Stay or Go?
Not all lease and premises reviews will end in a decision to relocate. It may prove more beneficial to remain in your current premises under a renegotiated and restructured lease (again conducted by your agent).
A commitment not to move interestingly often prompts a re-design and refurbishment discussion, ensuring that workplace image, infrastructure and facilities are fully aligned with corporate identity and up to date business plans. Rockstone can still assist here by employing precisely the same professional services as in a full relocation (in-situ working often proves more challenging than a straight relocation in fact).
So in summary, the right property, with the right lease terms and structure, will act as a solid platform to support the business and its future success. Wrong conditions will surely result in the exact opposite outcome.
Eugene O'Sullivan, Director at Morgan Pryce the London based office search company, recently articulated why his clients find an acquisition agent is so important to the process of locating and securing a London office space.
*RICS – Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors – the governing body of UK Chartered Surveyors, Agents and Brokers
1. Speed. “We find that on average, it takes us 17 days from the date of our first briefing meeting with a client to locate a London office space and to make our first offer. Evidence suggests that many unrepresented tenants can take months to achieve this stage.
2. Landlords prefer to work with tenant agents. “You would think that Landlord Agents would prefer not to be up against an agent representing a tenant. The opposite, however, is the case because Landlord Agents prefer to be dealing with a client that has been properly advised about what will constitute a reasonable deal. In many cases, unrepresented deals fall out of bed during the lease negotiation as tenants bring to the table new demands which should have been dealt with during the negotiation leading up to Heads of Terms being agreed. This puts off many Landlords from going this route, even if they might be able to secure a better deal”
3. Negotiation. “You have to remember that, no matter what they say, the landlord’s agent is there to get the best deal for the landlord. Often they will say it is easier for them to do a deal as they are representing both parties but the truth is that they have only one parties interests in mind. The landlord pays the fees, and pays repeat fees for multiple lets, and therefore their Agent is only interested in securing that future business by doing good and aggressive deals for their client. The tenant is NOT their client!”
4. Consultancy. “Many of our clients are industry leaders in their own fields and can battle it out with the best of them in terms of negotiating deals in an arena they are experts in. When it comes to London office space, the experts are ourselves and the Landlords Agents. You can bet the Landlords Agents is an experienced operator who knows all the tricks of the trade and to counter this we need to understand fully the market, what deals are being done in the area and the factors motivating landlords when letting their spaces. We are here to translate our knowledge and experience into useful advice that helps our client to do quick and simple deals that stand the test of a lease negotiation.”
5. Time. “Finding a London office space is a time consuming exercise, often made harder when people are doing it for the first time. I always say, if you use recruitment agents, you should be using someone like us to find an office. We scour the market, sort the wheat from the chaff, organise our shortlists into manageable and relevant tours where you are only seeing the very best buildings that suit your brief. Nobody wants to spend months traipsing the streets of London looking for buildings so a targeted and effective search can save a lot of irritation and sore feet!”
From the Morgan Pryce website with thanks