Locating Premises for Your Overseas Office

Opening an office overseas will mean locating the right premises. As you know from your UK operation, choosing the right location of your office is an important component in the success of your business. The market and territory you want your enterprise to enter overseas will have a major impact on the premises you choose. Locating the right office space can daunting when you have to do this thousands of miles from the region your office will open in. This is where commercial property agents can be well worth their fee as they have intimate knowledge of the region and the current market for commercial office space.

Operating Your Overseas Office

There are a number of considerations you have to take into account when opening your new overseas office that include:

• The cost and availability of suitable office space in the region you want your business to trade within
• The level of skilled staff in the region you can draw on to staff your new overseas office
• The maintenance costs of office space in the region you want to set-up your new office within
• Any local taxes that may apply to your specific type of business
• If your market competitors also have offices already established in the same region you would like to open your new overseas office in
• If the region your want your new overseas office to be based within has goods infrastructure
• If the region has the specific suppliers your new overseas office will need to successfully trade

Lease Your OfficeJust as you had to make the decision whether to lease the office space your business trades from in the UK, the same decision has to be made when you look for a location and office space overseas. The agreement you have with the owner of the property is the most important contract to get right.

As you may be signing a lease for a long period of time, you must be confident that your business has negotiated the best cost, but also additional clauses as well, the most important being an exit clause if you want to dissolve the lease early. Just as in the UK, commercial leases can be notoriously complex documents. Always seek legal advice in the territory your office will be based in to ensure you have the most advantageous lease for your business.

Buy Your Office

If you have the capital available buying your office space outright could be an option. The advantages are that your business has complete control of the space and does not have to contend with landlords or lease agreements.

Your business also gains an asset that it may be able to sell at a later date for a profit. If your business is specialised, and you need to make major alternations to the office you have located, buying the property could be your best option. As with leasing, always get expert help and advice from the a professional in the region your office will be based. Overseas offices may require special permits that your adviser can help you obtain.

Locating commercial property agents can be difficult, but organisations like UK Trade and Investment that have staff in most countries of the world can help you locate an agent and support your business as it sets up its overseas operation.