An office: where to start searching

In the modern world, the internet is the most obvious place to start searching for a new office. However, it’s not always that simple; if you are looking for an office space in Central London, the internet can be very deceiving. It can feel as though there is too much information and too much choice, or not enough information and not enough choice. It is possible to spend hours and hours trawling through Google pages with no luck. The majority of sites that will come up when conducting a search for office space are serviced office websites, which, for most occupiers wanting to put their own stamp on a space, does not work. 

The problem is that, unlike the residential market, where you can simply visit one website and see almost everything that is available, the commercial property market is still somewhat old-school. There is no guarantee that every space on the market will appear on the internet, let alone on a central site. This partly to do with the vastly different requirements tenants have and the huge variety of properties available. But the alternative is an agent-to-agent network, with the much of the available space on the market being kept between property professionals and information being passed around on in-house databases. 

So it remains that often the most successful way of finding an office is still through networking: with the market in the West End getting tighter and tighter, many deals are being done off-market with demand far outweighing supply. Therefore, as an agent for tenants, speaking to the landlord-agents in the different sub-markets and making them aware of our clients’ requirements will increase the chances of snapping up the right property when it comes on the market. It is beneficial for a landlord not to have to spend money marketing and producing expensive brochures – being able to do a quick market deal will look attractive. 

This news was brought to you by Morgan Pryce, a specialist tenant acquisition agent with offices in Oxford Circus and the City. Morgan Pryce specialises in search, negotiation and project management and works exclusively for tenants.