Website aims to match firms with empty properties
An online initiative to help new businesses find affordable premises and reduce the number of vacant units across the capital has been launched.
The London New Enterprise website, backed by London mayor Boris Johnson and the British Property Federation (BPF), is designed to act as a broker, bringing together start-ups looking for office space and landlords with empty property to let.
The site, built free of charge by the Workspace Group, encourages landlords to list available units to new companies at significantly reduced commercial rates and also provides business, legal and financial guidance for new firms.
The number of empty premises in the capital has increased considerably since the recession. A BPF report by the Local Data Company found London had a 13.9% shop vacancy rate compared with the national figure of 12.5%, while more than a quarter of new business ventures supported by the Prince’s Trust fail as a result of a lack of affordable property in the right locations.
The new online portal aims to highlight short-term lets and flexible work environments for new businesses. It also includes specific sections for those in the social enterprise and charitable sectors as well as organisations looking to set up ‘pop up shops’.
BPF chief executive Liz Peace described the website as ‘the perfect way for us to convey that landlords are committed to the long-term prosperity of communities’, adding: ‘By overcoming the financial burdens of getting into property and offering the right advice, the industry can also help itself at a time when vacancies are still rising.’
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