NEWS

The business centre following its £1m renovation

Based on River Lawn Road in the historic market town of Tonbridge, the business centre offers serviced offices for small and medium sized businesses, and now boasts an extensive range of space thanks to its recent renovation and extension work.

The existing building was fully let for several years, and following the extensive works which saw a new property built alongside the current building (see image below, right) the new office space is now 60% let. Testament to the quality of the refurbishment and the new extension, the occupancy rate is an impressive achievement in a difficult economy.

Demand for the business centre can be partly attributed to its location, as well as its modern facilities and contemporary finish.

"This is a modern office suite close to Tonbridge town centre, just five minutes from a main-line station and on the edge of parkland," says John Elkington, Chief Executive of the business centre group. "It really couldn’t be any better situated."

The building interiors have been designed to a modern and high quality finish with maximum natural light. Facilities include an air-conditioned meeting room with a plasma screen, high speed internet access, telephone points, a top-spec CAT5 IT infrastructure, WiFi and on-site car parking.

The below image shows the building before (left) and after (right) the renovation and extension works.

Helping to keep the business centre wheels in motion is Group Business Centres Manager and long-term employee Susan Hook, who joined the company in 1997.

Responsible for client relations and making sure tenants are satisfied with the services and facilities available, Susan regularly 'drops in' on clients to help keep everything running smoothly.

"It's much easier to keep people happy if you just drop in and chat to them now and again - and I have been known to solve quite a few of their IT problems at the same time."

Commenting on the effects of the recession, Susan says:

"We have suffered a little bit from larger firms cutting back on space, but overall we have benefitted clients moving out of larger premises or relocating from London."

The business centre also provides office space solutions for entrepreneurs who are just starting out.

"We are providing low-cost accommodation for a number of people who have decided to invest their redundancy pay into their own business. Because these units are fully serviced, tenants don’t have to worry about separate heating, lighting or broadband bills, for instance."

This is typical of a serviced office, and often provides the ideal environment for start-ups and the self-employed to incubate and grow their business venture.

The business centre also operates a virtual office scheme. This type of facility is growing in popularity here in the UK, but according to Susan, the centre attracts clients from across Europe too.

"We house 40 virtual companies," says Susan, "people who just need a mailing address and someone to answer the phones. Our phone system is so sophisticated that they can keep their own number, and we have virtual tenants based as far away as Sweden, Finland and Germany."

Click here to find out more about this business centre, or to check availability and obtain pricing details, contact one of our expert consultants for free helpful advice.