Executive Office Group News

Executive Offices Group Streamlines Processes with CentreCharge2010 Upgrade

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Executive Offices Group, EOG, is the latest serviced office provider to streamline processes thanks to a recent upgrade to RJmetis’ CentreCharge2010. The company, which has a portfolio of 36 centres across the country, will be using the software to improve both the efficiency of its own operations in terms of weekly and monthly reporting schedules and is confident that the upgrade will also make day-to-day use of its facilities easier for its own clients.

Tim Giles, Property and Operations Director at EOG, explained more about the company’s decision to upgrade; “We had been using an earlier version of CentreCharge for nearly six years but it became apparent that we were not using the system’s capabilities to its full extent and were still relying on too many old, manual processes. We drew up a wish list and called in RJmetis. To our delight they were able to answer ‘Yes’ to our requirements and the upgrade process has already started.”

“Our knowledge and understanding of the serviced office environment combined with sound business acumen led to the development of the upgrades for CC2010 and has enabled us to pre-empt the needs of key clients and strengthened our relationship with EOG, a market leader,” commented Justin Harley, MD at RJmetis.

CentreCharge is the UK’s leading billing and enquiry management software for the serviced office sector, operational in over 600 business centres. Further information is available at www.rjmetis.com.

Executive Offices Group Launches New Web Pages for Central London Office Space Customers

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Leading London serviced office provider Executive Offices Group has launched a series of newly-redesigned web pages, designed to aid businesses looking for central London office space, meeting rooms and virtual offices.

The new pages focus on key locations throughout the centre of London, with an emphasis on office addresses in City of London, Holborn and Covent Garden areas, and individual centres at Bishopsgate, Cornhill and Old Bailey. Each page has been revamped with new Social Media content in the form of location-targeted Flickr image slideshows, area guide feeds from the London Hotspots blog and embedded travel information widgets from Transport For London.

Emily Smith, Marketing Director at Executive Offices Group, comments: “We want our website to be as informative and useful as possible, both for our existing clients and potential new customers. It’s important to know about the area your business will be based in, as it’s where people spend the majority of their days throughout the year.

“The new on-page content adds an extra level of depth when searching for central London office space, with the image slideshows providing a visual feel for each area, and blog posts keeping you up to date with the latest information and guides on subjects ranging from city travel to restaurant reviews.”

Features of the new pages include:

• Redesign of seven key pages, across four key locations: business centres across the centre of London, including City of London, Holborn and Covent Garden areas, with individual centres at Bishopsgate, Cornhill and Old Bailey.

• Targeted Flickr image slideshows, showcasing a feed of images directly related to the location the users is currently browsing.

• Feeds of content from the Executive Offices Group London Hotspots blog, providing relevant local information on a wide variety of subjects.

• Travel widgets from Transport For London, including the Journey Planner and Tube Map services.

For more information on Executive Offices Group, including serviced offices, meeting rooms and virtual offices, please visit www.executiveoffices.co.uk, email enquiries@eogroup.com or call +44 (0)20 3008 8888.

London Business Events Helping to Drive Popularity of London Virtual Offices Amongst Startups and Entrepreneurs

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London virtual offices for small businesses, startups and entrepreneurs are set to take centre stage at the Business Startup 2010 event on the 20th and 21st May at the ExCeL Centre in London

One of the largest London business events of 2010 is due to take place over the 20th and 21st May, with representatives from all types of industry set to attend. Business Startup 2010 is the UK’s biggest event for small businesses, startups or those looking to expand their existing business, with a packed roster of attending business and keynote speakers. Among the exhibitors this year will be Executive Offices Group, a leading provider of London virtual office services at locations throughout the capital.

Emily Smith, Marketing Director of Executive Offices Group comments: “Our virtual office packages have always been hugely popular with small businesses and startups looking to ‘punch above their weight’, with prestigious office addresses and myriad other services available in several different cost-effective pricing schemes.“We’re attending Business Startup 2010 because we think it’s a fantastic event, full of interesting exhibitors and seminars. Anyone attending who would like to learn more about London virtual offices or discover how their business could benefit from any of our different service offerings should come to stand 238 and pay us a visit.”

