You have many choices when setting up a new business. How scalable do you intend the business to be, when you expect to expand? What facilities do you need? How do you intend to meet clients? All this helps you decide the type of property you need, how accessible and presentable it is.

Availability of starter office space above a high street shop in a secondary location is lower than it has ever been due to allowed residential development of this type of space.

There has been a gradual move over recent years towards serviced accommodation for start-up businesses of up to six people requiring office space, usually in large, modern or refurbished buildings, with onsite management and support services.

Providers offer flexibility for start-ups, from a desk in a shared communal office area right through to whole floors of an office building offering the scalability to expand quickly as your business grows. The opportunities to network with other businesses in the same building can be a great help in the early days especially if you come from a large company culture.

Contract lengths vary between 3 and 12 months. Longer terms may be available depending upon the location. Expect to pay a fully inclusive monthly rental in advance calculated on a square footage basis to include all services (lighting, heating, power, rates and rent).

Onsite services can include meeting rooms (available by the hour), secretarial support, fax, telephone and photocopier, Wi-Fi and IT support.

Some larger multi-site operators provide “drop-in” facilities at any of their centres on the production of your membership details. Ideal if you are dealing with clients in various locations.

If you need more space, serviced accommodation may still be an option. Light Industrial stand-alone units may be available in a small industrial park still on flexible terms. Generally, though you will have to take a ‘proper’ commercial lease depending upon how the location is managed. An owner’s flexibility to ensure that they keep high occupancy rates is key, a shorter term lease inclusive of rates, rent and service charge may be possible especially if it has stood vacant for a while, as it is in the landlord’s interest to have it occupied.

Other options may include larger industrial units that have been subdivided or Solus Sites, (farm buildings or roadside property) can be adapted to the required use. Depending upon the terms available, factoring in the rent and service charges it may be worth considering buying the freehold if it’s available.

A “retailer” selling products or services to the general public would need to have a shop that is visible to your desired customers in a prime high street (footfall) or a secondary (destination) location allowing customers to come to you. Look at railway stations or other transport hubs for the high foot traffic that these locations generate.

If you are looking to trial an offer, a temporary base at a street market (whether it’s weekly, fortnightly), can be attractive to new businesses as the set-up costs are very low. If you pick the right market you can get a high footfall location in a well-managed regular market at a reasonably low cost.

With indoor markets, a pitch can be negotiated on an all-inclusive short term licence for a given length of time usually on a monthly or weekly basis. The setup costs should be fair. Other options of this type of semi-permanent market pitch or small shop or kiosk units within a covered market.

Locations like this are generally available on a monthly or a three monthly licence basis although the costs will be higher, they will still be considerably lower than for a high street shop unit, giving you a lot more flexibility in how long you keep the unit for whilst also minimising your potential investment as well.

If this doesn’t work for your business, you may have other options in some locations to acquire a standalone high street shop unit that normally you might not consider possible.

In locations where some shops have been vacant for a while or a shopping centre which struggles to be fully let, there may be opportunities for a ‘pop-up’ shop if you can persuade a more forward thinking landlord to take a risk with you as a new business.

A “pop-up shop” is one that looks like a regular fitted out shop which can be easily installed or removed at low cost or damage to the building. Once terms are agreed (sometimes just paying the rates and service charge) commonly from six weeks up to three months.

This gives an opportunity to have a high street or shopping centre unit for a short period of time (sometimes over the Christmas period, it’s a good time to trial this if you can find the right space that is available.

A food offer has more restrictions imposed by local authorities and landlords to set up a new food business making it a lot more complicated to establish.

Big businesses have built a very good working relationship with a number of landlords where they take a unit in a centre every year for a three month period (over Christmas for example). It works for their business model, if your business has the potential to be seasonal then this might be a good long-term strategy to try and adopt. If you adopt the ‘pop-up’ route you need to be a reliable occupier with a good concept and be flexible with the landlords and their agents.

If the pop-up option does not suit your business and the option of other semi-permanent options like mall-carts or kiosks doesn’t work for you then you will need to look at taking a longer lease on a standalone unit.

If you decide to take this route you have got to be very clear on the implications for your business and the costs likely to be incurred before, during and after your occupation.

Acquiring a retail property is not something that should be entered into lightly. For a new business, there is a lot to consider, the condition of the premises, lease terms, type of occupation, rent, lease-length.

Regardless of the type of property you are considering, the best investment you can make is to take advice from a Surveyor get to negotiate the terms, check the structure of the property (and the repairing obligations in the lease).

And always get the lease or contract properly documented by a specialist property solicitor to ensure that your potential liabilities are minimised wherever possible.

Remember, if you have commercial property in your business, keep it well maintained and managed it will remain an asset. However, ignore it (like many businesses once they have put the paperwork away) it quickly becomes a liability that can mean the difference between success and failure of any business.

If any of the above resonates with you then please contact me to see how we can help with the property journey for your business.

Questions & Answers

What are your property choices ?

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