England 12/08/2013 – When the recession started in 2008, many firms rationalised their overheads, which resulted in some moving their business premises.
Quite a few firms realised that by having their offices based in large cities they were paying quite high rents. As a result, some looked for either smaller premises or cheaper offices. In some cities, this led to a bit of an exodus.
However, now it seems that many of the firms that moved out of the city have decided to move back. Demand for city centre offices, across the UK, is once again growing.
All kinds of companies have realised that locating themselves in smaller towns and on the edge of cities has not helped their business,overall. They may have saved a few hundred pounds on rent per year, but many have seen other costs rise and take those savings away.
The hidden costs of out of town offices
One of the hidden additional costs few firms anticipated when they moved out of the city centre was additional transport costs. Some firms have had to pay taxies to bring clients from the train station to their offices and take them back after meetings.
It has also made it more difficult for staff to get to and from work. Many firms found that when they moved their business out of the city centre they lost some of their key members of staff.
The other reason many firms are giving serious thought to moving back into city centre offices is reputation. It seems that other businesses and people from abroad prefer to do business with firms from cities. The perception seems to be that if a firm has a city centre address it must be a large, well established and therefore, trustworthy firm. It seems that a city centre address gives customers confidence.
In addition, customers seem to appreciate working with firms whose business premises are well connected by transport links. They find attending business meetings at such locations much easier. Downing, who operate offices and mixed use buildings in Liverpool, Newcastle, Leeds and Manchester, naturally welcome the widespread interest in moving back to city centre offices. For them it is now a lot easier to rent out the office space that they own and run.
Contact:
Downing
5 Myrtle Street, Liverpool
United Kingdom
Zip: L7 7DN
Tel: 0151 707 2666
Email: info@downing.com
Web: http://www.downing.com/