Executive Offices Group’s London virtual office services provide mail handling, telephone answering, multiple-centre touchdown, access to a number of business lounges and pre-pay meeting room packages:

Virtual office addresses from just £50 per month
Prominence and respectability of an outstanding prestigious office address, without the physical space and related expense overheads - a crucial cost-saver for new businesses
Telephone answering and a range of additional services
Fast, simple and cost-effective solutions
Touchdown and Executive Business Lounge Membership also available

For more information on Executive Offices Group’s London serviced offices, London meeting rooms or virtual office services, please visit www.executiveoffices.co.uk or telephone +44 (0)20 3008 8888. To order your free tickets for Business Startup 2010 please visit the event homepage or telephone +44 (0)117 930 4927.

Virtual Office Market Update and Frequently Asked Questions

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Executive Offices Group’s virtual office products are proving more popular than ever, with our Q1 2010 new business up an impressive 68% on the same time period last year. As more and more businesses realise the potential of a London virtual office, we’ve put together the following question and answer guide, explaining everything there is to know about choosing and setting up an Executive Offices Group London virtual office.

Who uses virtual offices?

Virtual offices are used by people and companies who need to present themselves from a high quality business location but don’t actually need to physically work from that location. This primarily applies to home workers, freelancers, business start-ups, small businesses and companies expanding into new markets.

What exactly will I get for the £50 virtual office address and mail handling service?

Our £50 virtual office address and mail handling service includes the use of one of our business centre addresses for your company stationery. For this price you can choose from 28 prestigious London office addresses and a further three outside London. Any mail sent to your chosen virtual office address can be collected by you in person or posted to you weekly for the cost of franking + 20% handling fee on the postage. Should you wish to have your post forwarded more often than once per week that’s no problem but an additional charge of £25 will apply.

What is the difference between a Landmark and Prestigious virtual office address?

Our Landmark virtual office addresses – 23 Berkeley Square, No.1 Cornhill, 33 St James’s Square and 78 Pall Mall are four of the most sought after London office addresses. Due to high customer demand they are available at the slightly higher price of £100 per month. Only the choice of virtual office address is different, everything else is as per the standard mail handling service.

Can I use my virtual office address as my registered office address?

All of our business centres are completely unbranded and it is therefore our company policy that we don’t allow customers to use our business centre addresses as their registered office address as this would require the displaying of their company name. You can normally use your home address or your solicitor’s / accountant’s as an alternative.

What exactly does £50 telephone answering include?

When you sign up for telephone answering you will be allocated a local company phone and fax number. In London, this will be an 020 3 number as standard but 020 7 telephone and fax numbers are also available for an additional £40 per month. Our telephone operators will answer all calls made to your allocated number during the working hours of 9-5.30 Monday to Friday and calls made outside these times will be diverted to your personal voicemail. Calls can be transferred to a maximum of four numbers. We allocate one voicemail box per company so other forwarding numbers are normally personal mobile numbers. You can collect your voicemails remotely from the company voicemail box from anywhere in the world or, on 020 3 numbers we can email the voicemail file to you to listen to. Our telephone answering service means that your business is always presented in a consistent, professional manner over the phone. It also leaves you free to concentrate on your core business knowing that you’ll never miss that important business call.

What is the difference between Standard and Premier telephone answering?

Our Standard telephone answering is available for just £50 per month. Calls will be answered in your company name by our centralised London team. If you choose Premier telephone answering, calls will be answered in your home virtual office centre meaning that the team know you personally and have an understanding of your business. Telephone operators in your home centre will also take messages and email them to you if the caller does not want to be transferred to voicemail. This extra personalised service is available for £100 per month.

Can I use the business centre facilities when I need to?

