Landsec signs two tenants as first Myo scheme launches
Landsec has launched its second foray into the flexible serviced office market across two floors at 123 Victoria Street, SW1, with two tenants already signed up.
MedAccess, which gets medical supplies into underserved countries, and PR firm the Communication Group have each agreed to take two-year leases. The announcements come just before the official opening this week of the first offering in Landsec’s Myo flexible offices brand.
Both companies have taken office space on the third floor to house a combined total of 44 employees, equating to nearly 10% of the offering’s potential 500 desks.
Landsec has launched its second foray into the flexible serviced office market across two floors at 123 Victoria Street, SW1, with two tenants already signed up.
MedAccess, which gets medical supplies into underserved countries, and PR firm the Communication Group have each agreed to take two-year leases. The announcements come just before the official opening this week of the first offering in Landsec’s Myo flexible offices brand.
Both companies have taken office space on the third floor to house a combined total of 44 employees, equating to nearly 10% of the offering’s potential 500 desks.
“We are exactly in line with our business plan: 10% was what we expected,” said Oliver Knight, Landsec’s head of Myo.
He added that detailed discussions were under way with another three companies, with requirements varying in size from 10 employees to about 90.
“So in terms of the target audience we identified for Myo, it is actually meeting that sweet spot very well,” Knight said.
Knight said that as Landsec developed the concept for Myo it had listened to what its customers said they wanted and had taken on board their frustrations with other office space providers – such as some office spaces feeling like “goldfish bowls”. (As a result, Myo’s offices spaces are not glass-walled.)
This process has also resulted in a four-page lease document for leases of between one and three years for businesses with between 10 and 100 people. It is essentially priced per space, with a monthly inclusive payment starting at about £750 per desk.
Myo also offers three different fit-out options, and within this first offering there are six different styles of meeting rooms that can be rented by the hour. The shared space can be converted into an event space, and there are four phone box-style spaces that people can pop into for private phone calls.
Space at Myo at 123 Victoria Street is offered online through brokers including Contour, Hubble, Instant Offices and Workthere.
Now that the first Myo space is up and running, Landsec has said it could grow Myo to cover up to 500,000 sq ft within five years, accounting for 5-10% of its office portfolio, but Knight is in no rush to upscale the business.
“While we have the ambition to grow, we are not looking to do it at the cost of anything so we are not trying to race to the top,” he said.
“We have gone for very much a design-led approach and will continue across our other locations. Landsec has properties in the City and three development sites on the South Bank so we are looking across all of those. And we have space at Paddington. We’ve got plenty of options.
“These include Portland House, where we have a development option for 400,000 sq ft. We get vacant possession of that next year. We will look at every opportunity that comes.”
Knight added: “We also have a strong balance sheet so we can look at buying assets for growth.”
Myo, which Landsec announced in January, is the step for businesses before Landsec Fitted, which the REIT announced earlier this month, Knight said. It offers a slightly longer-term lease offer that rents fully fitted-out space to occupiers.
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