A leading Private Equity company with a European head office in London found as a bi product of success they had outgrown their City of London head office by early summer of 2019.
Brief
A flexible lease or serviced office space to accommodate their projected growth with an exit synchronised to their existing lease commitments. This was therefore a classic lease vs flexible office debate.
Location: City of London, within a few minutes walk of their existing city Head office
Size: Large enough to occupy 150 desks at low density from day one, with the flexibility to accommodate up to 250 desks over the next 2 -3 years at a higher density – as required.
Term: A term that could tie in with the break clause(s) and the expiry of their existing head office lease.
Start date: ASAP.
Significant details: This space must offer ample meeting rooms of various sizes as well as their own and access to shared breakout space, plus their own secure server room. Limited CapEx on fitting out and furniture was important as this would otherwise need to be written off in a very short time.
What we did
We researched the local area’s existing and upcoming availability for fitted out leased and flexible offices thoroughly and presented them with numerous options and a detailed budgetary forecast for both the favoured leased and flexible office scenarios.
1FA (1 Finsbury Avenue) was a recently refurbished building owned by British Land operated by their flexible office brand “Storey” on a flexible licence and short lease basis.
At the time of their first viewing the second floor had one existing tenant and approximately 24,000 sf of space remaining, with the potential for that space to be divided into about 8 units. We negotiated to secure three of these units as one open plan space, complete with meeting rooms, secure server room. In addition, we agreed that our client would have options on the two adjacent spaces so they could expand further if required.
As part of their “personalisation” of the space we agreed that Storey would undertake a series of works on their behalf including installing separate, secure cabling to their designated comms room, expanding existing kitchen and breakout spaces to our clients requirements all for day one occupation.
Additional facilities in the building include communal breakout spaces, meeting rooms and boardrooms outside their office and a 3,000 square foot roof terrace, with panoramic views over the City. Also within the ground floor of the building there are cafes, restaurants, a bar, a gym and an Everyman cinema, as well as great breakout space, creating a vibrant and energetic atmosphere. The image here is of the Atoll, an art installation by Shoreditch artist Morag Myerscough in the ground floor atrium. It is a striking centre piece that doubles up as a café in the morning and bar in the evenings.
Time frame: First viewings commenced in November, with space secured via an agreement for lease signed in mid December. The whole search, viewing and negotiation process took approximately 2 months. After significant planned interior build works the client occupied the space in March 2020.
Summary: This flexible option was a unique proposition for our client, with lease events arranged to the exact months of their existing leasing and with relevant break options and limited CapEx. This was a fast pace of search and a fast tracked negotiation, legal and fit-out process. The option also secured them access to an inspiring office space locally, with incredible facilities not found in a typical leased office building.
Ongoing support: We continue to liaise with our client in regard to their occupation of the space and have been chosen by them to support them in their upcoming rent review on their head office. We intend to support out client in the years to come with the same diligence and responsiveness as and when their needs change.