Yes, we offer a wide range of additional services on a pay-as-you-go and contract basis. For example our Multiple Centre Touchdown service gives you access to a desk and telephone for use as and when you need it. Our Executive Business Lounges are used by many virtual office customers for regular informal client meetings and our full portfolio of meeting and conference rooms can be booked at preferential rates from as little as half an hour for more formal client pitches and presentations. Furthermore our experienced business centre teams are always on hand should you need any business support, with admin and concierge services available from just £25 per hour.

What are the set up costs of a virtual office?

In order to confirm your virtual office we will require the first month’s rent + VAT and a service retainer which is equivalent to three times your virtual office monthly fee. For example a standard virtual office package including mail handling at £50 per month and telephone answering at £50 per month will require an initial payment of £417.50.

The service retainer is held as a security against the use of any additional services such as meeting rooms, admin services etc. and will be fully refundable at the end of your term assuming there are no outstanding balances on your account. We do not request any set up/admin fees.

What is the set up process?

Once you’ve decided on your virtual office address and exact virtual office package, we will require some personal and company information including principal place of business and company registration details if applicable. If taking our mail handling service, we also require proof of identity and proof of address for all partners / directors of the company. This information is required by law and is further outlined below.

Proof of identity is requested in the form of a passport or driving licence (if it is a pictorial one); Proof of name and private address in the form of a recent utility bill /insurance certificate for your home / financial statement; Proof of Principal Place of Business in the form of a copy of HM Revenue and Customs Notice of Coding Copy or equivalent; and finally Registered Office Address for Limited Companies. If your company is registered at a different address to the Principal Place of Business we also require proof of that address.

How long will it take for my virtual office to be up and running?

When you have provided all of the information required and your initial payment, it will take just 48 hours for your new virtual office to be up and running.

How long is the virtual office term and how will I be billed?

Our standard virtual office package is a rolling contract for 12 months however virtual office packages are available from as little as 3 months. Following your initial payment we will require payment by direct debit at the beginning of each month.

What if I want to upgrade from a virtual office to a serviced office?

Should your business needs change, and like many of our virtual office customers you wish to expand in to a physical serviced office, we can cater for all your needs. You can up-grade at any time without penalty and, as an existing virtual customer, you may be offered preferential rates on your new serviced office contract, subject to the terms agreed.

Why should I choose Executive Offices Group for my virtual office?

Executive Offices Group is a recognised market leader in providing high quality virtual offices in London. An Executive Offices Group virtual office allows you to present your company from an impressive business address, access our outstanding facilities and keep your operational costs low.

As well as a choice of outstanding buildings in prestigious locations, we have a reputation for delivering excellent customer service. With Executive Offices Group, you’ll enjoy business support provided by the most professional and committed people in the industry. All of our business centre employees are in uniform and are trained to the highest standards.

Each of our 35 high quality business centres is completely unbranded. There are no flags or signs anywhere and telephones are answered in your company name, allowing you to create any impression you choose for your organisation without ever compromising your brand.

Executive Offices Group will provide a discreet, high quality and cost effective virtual office service with everything you need to run your business seamlessly.

For further about any of our virtual office services please contact us on — 020 3008 8889 email virtualoffices@eogroup.com

Video conferencing - keeping business meetings on track throughout volcanic ash travel disruption

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As the Icelandic ash cloud continues to hang over the UK, travel chaos is likely to continue for the next few days, potentially much longer.

With most flights grounded and other means of transport overbooked and overcrowded, traditional means of transport are firmly ruled out for the time being.

Thankfully, video conferencing offers a viable alternative for business travellers. Emily Smith, Marketing Director of Executive Offices Group explains ‘Modern video conferencing technology is reliable, user friendly and successfully used by millions of people every day. It’s cost effective, carbon efficient and eliminates the need for business travel entirely. Volcanic ash or no volcanic ash, I’m confident that video conferencing will enable business people to continue communications with clients and colleagues across the world throughout the current travel disruption and beyond.’

Executive Offices Group provides high quality video conferencing facilities in 17 convenient locations. Key features include:

- Venues available by the half hour

- Meeting rooms suitable for up to 30 delegates

- Sophisticated, user friendly equipment

- Testing as video conference link as standard

- On-site technical support

- Global locations and reciprocal sites can be arranged

- Out of hours bookings accommodated

For further information please contact Executive Offices Group on 020 3008 8889.

