Whether you’re renting temporary office space while your regular office is being refurbished, you’re a frequent user of temporary offices like coworking spaces, or you’re keen to learn more about how they could benefit your business, you’ve come to the right place.
We’ve put together this quick guide detailing the basics of temporary offices, their use-cases, who can benefit from them, and what you’re likely to find when renting temporary office space.
What is a temporary office?
Temporary office space is typically rented or leased with flexible contracts and is suitable for a whole host of business sizes and types. It’s commonly used for instances of Disaster Recovery (DR), where existing offices need to be abandoned, or when a company needs overflow or swing space while their own workspace is being refurbished.
Some startups even rent temporary office space while transferring from a home enterprise to an SME; these ready-to-go offices really have their fair share of functions.
As such, most temporary offices also come under the remit of ‘serviced offices’ and are usually set up and prepared for immediate occupancy – an attractive prospect in urgent circumstances.
What options are available when it comes to renting a temporary office space?
When choosing a temporary office space, there are several different options available to you, with many offering amenities you might not ordinarily be able to access. However, you’ll need to remember that your chosen solution might not be able to satisfy all your business requirements.
As it’s only a short-term solution, you can make up for any sacrifices on amenities by saving on overhead costs. The most common options available for temporary office space include:
Fully serviced offices
Fully serviced offices are typically offices or entire office buildings equipped with everything you need to get working. They are managed by a third party known as the office provider who will be in charge of maintaining the workspace and collecting your fees.
Some contracts allow for immediate occupancy and operate on a very short-term lease basis, making them ideal for temporary workspace. You’ll also likely be paying one monthly fee for everything, including the space, amenities, furniture, utilities and maintenance, which can be a huge cost saving.
Shared office space
Traditionally, shared office space refers to empty spaces within a company’s building that another organisation can lease. The two (or more) businesses would then share this space. However, ‘shared office space’ has become a ‘catch-all’ term in recent times and now often includes coworking and hot-desking spaces.
Shared office space can be useful if you need to move all your furniture and facilities, as much of the time, the company leasing the building will simply offer an empty space for you to fill.
Coworking spaces
Historically frequented by freelancers and startups making the transition from home working, coworking spaces offer businesses the opportunity to work from a collaborative office space with other like-minded professionals.
They usually work on a per-desk basis at a low price point too, which is always a benefit. Even if you’re a larger organisation, coworking spaces can still benefit you. Now, freelancers and digital nomads only make up around 19% of shared office users, especially since the pandemic with more companies realising the benefits of coworking spaces.
What can I expect from a short-term office lease?
If you need a short-term solution, serviced offices tend to be the number one choice as they’re fully equipped with fixtures, furniture and IT equipment, including Wifi and telephone lines. They also often offer additional amenities that you might not know you needed, including support staff, communal areas, onsite security and call handling services.
It’s really down to you to assess which amenities are essential to your business structure and find a suitable office space that provides as many of them as possible. For example, it might be important to have your own breakout room, meeting rooms or reception area, but you might need to compromise on the location if you cannot find these facilities in an office close by.
Temporary office space is usually provided with flexible agreements and contracts, with many providers offering short three-month deals that allow you to be more flexible. There is also a high chance the management company will have enough experience to cater to your specific needs, whatever situation you may throw at them.
Of course, there are some downsides to temporary office space too. For example, you won’t always have a huge amount of control or choice, including how your workspace is decorated and the people you share the building with.
Swing space for Rockwool
Rockwool is the UK’s leading supplier of mineral wool insulation products and solutions for the construction market. They decided to relocate some of their business from South Wales to London; however, the building chosen was not suitable for occupation immediately, so they had to look into a short-term ‘swing space’ solution.
Here’s what they had to say:
“Within 24 hours, they (Easy Offices) had clearly established our requirement for office space as close to our new home as possible… we viewed the properties the next working day and within 24 hours of that, we had agreed on terms.”
A temporary base for Knight Frank
Knight Frank LLP is a global, privately owned property business dealing with all aspects of commercial and residential property. While their new office in Hertfordshire was being prepared, the firm needed a temporary base of operations as close by as possible.
Here’s what they had to say:
“Easy Offices provided office space options very quickly, with a very simple process and good communication throughout.”
Disaster Recovery for MedicAlert
MedicAlert is the only non-profit-making registered charity providing a life-saving identification system for individuals with hidden medical conditions and allergies. Due to botched maintenance work near their King’s Cross office, the company’s office flooded, leaving them without a suitable workspace. With time being of the essence, we had to pull together a list of temporary office space very quickly.
Here’s what they had to say:
“Easy Offices kept in contact with us throughout each working day, quickly rearranging appointments and providing an excellent liaison with the companies we were dealing with. It was an extremely useful and time-saving service… without [them], moving office could have been a very long and arduous task.”
Choosing a temporary office
There are many times when a temporary office space is going to be the right solution for your business, whether you’re just starting or you’re an already well-established organisation. Understanding how they work and how they can be beneficial is key to finding the right space for your business, so even if you’re not searching for office space right now, it’s a good idea to keep this guide handy just in case! If you are ready to start your search for temporary office space, our search tool can help you choose the perfect location.