The Pros and Cons of Renting or Purchasing an Office for
Your Business

In 2023, many growing businesses are faced with the question of renting or buying their office premises once they have reached a certain size and have a workforce that needs to be located centrally to benefit from face-to-face working. Currently, the economic climate in the UK is challenging for many organisations as there is a high level of inflation in the country (as with in many other western countries) that forces every business to consider all costs in their daily activities. There are pros and cons to both forms of office property. Depending on the specific circumstances of your business, either option could be considered viable. However, this article will explain some key points related to renting and buying office premises to give business owners greater clarity over this part of their corporate decision- making.

Equity in owned premises
One of the key factors that come with owning office property is that is considered a form of business equity. The total value of the business will include any property assets it owns. A business can look to sell these assets if it needs to restructure its operations or raise capital for other ventures. However, selling a business’s office premises can be time-consuming.
Few organisations will be able to sell an office building without it significantly impacting the day-to-day functioning of the organisation. In many cases the capital is tied up in the premises and cannot be quickly released at a price that will be beneficial for the organisation. Because of this, many small and medium-sized businesses will choose to rent their office premises instead of purchasing them outright.

Convenience of rented offices
One key benefit of renting office premises such as office space in St Albans is that the facilities will often come equipped with essential infrastructure and pre-installed amenities. These can include high-speed internet supplies that are ready to use, along with reception and kitchen facilities that are pre built. This can allow a business to set up its workforce in a
minimal timeframe without waiting for a range of contractors to complete key installations. Conversely, if you are purchasing a building for office use, you will often need to design and build some of the key features and office infrastructure before the workforce can use it.

Budgeting considerations
As a final point, many business owners prefer to rent office premises as they have a far clearer indication of their monthly outgoings. Rented office premises will often include maintenance, heating, water, and rental charges included in their final price. In an age where energy prices are at the highest levels in the UK it can be beneficial to have the reassurance that the monthly charge for renting office premises will incorporate all energy costs. Conversely, businesses that own office premises may find that they are paying out more each year on their overhead costs, which can lead to the need to cut costs in other areas of the organisation. Put simply, having an agreed monthly fee for renting office property can help an organisation to understand its costs easily and budget more effectively.