New Executive Offices Group London Virtual Office Package Gives Entrepreneurs & Small Businesses an Edge

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Executive Offices Group launches a new London virtual office entrepreneur package, combining the prime features of their existing services, plus membership to Executive Business Lounges all for a special reduced price.

Standing out from the crowd is important for any small business or start-up, and in a competitive market, it pays to have an edge. Executive Offices Group, the leading provider of serviced and virtual offices in London has announced this week a new virtual office package, designed for entrepreneurs, start-up businesses and home workers.

Combining highly sought after London office addresses with a number of essential business tools and resources, the entrepreneur package is ideal for businesses requiring a presence in London, without the need for full time office space.

The benefits of using services such as the ones featured in the entrepreneur package have been widely reported, offering as they do a smarter and more cost-effective way of working: a study performed by the Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply revealed average savings of up to 50% for firms taking space in a business centre - savings that can make a big difference to small businesses.

Emily Smith, Marketing Director of Executive Offices Group, comments: “In these uncertain economic times, our London virtual offices can provide a highly flexible and cost effective office solution for start-up companies, sole traders and small businesses.

“Our new entrepreneur package combines five of our most popular virtual office products, including telephone answering, a business address and Executive Business Lounge membership, all in one simple, monthly fee.”

The full entrepreneur package includes the following features and services:

1. London Virtual Office Address (a business address in one of Executive Offices Group’s Prestigious London office locations, and mail handling services)

2. Telephone Answering Service (personalised telephone answering in your company name by experienced professionals based in London, a

3. Touchdown (up to 5 hours per week use of a touchdown desk within your business centre address)

4. Executive Business Lounge Membership (access to five prestigious executive business lounges across prime London locations: No. 1 Cornhill EC3, 33 St. James’s Square SW1, 67 Grosvenor Street W1, Central Court WC2, 60 Lombard Street EC3)

5. Meeting Rooms (two hours per month in one of Executive Offices Group’s professional small London meeting rooms - ideal for meetings up to four people)

To mark the launch of the new package, Executive Offices Group is offering customers who take a 12 month agreement before April 30th 2010 a 14% discount of just £250 per month (subject to terms).

For more information contact Virtual Sales on 020 3008 8889, e-mail virtualoffices@eogroup.com or visit www.executiveoffices.co.uk

Being of Service - serviced offices are a vital cog in the Mayfair business machine...

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Serviced offices are a vital cog in the Mayfair business machine, but one of the major operators still wonders why some businesses don't recognise the benefits - Duncan Lamb reports for the Mayfair Times (March)

Peter Allport is a perplexed man. The Chief Executive of the Executive Offices Group, widely acknowledged as the person who pioneered the serviced office concept in the UK, still cannot fathom why so many businesses would source their offices via the traditional route of a long lease and then have to sort out all the other challenges such as IT, telephony, office furniture, meeting rooms, etc.

If you suggest to him that the one-stop shop approach to sourcing offices, where all costs are rolled into one charge, is expensive, his rebuttal is swift and detailed. Using the example of a customer with a "six-desk requirement" he runs through the costs involved in taking the traditional leasing route and then compares them with the cost of taking the same space in one of EOG’s serviced office centres. The projected cost saving, he concludes, could be as much as £100,000 per year.

That the figures are at his fingertips is hardly surprising. Allport has been running serviced office centres since 1982 and today EOG has 35 centres, most of which are clustered in central London.

"Business plans are almost always guaranteed to be inaccurate and businesses have to be able to respond to that. Therefore leasing a fixed amount of space for at least five years can be risky," he says.

"Our flexible approach enables companies to lease the amount of space they need immediately and subsequently tailor the amount of space and length of stay to suit their changing needs."

