Grosvenor has lined up a trio of sites in London’s Victoria and Belgravia to convert into flexible offices as it launches a push to build a 300,000 sq ft portfolio in that part of its business.
The company expects to open the doors at 146 Buckingham Palace Road, SW1, in the next four to five months, head of flex offices Piers Townley told EG. The 10,000 sq ft block includes a private garden. Grosvenor already offers flexible office space elsewhere on the road at 128 and 162.
Grosvenor is also about to start work revamping 22 Grosvenor Gardens near Victoria Station, another 10,000 sq ft site, and will also introduce 5,000 sq ft of flex space at 2 Elizabeth Street, SW1. The latter site is close to 25EP at Eccleston Yards, Grosvenor’s first flex site.
Townley spoke with EG after Grosvenor revealed plans to convert a fifth of its UK office stock into hospitality-led flexible space, as part of what it hopes will become a 300,000 sq ft portfolio.
“What we found was customers are increasingly looking for landlords to provide fitted offices, increasingly looking for a good experience and their office is hassle-free,” Townley said. “They want that kind of flexibility around being able to grow, being able to adjust their office needs as their circumstances change, which makes sense. The days of 10-year leases for a business of the size of 10 or 20 employees doesn’t necessarily make sense.”
The company has already seen success at its first sites – at 25EP, Townley said, the renewal percentage rate is in the high eighties. “That gives us confidence not only that we are providing a good office environment, but managing it in the right way,” he added.
“We are building capability and making sure that the operational team delivers on that service that people expect, because hassle-free is hassle-free. Easy and enjoyable is where we want to play. We want people to enjoy being in the office because that is part of what the buyers of the space want.”
The near-term trio of London sites could be followed by five more openings in the capital this year. In the company’s regional portfolio, the team is preparing two new fit-outs at sites in Manchester, but has yet to push the button on a full flex launch.
“Regionally we haven’t expanded into managed and flexible yet, but we are exploring that opportunity across our regional portfolio,” Townley said. “So we are fitting out spaces, plug and play… We’ve got two or three [flex] opportunities in the regions which we are building the business case for. And I expect next year that we will be looking to get one of those projects up and running.”
Image from Grosvenor
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