Serviced offices are one of the fastest growing markets in the property sector. Many businesses opt to locate in a serviced office due to the ease of occupation, flexibility and practicality.

Establishing a presence

For those companies considering an office in Hong Kong for the first time, it often requires a six month approach to focus on business strategy, understanding medium-term growth plans and where the business is best located.

It is recommended that businesses consider temporary offices, so that companies can evaluate likely business growth requirements before taking on a traditional lease.

Scalable & fast set up

“Co-working” or “Serviced Offices” can provide an immediate occupation solution. Typically these providers can accommodate a range of office sizes, from one person and up to 200+ people, with use of shared services including meeting rooms, reception area, server room and breakout facilities.

In contrast to traditional leases, they can provide greater flexibility for those companies that are looking to set up quickly, need a short-term commitment and / or want to limit capital expenditure.

Lease flexibility

The main difference between a serviced office and a conventional office is the rental term. Serviced office space is usually on a licence from a month to a year, whereas a conventional office can be anything up to 3 years in Hong Kong. The flexibility of the serviced office allows you to grow or shrink your space depending on your business requirements.

Generally, commitments range from 3-12 months. Terms are documented by way of a “Service Agreement” which sets out all the pertinent terms and conditions of the licence and is signed by both the provider and the occupier.

Serviced office location

Key considerations for choosing your location:

• Access to customers – know who you are targeting and where they are based

• Future business growth – consider what locations could provide global business opportunities for future expansion

• Proximity to peers – seek locations with similar business types for networking and knowledge sharing opportunities

• Image – consider whether prestige is important for your business – for example: some finance firms wish to be located within close proximity to the HKEX.