Despite the compelling nature of the cost comparison, he insists that what his business offers is not just about price. "What we help businesses do is manage change and operate more efficiently," he says. "That is about providing solutions, not just delivering cost and time savings. "The customer will remember the solution long after the price is forgotten." Given the immediacy of the business – "We can have a customer fully operational in four days" – serviced offices are a good bellwether of the economy.

Reflecting on the economic turbulence of the past two years, Allport says that business has been resilient: "For example, in 2008 we experienced a much higher level of churn – customers coming and going – but by the end of the year we had posted a record volume of lettings."

Encouragingly, he also reports that activity has been steadily on the increase during the past four months: "We’re the first to spot the coming of a downturn but also the first to see when things are improving."

Just over a year ago, the business took a significant step forward when it was selected by Grosvenor to operate four serviced office centres in Mayfair and Belgravia at 28 Grosvenor Street, 67 Grosvenor Street, 52 Brook Street and 52 Grosvenor Gardens. The partnership seems like a good fit. EOG is discreet to the point of self-effacement. Even though it operates four types of centres – Argyll, Palladia, Grosvenor and Corpnex – these simply define the different products on offer to the customer.

You’ll not find any branding at the centres. As a result, there is no culture clash between Grosvenor and its partner. Last month, when the refurbished 67 Grosvenor Street was launched, Lauren Buck, investment director at Grosvenor, commented: "Serviced offices are a key growth area for our portfolio. Our relationship with EOG has proved very successful over the past year, allowing our clients to manage their businesses, while we manage their office space and reduce the everyday hassle often associated with it."

Allport clearly sees the Grosvenor Street centre – which launched with 20 per cent of its space prelet – as, in many respects, the shape of things to come. The feel of the reception area is unmistakably that of a boutique hotel rather than a soulless office building. This is perhaps not surprising as he looks more toward the hotel business than the property sector for inspiration. "We’re a service company with a property portfolio attached," he says. "Many of our centre managers formerly worked at five-star hotels. They like working for us because they get to go home at night."

It is the level and quality of service that is pivotal to the business. With more than a third of new business coming from referrals, it is imperative to get the service right so that an existing customer will make a recommendation to a potential customer.

Focusing on customer service is not something that characterises the mainstream commercial property sector, but Allport is clearly not a typical property man. During the interview, he quotes from Leonard Cohen to illustrate a point about negotiation ("Forget your perfect offering/ There is a crack, a crack in everything") and shows the greatest enthusiasm not when he’s talking about his buildings but when he’s discussing the 250-strong EOG workforce. "The best part of my job is watching people develop," says Allport, "seeing what they can achieve and what they contribute to the business. We have 27 languages represented amongst the workforce – it’s an amazing resource for us internally".

But when it comes to communicating to the outside world, his passion for customer service remains undimmed. "When I started talking in property circles about treating tenants as customers and delivering customer service, I would get laughed out of the room," says Allport. "I said then that there will be a time when the tenant is king – and that time is certainly now."

Small Businesses and Individuals Benefit With Executive Offices Group's New Executive Business Lounge London Meeting Rooms

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Executive Offices Group launches new Executive Business Lounge Membership package with five prestigious venues across London providing an ideal place to meet for small business and individual business travellers

With small businesses all looking to capitalise on the anticipated market upturn in 2010 and beyond, Executive Offices Group has launched its new Executive Business Lounge Membership package at five prestigious locations across the City, Midtown and West End of London. These relaxed, informal and professional business lounges provide a unique environment for individuals and businesses looking for a place to meet customers in the centre of London.

Emily Smith, Marketing Director of Executive Offices Group, comments: "Our new Executive Business Lounge Membership gives businesses an informal alternative to our popular London meeting rooms. Executive Business Lounges enable individuals to drop in and host an informal business meeting, at a prestigious London business address.

"Each Executive Business Lounge provides comfortable seating in a beautifully furnished setting, with professional staff and complimentary refreshments. Customers can drop in to meet important clients, catch up with colleagues or simply take time out to read a newspaper in a quiet comfortable setting."

