Member Article

Flexible offices in demand at Liverpool's prestige buildings

Liverpool’s largest commercial landlord, Downing, has announced the next phase of its Flexi-Office refurbishments, after welcoming a steady influx of new tenants to its existing portfolio.

The company is continuing to witness strong demand for this type of flexible office space. The firm has let ten Flexi-Offices in the last three months and has firm interest in a similar number of suites. This strong pipeline of lettings reflects a growing appetite from businesses for flexible, convenient space located in high-quality buildings in the city centre.

Downing is currently offering Flexi-Office space in landmark city buildings including No.1 Old Hall Street, Victoria House and the Grade II Listed Port of Liverpool Building located on Liverpool’s World Heritage waterfront site.

The company’s latest round of refurbishments will go to market in four to six weeks, and will involve the creation of a further 15 Flexi-Offices at No.1 Old Hall Street, starting from £145 pcm. They will also be adding an additional five suites on the ground floor of the Port of Liverpool Building, in what will be branded as the North Portal.

New tenants taking up space at No.1 Old Hall Street include natural health care product supplier Well-Being UK and printers and lithographers Love it Designs. John Lilley & Gillie, meanwhile, has taken the last of 9 suites in the original Portal at the Port of Liverpool Building.

Robin Ellis, senior agency surveyor at Downing, said: “We’re very pleased with how our Flexi-Office space has been received by the market. As we enter the third phase of flexi-office refurbishments, we’re also witnessing a strong pipeline of potential tenants looking to capitalise on our offering.

“This is a new way of renting an office, which provides companies with a bespoke solution, which is tailored to their individual needs; allowing them to establish themselves in expertly managed, city centre buildings, without the costs and level of commitment sometimes associated with high-quality commercial lets.

“Our approach is geared to making things as convenient as possible for current and future tenants, so all aspects of the Flexi-Office package have been designed to be as inclusive and straightforward as possible. This is proving especially attractive to smaller businesses and start-ups that are looking for hassle-free, affordable solutions from a straightforward landlord.

“Although our model is increasingly being imitated by other landlords in the city, we’re confident in the outstanding quality of our buildings. Our experience in this market has also allowed us to continually refine and improve our offering to ensure that we remain market leaders.”

Downing has created Flexi-Offices to fill the gap between fully serviced offices, with their add-on services and costs, and the traditional leasing of a suite. Flexi-Offices are available for upwards of one person for as little as one month. The package features inclusive monthly rents, and a standard short form lease that makes a potentially expensive and lengthy legal process unnecessary.

All of Downing’s Flexi-Office lettings packages have a fixed all-inclusive monthly cost – which covers service charges, electricity, building insurance and rates, if required. This gives tenants a cap on all outgoings and total certainty on what they will have to pay for the duration of their lease; a popular and often essential option for start-ups or fast-growing SMEs.

Tenants can move in within as little as 24 hours of seeing an office they want. All buildings are managed in-house by Downing. Tenants are also able to get the layout they need by letting adjacent office suites, removing the need for expensive fit-out and extra costs.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Simon Malia .