OfficeBroker.com, one of the top 3 executive suite web brokers, has recently announced that they are changing from a commisson based model to a subscription model. According to an email received by one of our Executive Suite members:

"In January 2012 officebroker.com will be changing the way in which it markets office space, removing the commission structure and replacing it with a simple monthly subscription for listing your office building(s) on our website.

This new subscription model will result in your direct contact details being added to officebroker.com. Instead of charging a commission, you will instead pay just $75 per building location listed per month.

Summary of Changes:

·     Client will be able to contact YOU directly from our website!!  Your contact details will be added to each of your building locations listed on officebroker.com enabling you to get their details before your competitors would!

·     Additionally, any inquiries officebroker.com receive will still be forwarded to you but with no commission payable should you close a sale

·      A simple monthly fee of only $75 per building listed per month to be charged from January 1^st 2012

Best of all you don’t need to do anything to benefit from this change!  Your listings will be updated automatically from January 1^st 2012. "

This is specific to the US. I am not sure how they are handling other markets. It will be interesting to see how well this is accepted by executive suite office space operators. OfficeBroker does have a good track record in providing leads to centers, but I would image only the ones in which have had success with their leads will subscribe.  The smaller centers will probably not see the benefit.  The next question will be whether or not they remove the listings for the properties that do not subscribe or use them as bait for those who do. Another alternative may be that they will keep the non-subscribers on a commission basis.  We will have to wait to see.

Find Office Space

GIST has a great infographic on the changing workstyle from old to new.

Despite being back in the black at the half year mark, Regus's stock has suffered greatly over the past year. Will it continue it's recent climb?

In GB£

Full Report

Find Office Space for Lease

Regus, the largest provider of executive suites, has reported their first half earnings for 2011. 

Key statistics are as follows:

• Profit for the period 23.3 £m vs. a loss of 7.5 £m for the same period last year.
• Revenues up 9.7% to £565.6m (2010: £515.5m)
• Cash from operations up 49.0% to £70.2m (2010: £47.1m)
• Net cash of £197.8m (Year End 2010: £191.5m)
• Earnings per share of 2.5p (2010: (0.8p)
• Mature occupancy at a record level of 86.7% - benefitting from improved sales and marketing
• 12.7% increase in total customer numbers to 904,086 (2010: 801,938) of which more than 700,000 are home or mobile workers

Commenting on today's announcement Mark Dixon, Chief Executive of Regus plc, said: "We are pleased with the good strategic and financial progress the business is making at a time of prolonged economic uncertainty, with revenues up 10% and profits up over 35%.

 Our strong performance drove cash from operations up 49% to £70.2m and meant that our expansion for the half was entirely self-funded, with cash at the end of the half higher than at the end of 2010. While we acknowledge the challenging environment, we continue to expect further improvements in revenues and cash from operations, as we continue to invest in growth.

It is the robustness of Regus' mature centres that enables this substantial ongoing investment in future growth. As we enter the second half of the year, Regus remains well-positioned to capitalise on these opportunities and is on track to deliver a full year performance in line with our expectations."

“The momentum with which the business ended 2010 has continued into 2011.  As such I am pleased to report on a half year of solid revenue growth up 9.7% to £565.6m (2010: £515.5m) with EBIT1 growth up 35.3% to £13.8m (2010: £10.2m). Excluding the extra costs incurred from growth the EBIT from our mature business increased by 46% to £37.7m (2010: £25.8m).”

All in all this is a good showing in a tough market.  Perhaps it is an indicator that the global office market is improving.

Full Report

Get Help Finding Office Space

A few partners and I recently launched a new business venture and one of the first major decisions we had to make was regarding office space.  Should we simply all work from home and have a more virtual office space environment where we connect every day through skype, email, and phone, or should we shell out a few bucks to secure physical office space?  This can be a tough decision for new companies that are not producing revenue yet.

Possible Solutions

One of the challenges of a new company is that you do not want to lock in to a 12 month lease for an office space that is not incredibly desirable.  For example, if you lock in a 12 month lease on a cheap office space in an undesirable location, simply because you cannot yet afford a really nice space, then you may be a bit perturbed if the company starts bringing in solid cash flow 6 months later, and you can afford the nicer space, but you are locked into a 12 month lease.

One solution is to consider negotiating with business parks where you really want to set up shop.  See if you can get into a very small office in an environment where it would be easy to upgrade during the life of your lease.  The space may be smaller than you really want, but it also helps you get into the actual location you want to be at a price you can afford.  Then, when working capital becomes available, it is easy to transition to a larger, nicer workspace.

Other possible low cost office solutions are to pay for a virtual office space or Coworking style space.  Many top-tiered virtual office spaces actually provide conference room access on an as needed basis.  These deals come in many shapes and sizes, but it is common for some conference room access to be included in the deal, and for additional hours to be available on a per-hour basis.

Remember to think long-term when you are considering your office space plans.

Find Office Space