The trend toward smaller, informal meetings has been noted previously, with Executive Offices Group launching their first Executive Business Lounge at their Chancery Lane London office address in December 2009. Features of the new Executive Business Lounge Membership package include:

Locations in prime business addresess in the City, Midtown and West End of London: No. 1 Cornhill, 60 Lombard Street, 25 Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, 67 Grosvenor Street and 33 St James’s Square
Refreshments and newspapers available throughout the working day
Professional teams of staff on hand to provide any business support needed
Prices starting at £100 per month per person, providing access to all five Executive Business Lounges

For more information or details of Executive Offices Group’s full range of London serviced offices, London meeting rooms and London virtual offices, please email enquiries@eogroup.com or telephone +44 (0)20 3008 8889

Grosvenor and Executive Offices Group launch prime Mayfair Serviced Offices

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January 20th saw the launch of 67 Grosvenor Street, providing serviced offices, virtual offices, meeting rooms and a Club Lounge facility in the heart of prestigious Mayfair. Owned by international property company Grosvenor and managed by Executive Offices Group (EOG), the newly refurbished period property offers modern space in a traditional setting, with one of the most desirable postcodes in the capital.

The property was originally built in 1723 and designed as two separate townhouses, with its grand architecture complementing the prominent nature of its surroundings. Behind the stunning traditional white façade are six floors of world-class interiors which have been elegantly restored to create office space that is bright and welcoming with views over a secluded private garden.

Office suites are available on simple, flexible lease terms with amenities including: fully furnished offices, dedicated reception, telephone answering services, bandwidth connectivity, IP telephones, shower rooms, kitchen facilities and two spacious meeting rooms.

A beautiful Club Lounge further adds to the building’s appeal, allowing businesses to pay a minimal monthly fee for access to a new 'drop-in' style of meeting space, especially relevant to small businesses who frequently require a comfortable and informal place in which to do business. Membership gives customers access to a number of other Club Lounges operated across central London by Executive Offices Group. 67 Grosvenor Street also offers a Virtual Office solution for companies who require all the benefits of a serviced office but do not require physical office space.

Lauren Buck, Investment Director at Grosvenor, comments, “Serviced offices are a key growth area for our portfolio, illustrated by the level of interest already shown in the launch of 67 Grosvenor Street, with 20% pre-let. Our relationship with EOG has proved very successful over the past year – allowing our clients to manage their businesses, while we manage their office space and reduce the everyday hassle often associated with it.”

Peter Allport, CEO Executive Offices Group comments, “The high level of pre-let office space achieved at 67 Grosvenor Street is testament to the demand for high quality, flexible office space in the capital. Serviced offices offer businesses a prestigious office address on a cost effective, flexible basis”

Video conferencing from just Â£99 per hour

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Video conferencing saves you time and money, reducing the need for business travel.

Have you considered the benefits that video conferencing could bring to your organisation? Modern video conferencing technology is reliable, user friendly and successfully used by millions of people every day.

Cost effective, and carbon efficient, it eliminates the need for costly and time consuming business travel and enables you to build relationships with clients and colleagues across the world. Video conferencing is often used for:

Recruitment interviews
Sales pitches and business presentations
Training and internal communications

Executive Offices Group provides high quality video conferencing facilities in 17 convenient business centre locations and our in-house meeting coordinators are always available to offer technical support should you need it.

We're currently offering all new customers the opportunity to trial our video conferencing facilities at a fraction of our standard rate. Pay just £99 per hour on your first video conferencing booking - reduced from £140 per hour standard rate.*

What better time to explore the benefits that video conferencing can bring to your organisation? Please don't hesitate to contact us for further details about our video conferencing facilities or to reserve your first booking at our introductory rate.

For further details please email conferencing@eogroup.com or telephone our central conferencing team on 020 3008 8889.

*Terms and conditions apply. £99 per hour offer applies to hire of meeting room for up to 8 people and video conferencing equipment. Outgoing call charges also apply - from £1.83 per minute to most destinations including UK, Europe and US for 384kb per second connection. Offer expires 28th Feb 2010. Offer applies for all bookings during business hours (8.30am - 6.00pm).