirm that they’re also seeing this
    We’re all confused at UBC to see that operators find the need to dilute the value of the business centre product in the current market place. As business centre operators we’re all different in the services we offer. Clearly, location and the quality of the buildings are important, it does though; continue to mystify me, when I see operators cutting each other’s throats. The saying, you get what you pay for is so true.
    UBC are not the cheapest, we’re not the most expensive, but our prime focus is on delivering to the client what they need, at the best possible price…
    All business centre operators should be out there, shouting from the roof-tops, telling people of the benefits of flexible office space, not diluting the product, to see their income reduced, to find that they’re unable to deliver the services, to the high standards expected by clients.
    Perhaps that’s why at UBC, we have clients in all of their buildings that have been with us since the day they opened- in Milton Keynes, that’s eight years.
    This is a great time for business centres, use it sensibly, don’t go down the Daily Mail route, there are great opportunities out there, it’s not all bad news ; Serviced Office is a great way to for companies to take flexible space –

  3. By James Jones on Sep 10, 2008 | Reply

    Excellent comment, Philip.

    I just do not think that the industry needs to go down this route at the moment.

    There are some great deals around - from UBC, YourSpace to name a few, but there is a big difference between a good deal and something that could dilute the market.

    We need a spokesperson to stand up for the industry at the moment (Mr. Dixon?) and really get the small business community around the throat and tell them just how important serviced offices can be, especially during the credit crunch.

  4. By John Nash on Sep 10, 2008 | Reply

    I have to agree with Philip’s comments on some of the pricing policies in the market at the moment.

    However, United Business Centres are also running a promotion to price match within a 5-mile radius. Do you not think that this is also going to have a negative effect on prices?

  5. By SJR on Sep 10, 2008 | Reply

    Price matching is much less aggressive than slashing prices across the board, it merely serves to match the lowest prices in the local area - ensuring that a business centre remains competitive? Does this mean that UBC will have to match MLS’s £1 offer?

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