Office Space News
Avanta, Abbey Business Centers on the Move
Published October 6th, 2009 by Jennifer LeClaire
Serviced office companies are growing and expanding in the UK. Avanta Managed Offices and Abbey Business Centers are both launching new facilities in London.
First up, Avanta. The company is expanding its central London portfolio to 12 serviced office centers by taking over the former MLS business center at 26 Dover Street, just off London’s Piccadilly. Avanta has taken over the 8,000-square-foot property – including the serviced office tenants – on a seven-year management agreement with Investec Bank.
“This center is located in a prime Mayfair location and so we are delighted to be able to add it to our ever-expanding portfolio of business center in our core London market,” says David Alberto, Avanta’s managing director. “Our willingness to take on this center is a testament to the robustness of our business in London and our expectations for market improvement.”
Avanta’s financial year ended March 2009 was the company’s best year ever with like-for-like sales up 27.5 percent and significant levels of profitability. Alberto says the addition of the Dover Street property to the company’s portfolio will allow Avanta to offer high quality office space value for money product in a geographic area where the brand currently doesn’t have a presence.
Meanwhile, Abbey Business Centres recently announced that occupancy levels at their serviced office space on the 28th and 29th floors at 30 St Mary Axe (AKA “The Gherkin”) have reached 100 percent and they have taken on additional space on the 15th floor. The Central London location offers panoramic views of the city and the building has a restaurant and bar on the top floor.
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Maggie Correta October 6th, 2009 at 2:55 pm
Great to see your international coverage here. Avanta and Abbey Centers are great brands. Avanta recently inked a strategic alliance with Regent, didn’t they? This is a smart company. It looks like the serviced office market in London is doing well, for these competitors to both be expanding.
Anna Haslam October 7th, 2009 at 3:25 am
Thanks Maggie. Yes, Avanta did recently partner with Regent and we are looking to continue to expand in London. Hopefully more news to come!
Bill Brookshire October 7th, 2009 at 4:02 am
I see more of this happening where serviced office brands are taking over properties from others in the industry. I sometime wonder what’s going on. Is it because the other executive office suite brand was failing or just wanted to get out of the business? And I wonder why the acquiring company think they can do a better job than the one they are replacing.
Melanie Jones October 7th, 2009 at 5:06 am
So are Abbey and Avanta fierce competitors on London’s serviced office scene? And where does Regus fit into this picture. I know Regus has a strong presence there. This is an interesting post. I am not too familiar with the European executive office suite brands. But it’s great to see the industry performing well globally.
Elizabeth Sanchez October 7th, 2009 at 5:25 am
Avanta is really growing. I read that they had a boom in demand for small offices in Reading last month and opened some shared office space there. They got something like a dozen requests for single-person offices and decided to open serviced office space there. I don’t know how different the industries are between the U.S. and the UK but both seem to be growing.