How much office space do you actually need?

When you’re starting a business, renting your business premises is likely to be one of your biggest expenses, so it’s important to make sure you get exactly what you need.

Whilst you can save money by not paying for space you don’t currently need you may require more space in the future as your business expands.

At Bowman House Business Centre we try to be as flexible as possible, so you can quickly and easily move to a larger unit if you find you need more room (or a smaller unit if you need less room.)

Estimating the amount of space you need

The recommended minimum amount of space you should allocate per person is 40ft² (3.7m²), which is the equivalent of:

2-3 people                   an average sized bedroom

5 people                      a single garage

12 people                    a double garage

25 people                    a badminton court

40 people                    half a tennis court

Up to 75 people          a tennis court

However, you shouldn’t estimate the size you need based solely on this. You need to consider how much room each employee needs to perform their job, which will depend on the type of business you’re conducting. You also need to take into account the layout of the office and how much room will be taken up by furniture and equipment.

You might also wish to consider if everyone needs their own dedicated desk. Technology nowadays makes it much easier for people to work flexibly, so you could enable staff to work from home or at different hours, freeing up desk space and allowing you to have fewer workstations, thereby saving money on space.

How we can help

• We offer a range of differently sized units, with various layouts and facilities, so your business can grow or downsize as necessary without you having to relocate elsewhere
• If you don’t think you have space for separate areas for meeting rooms or quiet rooms, we offer a range of meeting rooms, most of which can be rented by the hour, half-day or day. We also have breakout areas in all our business centres, offering you a place to relax away from the office
• If you need somewhere to house your server you can rent space in our server room, thus freeing up space in your office
• We have a number of storage units available to rent that are ideal for storing equipment