A strategic global partnership is formed

Plans to establish an Asia Pacific division are coming to fruition for officebroker.com - the UK’s largest commercial online office broker.

The company, established in 2001 by entrepreneurs Jim Venables and Andy Haywood, has already made forays into the US market, having launched a successful office in Dallas, Texas, in 2006.

Plans to open a Hong Kong office later this year are now well underway with the announcement that officebroker.com has formed a strategic partnership with the world’s leading serviced apartment web-broker, Moveandstay.

The company, which has offices in Bangkok and Barcelona, maintains a strong presence in the Asia Pacific region and, although serviced apartment rentals form the core element of its business, it also handles enquiries from customers looking to secure serviced office space around the globe.

While already working with many international office providers operating out of the region, most of whom are existing customers of officebroker.com, the new partnership means that Moveandstay’s office enquiries will now be managed by officebroker.com and was forged because of officebroker.com’s proactive approach which delivers the best conversion rates in the industry.

All office space enquiries generated by Moveandstay will be managed by officebroker.com’s trained consultants based in our UK and US offices.

Jim Venables, MD, officebroker.com

Anyone looking to secure an apartment or office anywhere in the world can now search for space worldwide, browse through service and amenity details and make direct contact with providers thanks to the unique search technology shared by officebroker.com and Moveandstay.

Customers of both officebroker.com and Moveandstay will now also benefit from locally trained consultants who offer an enhanced service by managing all transactions both at the search stage and on an on-going basis.

officebroker.com’s success in the UK, European and US markets means the company is already a major global presence. Plans to expand into new markets have always been part of the company’s growth strategy but, as Jim Venables says, establishing a presence in a new geographical location is all about planning.

“We don’t rush in to new markets for the sake of it,” explains Jim. “Moving into a new area takes a lot of research and careful planning and we see the collaboration with Moveandstay as a first step to becoming the biggest online office broker in the Asia Pacific region. Moveandstay is well established in this part of the world and, by tapping in to their local expertise, we will also start to develop our own presence and reputation in the region.”

Meanwhile, officebroker.com’s strength in Europe and the States brings considerable advantages to Moveandstay which plans to expand market share in these areas.

“Moveandstay is well known and has a great reputation in Asia Pacific,” says Gaël Ovide-Etienne, CEO of Moveandstay. “officebroker.com, meanwhile, have established a very strong presence in Europe and the UK and, as both businesses look to expand globally, it was obvious that there was a natural fit.”

Gaël continues: “This is not just a technology partnership. We see it as a strategic collaboration which will allow both businesses to develop internationally and share local expertise. Many of the major global players that we work with already have relationships with officebroker.com in the Asia Pacific region and, in addition to adding value to our customers; this partnership will allow officebroker.com to do what they do best with our Asian partners for the first time.

This is not just a technology partnership. We see it as a strategic collaboration which will allow both businesses to develop internationally and share local expertise.

Gaël Ovide-Etienne, CEO, Moveandstay

Jim Venables says: “From June 1st 2007, all office space enquiries generated by Moveandstay will be managed by officebroker.com’s trained consultants based in our UK and US offices. We very much look forward to forming new relationships with these customers.”

In a global marketplace, customers looking to source office space overseas are often also looking to source good quality serviced accommodation for their personnel. “We can bring added value to our customers by introducing them to the services of Moveandstay while, at the same time, adding value to the office space enquiries generated by them in the Asia Pacific region,” continues Jim.

“It’s the first time that this level of expertise in both apartments and offices has been available from one single source,” says Moveandstay CEO Gaël Ovide-Etienne. “We expect our customers to be as excited about this move as we are.”