Le mie ricette per la real estate communityA “Virtual Office Address” is where a business rents an address at an established, often prime location. They are not physically located in an office space but use the address for mail forwarding and meeting space if required.
“We’ve seen a massive increase in small businesses with existing office space (of one or two people) request pricing for virtual office addresses this week. They are working from home, enjoying it, and want to continue after the crisis is over”, says Jonathan Ratcliffe from flexible office provider Offices.co.uk
There are around 3,000 or more serviced offices in the UK, most of these offer some sort of virtual address service. Businesses tend to stick to monthly plans to keep using an address once it is used across websites, directories and marketing materials.
“Often the most popular addresses are in amazing locations – you could use One Canada Square, The Gherkin or The Shard as your office address if you really wanted”, adds Ratcliffe.
The benefits of home working have been discussed in detail over the past month, some good and some bad. However, in a period of uncertainty for very small businesses the trend is to shut down all unnecessary spending and it looks like some of the more extravagant office spaces are currently taking a real hit.
“I think that the one or two desk offices in City Centres that were like hen’s teeth only 6 weeks ago, will become vacant in the short term, with home working becoming the norm medium term. However, people still want to portray a professional image, hence the demand in virtual downsizing”, adds Ratcliffe.
Source : Company