What is a serviced office?

We’ve compiled this guide with everything you need to know about serviced offices

When it comes to renting an office space in London, many businesses opt for serviced offices. This is especially true for startups, scaleups, and SMEs who crave greater flexibility than traditional office leases, to suit their dynamic and ever-changing business needs. But what is a serviced office exactly?

There are different types of serviced offices and private serviced offices are ideal for companies who want their own space. We’ve compiled this guide with everything you need to know about serviced offices to empower your search for the perfect office space to rent.

A Convenient Workspace Solution

These Shoreditch office spaces are all-inclusive of bills and amenities, with access to meeting rooms.

Convenience is the essence of what serviced offices are. They’re workspaces that are ready-to-go whenever you are ready to get going. Everything that you need to run your business such as furniture, WiFi, bills and amenities is included in the rental price. This allows you to start working straight away when you move into your new office, whilst significantly reducing your upfront costs.

Having all utilities and facilities included in the rental price also means that you can plan and budget effectively throughout your tenancy, without any hidden costs. You can also pay-as-you-go for additional services on demand instead of paying for amenities that you don’t use. This will help to keep serviced office costs down. For this reason, traditional offices can end up being more expensive over time as extra costs start to add up.

With a serviced office, you can rest easy knowing that you’ll have no nasty surprises and everything is being taken care of.

Flexible Office Terms That Work Around You and Your Business

The desks within this serviced office space in Old Street can be rearranged to accommodate a growing business.

Renting a serviced office often gives you much more freedom within your contract than a traditional office lease. Serviced offices offer flexible term contracts with shorter lease lengths which can start on a month-by-month basis, whilst traditional leases can be up to 10+ years. Serviced offices also give you the ability to flex the space at short notice as your business changes.

This kind of flexibility is perfect for startups and dynamic businesses that are likely to be scaling up or down. It’s also great for larger companies that recognise the benefits of having some flexibility in their workspace strategy and don’t want to be tied down to a long term contract. Whatever the case may be, it doesn’t hurt to have a little bit of flexibility in your contract when renting an office as you never know what’s around the corner.

Beautifully Decorated and Furnished Workspaces

This Mayfair office space is flooded with natural light, plants and wall art – perfect for creative businesses.

Another perk of serviced offices is that they come fully-furnished. Not only does this allow you to save time and money kitting out an entire office. But it can also mean that you and your team will be in a beautifully designed workspace. This can be a perfect environment for your business to flourish.

Find flexible serviced office space to suit your needs

At Canvas, we create homely workspaces for large & small teams. We include everything (meeting rooms too) with a simple flexible contract.

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Modern serviced offices are much more inspiring, creative, and well-designed office environments than they were in years gone by. Soft furnishings, art, plants, and the right amount of natural light will give you a homely office space. As well as somewhere that you can feel proud of.

Some private office spaces also give you the opportunity to put your own stamp on the place. This could be your brand logo, pictures, or even your own furniture if you already have some. Double-check with your serviced office provider as they can be quite accommodating to your needs.

Access to Meeting Rooms, Communal Facilities, and Breakout Areas

A cosy breakout area in our Farringdon office building.

The best serviced office providers have meeting rooms in their buildings that tenants can use at no extra cost. Many serviced offices also have access to communal facilities and breakout areas.

Meeting rooms allow you to have meetings without disrupting the rest of the office, giving you some privacy and the opportunity to invite clients in. Communal facilities are an added bonus and can include fully-equipped kitchens and shower facilities. Breakout areas are great for creative thinking and brainstorming, as they offer a space for teams to get away from their desks.

In most serviced offices, however, access to meeting rooms can be costly. Communal facilities and breakout areas are also luxury features that are an exception rather than a rule. If you do find a serviced office with all of these amenities included, then you’ll get more bang for your buck with access to more space whilst saving money.

Maintenance and Security

This Clerkenwell office space has 24/7 access.

With a serviced office space, you can cross maintenance and security off your list of things to think about. Managed office spaces come with all cleaning services included and someone on-hand to fix any maintenance issues.

Private serviced offices offer more privacy and security than shared serviced offices. With a private serviced office space, you’ll be able to talk freely about business-sensitive or confidential client information. You’ll also have complete control of who comes in and out of your office space. Most private office providers also give 24/7 access to their buildings. This is ideal for teams that work unconventional hours or when you have a deadline to meet.

Serviced offices allow businesses to be more in control of their future.

If you’re looking for a flexible, cost-effective, and hassle-free office space solution then we highly recommend renting a serviced office. This type of office space is growing in popularity as companies of all sizes search for greater flexibility to future-proof their businesses. London, in particular, is thriving with serviced office spaces that cater to just about every business need.

About us

At Canvas, we offer private serviced offices for rent in Central and East London. We work with the best interior designers to create fully-furnished luxury office spaces that are modern, creative and inspiring. We like to go the extra mile by providing access to meeting rooms, both within and across our buildings, communal facilities, and breakout areas included in our rental prices. All of our offices can also be tailored to suit your bespoke needs. Get in touch to find out more about our private office spaces in Shoreditch, Old Street, Dalston, Mayfair , Holborn and Clerkenwell.