With London office space remaining the most expensive in the world[1] and prices in the West End surging to 107 per square foot per year[2], it is essential that every inch of office space is used intelligently.
Experts at Cadogan Tate, the specialist business relocation and storage firm, have calculated that the pot plant sitting on your desk could be costing your company up to 100 in space each year. The picture of your dog could be costing 35; your calculator 50 and your stapler could be costing up to 40 annually.
In fact, what many employees donít realise is that it is costing companies on average 10,000 annually for each individual workstation. Therefore, one hundred square feet of unused office space could cost a London based company 30,000 a year.
Neil Paul, Head of Business Moves at Cadogan Tate, comments: ìWhile items like plants and staplers might not create huge space waste problems, office clutter can displace documents and equipment. Empty boxes, archived files and unused equipment are costing London offices millions of pounds in space waste.î
According to a survey of 200 medium-large UK employers on their attitudes to the workplace[3], just one in ten London firms has taken advice on the kind and amount of office space appropriate for their business.
Neil Paul adds: ìA Central London office offers a lot of prestige and many businesses are not willing to compromise on this for a larger but less expensive space outside the city. However, in our experience, many companies lease space that is unsuitable in terms of size and cost.î
Thereís no reason to compromise on location or office size - especially, when office space is wasted by document containers, empty water-cooler bottles and disused equipment. Instead the answer can be as simple as moving old files and unused furniture into storage. In fact, according to a survey by the Capita Group, the average London office has over 10 per cent of floor space taken up by filing cabinets. For an office space of 5,000 square feet, the space of these filing cabinets could be costing businesses up to 53,500 each year.
Neil Paul argues: ìMany businesses donít realise how valuable and easy it is to put unused items and files into storage. London office space can cost up to 107 per square foot per year, but storage can be as little as 8 per square foot per year.
ìItís been ten years now since the Internet was introduced. We were promised the end of the paper age and no more documents piled in the in-tray. However, paper is still probably the biggest source of waste in London offices. The average office worker uses up to 50 sheets of A4 every single day. Much of this paper is still filed and takes up thousands of square feet.
ìWasted office space can also become a health and safety issue as towering archives force workers onto ladders and stored items block emergency escape routes. Uncluttered spaces inspire confidence in workers, clients and fire inspectors.î
Central London office manager Phillip Game agrees: ìWe realised how much space archived files were taking up in our office. After moving these files into storage, we found that we could fit extra desks and workstations. We also had a room that we used for filing ñ after moving the paperwork into storage we literally had enough spare office space for another three desks.î
[1] according to a survey by global property advisers DTZ
[2] figures from property agents CB Richard Ellis
[3] commissioned by Morgan Lovell
The hundred pound pot plant
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