Thursday 13 December 2012

Asset Light Business


A few things have come together for me over the last couple of months to shape how i think business will be done in the future.

Space have dipped their toe into the office rental market over the last few months. We had some spare space in our Newcastle office as we reduced some of our teams. The idea of an asset not working can keep me awake at night. We had put the space in the hands of agents for a while but we had little interest. We decided to change the offer and market a more flexible solution ourselfes.

 We have been overwhelmed by the success. In just over 6 months we have filled all of the space and have a waiting list for future suites.This success cannot just be down to Debbie's cappuccino in the cafe.

In September I contributed to a white paper by Mitel looking ar business communication. This focussed on flexible working and home working.

At the same time we are hearing more and more about cloud computing and the move away from hardware solutions. iPad devices are selling like hot cakes.

This all points towards a different way of doing business.

I am calling this ASSET LIGHT BUSINNESS

Companies no longer want onerous leases for extended periods. They want space which can be flexible to suit the markets they are in.

They don't want to invest in hardware which will go out of date or tie upprecious capital.

This will effect the property market as fewer organisations are willing to committ to a traditional lease. This in turn will effect the ability to raise funds.

The serviced office does conjure a picture of a soleless environment. The new asset light solution however will be a vibrant community of businesses supporting each other. (Just like spaceworks!)

 

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