Office Space-London
Discussion
Why not head up-market?
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/71dbbe5c-b28d-11dd-bbc9-00...
Full text below as link is subscription based.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/71dbbe5c-b28d-11dd-bbc9-00...
Full text below as link is subscription based.
ft said:
Canary Wharf is facing the threat of rapidly emptying office blocks as big corporate tenants review their property needs after the wave of bank mergers triggered by the financial crisis.
Nearly 2m sq ft of office space in the Docklands financial centre - or more than 10 per cent of the district - is in danger of being deserted as demand for new space falls across London.
"It could become pretty lonely in some buildings," one leading property agent said. "It is inevitable that we will see more empty buildings as Canary Wharf is the area that is most exposed to the financial sector."
The biggest question mark hangs over the fate of the former Lehman Brothers (NYSE:LEH) headquarters. The recently refurbished European headquarters of Nomura, which acquired parts of Lehman after the bank collapsed in September, are near St Paul's Cathedral in the City, London's traditional financial centre. Lehman's Canary Wharf offices are three times as big as those of Nomura.
Sadeq Sayeed, executive vice-chairman of Nomura International, gave a strong hint that Lehman would make the move when he quipped at his first staff meeting after the acquisition that it had taken him much longer to get to work at Canary Wharf that morning than his usual commute to St Paul's.
Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) , which is based in Canary Wharf, is also considering a move to the City headquarters of Merrill Lynch, which it took over in September.
In addition to these moves, there is a risk of so-called "grey space" at Canary Wharf, as occupiers sub-let unneeded space.
While not an immediate problem for Canary Wharf's owners, this skews vacancy levels - currently less than 4 per cent - and drags down property values. Citigroup (NYSE:C) , one of Canary Wharf's tenants, is looking to sub-let more than 100,000 sq ft of space.
Deals are still being struck at Canary Wharf, however, and talks continue to rehouse JPMorgan in a new skyscraper on the estate. Canary Wharf declined to comment.
Nearly 2m sq ft of office space in the Docklands financial centre - or more than 10 per cent of the district - is in danger of being deserted as demand for new space falls across London.
"It could become pretty lonely in some buildings," one leading property agent said. "It is inevitable that we will see more empty buildings as Canary Wharf is the area that is most exposed to the financial sector."
The biggest question mark hangs over the fate of the former Lehman Brothers (NYSE:LEH) headquarters. The recently refurbished European headquarters of Nomura, which acquired parts of Lehman after the bank collapsed in September, are near St Paul's Cathedral in the City, London's traditional financial centre. Lehman's Canary Wharf offices are three times as big as those of Nomura.
Sadeq Sayeed, executive vice-chairman of Nomura International, gave a strong hint that Lehman would make the move when he quipped at his first staff meeting after the acquisition that it had taken him much longer to get to work at Canary Wharf that morning than his usual commute to St Paul's.
Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) , which is based in Canary Wharf, is also considering a move to the City headquarters of Merrill Lynch, which it took over in September.
In addition to these moves, there is a risk of so-called "grey space" at Canary Wharf, as occupiers sub-let unneeded space.
While not an immediate problem for Canary Wharf's owners, this skews vacancy levels - currently less than 4 per cent - and drags down property values. Citigroup (NYSE:C) , one of Canary Wharf's tenants, is looking to sub-let more than 100,000 sq ft of space.
Deals are still being struck at Canary Wharf, however, and talks continue to rehouse JPMorgan in a new skyscraper on the estate. Canary Wharf declined to comment.
I work as an office consultant for a leading property consultancy. Rents for conventional leases vary greatly depending on location. For example, prime West End rents could be £115 per square ft. Somewhere like Chiswick you might pay £35 per sq ft, in the City it could be £50 to £60 per sq ft. On top of this you'd have rates and service charge.
A rough figure is to assume you need 100 sq ft per head. But that can go up or down depending on working practices.
To be honest, for two people, your best bet is probably to look at serviced offices. There's a company called the Executive Offices Group who have a centre in Hammersmith, then there's bigger companies such as Regus, who have more centres spread all around town. There's also smaller companies in different area. With these centres, you tell them how much space you need and they provide everything you need, and you pay them a single amount each week / month etc.
Arguably, it's more expensive to go this way, but it's more flexible and you don't have the capital cost of setting up an office.
There's lots of different options, PM me if you'd like more info.
A rough figure is to assume you need 100 sq ft per head. But that can go up or down depending on working practices.
To be honest, for two people, your best bet is probably to look at serviced offices. There's a company called the Executive Offices Group who have a centre in Hammersmith, then there's bigger companies such as Regus, who have more centres spread all around town. There's also smaller companies in different area. With these centres, you tell them how much space you need and they provide everything you need, and you pay them a single amount each week / month etc.
Arguably, it's more expensive to go this way, but it's more flexible and you don't have the capital cost of setting up an office.
There's lots of different options, PM me if you'd like more info.
johnnywb said:
I work as an office consultant for a leading property consultancy. Rents for conventional leases vary greatly depending on location. For example, prime West End rents could be £115 per square ft. Somewhere like Chiswick you might pay £35 per sq ft, in the City it could be £50 to £60 per sq ft. On top of this you'd have rates and service charge.
A rough figure is to assume you need 100 sq ft per head. But that can go up or down depending on working practices.
To be honest, for two people, your best bet is probably to look at serviced offices. There's a company called the Executive Offices Group who have a centre in Hammersmith, then there's bigger companies such as Regus, who have more centres spread all around town. There's also smaller companies in different area. With these centres, you tell them how much space you need and they provide everything you need, and you pay them a single amount each week / month etc.
Arguably, it's more expensive to go this way, but it's more flexible and you don't have the capital cost of setting up an office.
There's lots of different options, PM me if you'd like more info.
That's brilliant, thank you.A rough figure is to assume you need 100 sq ft per head. But that can go up or down depending on working practices.
To be honest, for two people, your best bet is probably to look at serviced offices. There's a company called the Executive Offices Group who have a centre in Hammersmith, then there's bigger companies such as Regus, who have more centres spread all around town. There's also smaller companies in different area. With these centres, you tell them how much space you need and they provide everything you need, and you pay them a single amount each week / month etc.
Arguably, it's more expensive to go this way, but it's more flexible and you don't have the capital cost of setting up an office.
There's lots of different options, PM me if you'd like more info.
I'm going to look into it a bit further and will PM you if I have any queries.
Thanks.
The Moose said:
Hey
Just wondering how you got on getting your office setup in town?
cheers
The Moose
Hi The Moose,Just wondering how you got on getting your office setup in town?
cheers
The Moose
I haven't had the chance to look in detail yet as such!
Completely snowed under at work at the moment but will look further into it in the near future.
Will report back with my findings.
Thanks.
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