Harrison Sharrett is the Digital Marketing and Content Manager at London Office Space, an online brokerage that connects businesses and freelancers to numerous serviced offices and coworking spaces across the British capital.
LondonOfficeSpace.com has been helping companies of all shapes and sizes find the ideal space for more than a decade. Their services are completely free and come with no strings attached. They have a comprehensive, ever-growing portfolio of workspace available throughout Central and Greater London. They have a long list of service available.
Mike: Let’s jump right in with your domain name LondonOfficeSpace.com. Great name considering what your company provides. How would you say the name has contributed to your success?
Harrison: Thanks! I believe that the strength and relevance of our domain name has served as a solid foundation for our success, a foundation that has been built upon by the hard work of our web development and SEO teams. Having such a topical domain name has definitely helped us to rank highly for competitive search terms, something that has allowed us to remain relevant despite our relatively small team and resource-base.
Mike: You have a wide offering of services from Serviced Offices to traditional office space. Tell me about “Hot Desking” and how popular this option is. What types of people opt for this?
Harrison: Hot Desking essentially involves multiple businesses or freelancers using the space physical workspace without having any assigned desks. Despite a dip in demand during the initial stages of the pandemic, hot desking facilities continue to grow in many major business locations, as they provide flexibility and affordability to people looking for a less traditional workspace. We’ve found that start-ups, tech-focused companies and creative freelancers often opt for these spaces due to the high costs associated with traditional office space in London and the wide range of networking opportunities that these facilities typically provide.
Mike: Virtual Offices sounds intriguing to me. Explain how this can allow a small business or entrepreneur to compete in the larger market.
Harrison: Virtual offices are a great option for businesses looking to establish a foothold in a foreign market without taking the massive leap of acquiring traditional workspace. These types of offices provide businesses with a local address, contact number, mailing location and meeting place, allowing them to expand their reach and have a dedicated location to meet with relevant clients. These types of spaces are particularly effective for businesses operating with a remote workforce, something that has become extremely commonplace since the start of the pandemic.
Mike: Your service is free to those searching for office space. I like to understand how business models such s yours work. How does the company make money?
Harrison: London Office Space gets a small commission fee from deals we broker, this fee is depended on the length of the lease signed, number of desks acquired and location of the workspace.
Mike: You mentioned a dip in demand at the beginning of the pandemic. How has the global pandemic impacted the demand for office space in London?
Harrison: The pandemic has had a profound impact on demand for office space in London. Government mandates and the threat posed by COVID-19 have, rightfully so, resulted in extreme uncertainty in the London office market. The past two years have seen reduced numbers of enquiries, traffic to our website, search volumes for key terms and the closure of numerous office providers. Some confidence began to return in line with increased vaccination rates, however, the emergence of both the Delta and Omicron variants has resulted in many businesses downsizing their spaces or shifting to a remote working model.
Mike: Did the company purchase the name on the aftermarket? Are you at liberty to talk about the cost?
Harrison: Yes, we did purchase the name on the aftermarket. I’m not able to provide specific information related to the cost, but I can say that we believe we got great value out of the deal!
Mike: What kind of feedback do you get from users regarding the domain name?
Harrison: We don’t get a lot of feedback from users about our domain name, however, this lack of feedback is definitely something that I view as a positive! You can’t get any more obvious than our domain name, users find exactly what they’re expecting when they click on our website and I think that’s the ideal situation to be in.
