Virtual Office News

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

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

Executive Offices Group Launches New Club Lounge at Central London Office Address

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New centrally located Club Lounge ideal for small businesses requiring informal meeting space without needing a full-time office

In response to recent emerging business trends for holding meetings in more relaxed settings, Executive Offices Group has launched a new Club Lounge at its Central Court London office address, just off Chancery Lane, with membership available from as little as £100 per month. This new 'drop-in' style of meeting space is especially relevant to small businesses who frequently require a comfortable and informal place in which to do business, yet do not require a full-time office.

Central Court's Club Lounge is part of Executive Offices Group’s wider 'Executive Club' membership scheme due to launch in 2010. This new service enables customers to touch down at any of EOG’s Club Lounges in a number of prime London office space locations including No.1 Cornhill in the City and 33 St James's Square in the West End.

"Central Court is in an ideal location, one minute from Chancery Lane Underground station and close to the Royal Courts of Justice and Lincoln's Inn" said Emily Smith, Marketing Director of Executive Offices Group, "Being so central, it's easily accessible from the West End and City of London, making the new Club Lounge the perfect choice for people seeking informal meeting space in the capital."

Features of Central Court and the Club Lounge include:

Serviced office centre with video conferencing, touchdown internet and telephone facilities available

Private meeting rooms also available

Resilient bandwidth and Cisco IP phones

Galleried serviced office space, break out areas and private landscaped courtyards

Air conditioning throughout

Kitchen facilities with complimentary tea and coffee

Professional uniformed receptionist and support personnel

No flags, signs or branding anywhere on the building

Admin support and a range of additional services available

Prices starting from £100 per month for Club Lounge membership

Mail handling available from £50 per month

For more details of the Central Court Club Lounge please email conferencing@eogroup.com

New video from Executive Offices Group shows how a virtual office can revolutionise the way your small business operates

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Broaden Your Business Horizons With a Virtual Office Address From Only £50

In a recent move designed to give small businesses and entrepreneurs a helping hand as Britain moves out of the recession, Executive Offices Group launched new entry-level pricing of their virtual office mail handling addresses, starting at only £50 per month. Now, a new video further highlighting the benefits of this cost-effective way of working has been released.

John Drover, Director at Executive Offices Group said: "Our virtual office product is a revolutionary service that gives individuals the opportunity of having a central London address and personalised telephone answering service, without actually needing to take space themselves."

However, should a virtual office customer need to visit one of the premises for business, there are a variety of meeting rooms and touchdown services and club lounges available in destinations throughout the West End, Midtown, City of London and West London.

"One of the most important aspects of our service is that all our buildings are very different", said Drover, "We have 36 in the UK, of which 31 are in London. Every building looks completely different, every one has a different feel. This isn’t a big corporate environment, this is small, boutique, discreet and that’s the main difference with Executive Offices Group."

Simon Hill, Managing Director of Hill Coates Associates Ltd, uses Executive Offices Group’s Premier personalised Virtual Office Services in Pall Mall for his headhunting business: "We’re very happy to have our virtual office in the Pall Mall centre. Pall Mall works for us terrifically, because despite being small and operating in the way we do, we really need a fantastic front-line facility.

"The whole staff know me well, they know my business, they know my colleagues. We’re very lucky to be able use Pall Mall ... I couldn’t be happier."

For full details of the new virtual office services and a list of virtual offices in London, please visit the Executive Offices Group virtual office homepage .

New pricing provides virtual office addresses for just Â£50 a month

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Freelancers, small businesses and international offices trade up with flexible, cost-effective services for hot-desking, mail handling, meeting rooms and virtual assistants

Executive Offices Group has recently reported a 30% increase in virtual office enquiries during Q1 of 2009 compared to the same period last year. With everyone from freelancers to international companies eager to punch above their weight using this cost-effective method of raising their profile, EOG is offering new pricing schemes to help encourage further expansion and growth as Britain begins to move out of the recession.

From as little as £50 per month, individuals and businesses can benefit from a virtual office address in highly sought-after locations such as London, Cambridge, Leeds and Paris, France, with a diverse range of services including mail handling, “virtual receptionist” telephone answering, touchdown/hot-desking and London meeting rooms.

Benefits of a virtual office:

• Cut costs without compromising on quality or professionalism.

• Test new territories without a large financial commitment.

• Prestigious London office addresses available in the West End, Midtown, City of London and West London. Other office locations include Cambridge, Leeds and Paris, France.

• With fast set-up time, a virtual office can be ready for use in as little as 48 hours.

• Access to meeting rooms and hot-desking facilities on a pay-as-you-go basis.

• Extra business support enables you to focus on your core business.

A virtual office address provides companies with the prominence and respectability of a prestigious office address without the physical office space and associated financial outlay. This makes them an ideal option for freelancers, self-employed workers, small businesses or international companies seeking a base in a new country. The increase in virtual office enquiries shows that more and more people are realising the benefits of switching to this smarter way of working.

Popularity of virtual office solution soars over recent months

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The virtual office solution is now well established and has been a smart way of doing business for a number of years. However recent trends indicate that the UK virtual office market has soared over the past year as businesses seek to cut costs and reach new customers and markets. This trend has been confirmed by Executive Offices Group, a leading provider of virtual offices in Central London, West London, Cambridge, Leeds and Paris. Executive Offices Group had seen a 30% increase in virtual office enquiries during Q1 of 2009 compared to the same period last year. But what exactly is a virtual office and what are the main benefits for today’s businesses?

