ATA Consultants News
Abbey Business Centres
Abbey steams into Victoria as the credit crunch lifts demand for serviced offices Secures international gas company, Eni, as first client Abbey Business Centres is to open its 14th serviced office centre in the UK at 111 Buckingham Palace Road, London SWI. The company has secured half of the 3rd floor of 31,000 sq ft within the building – which is located directly above Victoria Station. The centre is expected to open its doors in May. No sooner had it signed the deal than Abbey let 25 per cent of the space to its first client– Eni, the international gas company, which has more than 70,000 employees, operates in 70 countries and is listed on the Milan and New York stock exchanges. This is Abbey’s second major acquisition of office space within a prime business district of London this year, having earlier signed a 15-year lease on 28,000 sq ft of accommodation at Canada Square, Canary Wharf. Julie Calder, managing director, Abbey Business Centres, said she had discerned a noticeable increase in serviced accommodation from companies who would normally occupy space on conventional leases. “This is especially true of financial services firms because of the volatility hitting the markets,” she said. “They don’t want to run the risk of over-committing to too much space too long which, of course, business centres do not require them to do.” Ms Calder added: “We are particularly proud to welcome a company of the size and scale of Eni as our first client. This is more proof that serviced offices are not the preserve of SME’s.”
Posted on Sunday 14th December 2008