How to make CAT A+ workspaces even more flexible.

"We really love the space and the location is awesome, but the furniture just isn't our style and isn't really what we are looking for"

I've heard this so many times from people looking at fully furnished spaces for their new offices, but there is a solution out there!

The Rise of CAT A+ Workspace

Fully furnished, or CAT A+, or Tenant-Ready, or Plug & Play workspaces, whatever you call them are hugely popular, with many landlords looking to furnish their spaces to be able to attract tenants in quickly. The demand for these spaces has risen by 25% in London alone in the last 24 months, with other areas also reporting a similar increase in popularity. This looks set to continue to rise, with landlords such as Great Portland Estates and Land Securities looking to increase their portfolio of fitted workspace.

The Hidden Costs of CAT A+ Workspace

Whilst this is potentially very attractive for tenants looking for new office space, there are disadvantages of this model, both for the prospective tenant and the landlord. The upfront investment by a landlord in these spaces can be significant, with the cost of furniture has risen substantially over the last 2 years due to an increase in raw material costs, freight costs and overall demand.

If the prospective tenant's requirements don't align precisely with the fitted space, a number of costs must be factored in. Furniture that isn't required needs to be removed from the site and either disposed of or put into storage. Many landlords have offsite storage for unused furniture pieces, which end up being warehouses of unused furniture that is gathering dust but quietly costing a fortune!

Labour costs also have to be considered, and the cost to remove furniture from central city locations has risen hugely with the increase in fuel costs. Very quickly, these hidden costs can mean the original cost of furnishing the space has doubled or even tripled in a short space of time.

For the tenant, this can mean a long wait for suitable furniture which can affect occupancy dates and potentially put them off leasing a particular property.

How FluidSpace Flex? can make furnished spaces more flexible

There is, however, a solution that is much more flexible. FluidSpace Flex? is a UK-wide offering of furniture for short or long-term rental. This allows landlords to create speculative furnished spaces that are changeable without the upfront investment into the furniture. When the space is leased, any changes can happen quickly - our teams are delivering, collecting and reconfiguring on a daily basis around the UK!

Billing can either stay with the landlord and be passed to the client, or transferred directly to the tenant, who has the option to continue renting or purchase outright at a lower cost than if they had bought the furniture brand new. When flexibility is required, FluidSpace Flex? alleviates the need to purchase furniture, wait for it, relocate it, store it, asset-manage it, depreciate it, and decommission it.

As an example, let's say you wanted to transform an under-utilised private office into a collaborative meeting room. This meeting area will allow small groups to collaborate both with team members both in person and remotely, but the furniture that is in there just really doesn't work. Instead of a typical office set-up, you need a meeting table with multiple chairs, in addition to AV equipment like monitors and a camera for video calls. With FluidSpace Flex?, you could return the existing set-up and replace it with the furniture that you need without paying storage costs.?And when company requirements change again and you need to convert that space back to an office, we will pick everything up and replace it with the furniture that works best for the space’s next configuration.

Simply choose the furniture, the rental term and where it will go. Simple!

Want to learn more? Book a call with me to find out how it works and why it might work for your company!