What is a virtual office?

Whether you’re a start-up business, an established company seeking new markets or even an international organisation requiring a UK base, a virtual office could be an ideal solution. Offering all the benefits of a serviced office, just without the physical space, a virtual office is simply use of a business address with access to a wide variety of business support services including mail handling, telephone answering, hot-desking and meeting room facilities.

What are the benefits of a virtual office?

A virtual office allows you to cut costs without compromising on quality or professionalism

In these cost conscious times, many small business owners have chosen to give up traditional office space in favour of home working. While this can be an excellent cost saving exercise, it isn’t always something that businesses are keen to promote as it does suggest the potential for financial difficulty, something that every business is keen to avoid. A virtual office is the perfect solution, allowing you to present your company from an impressive business address, while physically doing the work from home. A virtual office ultimately allows entrepreneurs and small businesses to cut costs without compromising on quality or professionalism. A high quality Central London business address is available from Executive Offices Group from as little as £50 per month.

A virtual office enables you to test new territories without a large financial commitment

Similarly, a virtual office solution allows larger, more established businesses to test new markets and reach customer groups in wider territories without a large financial commitment for physical office space. In these circumstances, a virtual office allows you to present your company from an impressive business address, while doing the work from another location entirely. Virtual office packages often include a local area phone number and personalised call answering. This virtual office service is especially relevant for international companies seeking to break into foreign markets.

A virtual office can be set up almost immediately

Unlike a traditional office, the virtual office solution can be set up in as little as 1 day, meaning that you can be operational from your new business address almost immediately.

A virtual office gives you access to meeting rooms and hot-desking facilities on a pay-as-you-go basis

As well as a prestigious business address, most virtual office solutions offer direct access to a wider network or meeting rooms and high quality hot-desking facilities, meaning you pay for the relevant physical space as and when you need it rather than on a fixed basis.

Advances in technology have enabled people to work from any location making hot-desking an increasingly popular and accepted approach to work. Hot-desking enables employees to make efficient use of their time, working where they need to, when they need to.

Extra business support enables you to focus on your core business

The additional business support services that come with a virtual office leave you free to concentrate on your core business. Most virtual office packages include personalised telephone answering by dedicated receptionists on your behalf, meaning your clients receive a consistent and professional service when they contact you. Some virtual office providers go a step further, offering a range of additional support services as and when you need them. For example all Executive Offices Group business centres are managed by discreet and attentive uniformed personnel. These highly trained professionals are on hand as and when you need them, with admin support available from as little as £2.50 for 5 mins of their time.

Put simply, a virtual office offers many companies a direct means to increased company profitability. It is a smart way of doing business and more and more astute business people have recognised that in recent months.

Executive Offices Group is a leading provider of cost effective, high quality virtual offices in Central London. West London, Leeds, Cambridge and Paris.

Local council offers virtual office space

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A council in Wales is offering virtual office space to local businesses, it has been reported.

Flintshire council is providing the service to help new businesses get off the ground, the Evening Leader said.

Postal addresses for the virtual offices are being offered at either Greenfield Business Centre or Deeside Enterprise Centre, with additional service features including a telephone answering service, receptionist service and limited access to meeting rooms.

Conference facilities are also being made available as part of the scheme.

According to the news provider, the council's executive member for tourism and regeneration councillor Mel Higham commented: "We are fully committed to supporting a strong local economy and the provision of this facility will allow more local people to set up new businesses at very little cost."

Earlier in the week, office industry website Choregus stated that virtual offices can promote productivity and generate greater profits for businesses.

Visit the Virtual offices section of the site.

Virtual offices 'can assist profitability'

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Virtual offices can promote productivity and generate greater profits for businesses, it has been suggested.

Many small firms are making use of virtual offices and more larger organisations are expected to follow suit in the next couple of years, according to Choregus.

It says there has been a large increase in the use of virtual offices in the US, which has been spurred by different factors such as technological innovations and the rising cost of fuel.

A report is cited which found that almost half of Americans work for businesses that promote virtual work, while two-thirds said they had worked in a virtual capacity.

Virtual offices were in the news last week, when an industry expert suggested they are an increasingly acceptable and even normal way of doing business.

Ian Fraser, marketing manager at the Institute of Risk Management, said the growing reputation of virtual offices is partly a result of the expanding use of mobile technology and email, which enable people to work from any location.

Executive Offices Group is a provider of virtual offices in the most prestigious addresses across London, such as Mayfair and Belgravia.
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Visit the Virtual offices section of the site.

Virtual offices 'an increasingly normal way of doing business'

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Virtual offices are an increasingly acceptable and even normal method of doing business, according to one industry expert.

Ian Fraser, marketing manager at the Institute of Risk Management, said the growing reputation of virtual offices is in part due to the burgeoning use of mobile technology and email, which enable people to work from any location.

In addition, virtual offices "can limit the impact of a disaster as locations can be spread out", he said.

Choregus recently cited statistics which show 40 per cent of virtual office customers come from the banking and finance sectors.

Business services and consultancy firms are the next biggest users of virtual offices, with figures of 16 and 14 per cent respectively.

The office industry website also recently pointed out the potential benefits of virtual office assistants, which can be purchased as an extra along with a virtual office package.

It suggested they can assist with dealing with high volumes of mail or offer flexible help in other areas as required, without requiring any additional office space.

Executive Offices Group is a provider of virtual office space as well as serviced offices and executive suites.
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Visit the Virtual offices section of the site.