28.01.2023
We are often asked if the quality of an office matters in terms of attracting business while meeting minimum acceptable standards. Before we answer this question, there are a few important basic office requirements.
1) Location – try to locate in the business district and don’t be tempted by cheaper offices in residential areas.
2) Parking. Most importantly, there should be free parking for staff and visitors. The planning requirement is one parking space for every 60 sq. m of covered area, which is hardly enough space for visitors. The size of the office is assumed to be 150 sq. or in this case 5 places + visitors. For this reason, check if there is free parking nearby for rent.
3) Rising to the office from the entrance, make sure that the entrance is spacious, clean and tidy. It is desirable that there is a roomy elevator, and even better – a double elevator to reduce the waiting time (depending on the number of floors).
4) Signage is needed in the lobby of the building, as well as outside the office door.
5) Make sure the office has all modern amenities such as air conditioning (preferably VRV), split systems, ceiling fan coil units, false ceiling, concealed lighting, structural cabling, raised floors, burglar alarm and smoke detection system.
6) Toilets should be separate for men and women; two for every 10 people is the norm.
7) Depending on the nature of your work, you should have a meeting room or a couple of small free offices for private meetings.
8) Open-plan offices are not the most convenient for employees to work, but they save space well. Therefore, meeting rooms are created in such offices.
Class A offices (i.e. fulfilling most of the above requirements) have a rent level of €13-16/sq.m (Nicosia), and for Limassol €18-25/sq.m, while in Larnaca the price is reduced to € 10/sq.m. for everything, plus general expenses.
A guard, especially after hours, is needed, but they are not easy to find. Alarm systems are required.
Furniture and equipment is another topic without a big budget. Good quality, Italian-designed but locally made office tables cost around 1,000 euros apiece, and chairs around 500 euros apiece. Ikea and other companies have many cheaper options.
The demand for paperless workflow and therefore paperless offices is on the rise. In such offices, customer service, agreement and signing of contracts with them takes place electronically. However, this technology of work needs additional digital power, high-quality maintenance and professional staff. On the other hand, paperless workflow saves space with limited file storage.
For those who need a warehouse of more than 20 sq. m, it is better to rent a warehouse nearby, since renting an office for a warehouse is expensive, and storage space in individual buildings does not exceed 20% of the prevailing office rent.
Offices in Cyprus with an area of more than 400 sq. m on one floor is a rarity. The usual area of an office is about 150 sq.m. Thus, for office space of about 150 sq. m, you must allocate funds for rent (depending on quality / equipment) plus another € 25,000-30,000 for modern equipment (offices, chairs, reception, decoration).
If you are renting an office, and if it is not a long-term lease, landlords are unwilling to provide furniture because the value of used furniture is less than 30% of its replacement value.
In that case, will a “chic” office building make a good impression on your clients? It depends on the nature of your business. Such offices will be more beneficial for those who deal with foreign clients, rather than for local residents.
