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Boris and BPF back better property deal for new firms

A major new initiative to help new businesses find affordable premises and cut the number of vacant units across the capital was launched by the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, the British Property Federation and the Workspace Group today.

The centre-piece of the campaign is a new web site, London New Enterprise, which will bring together up and coming firms looking for office space and landlords with property to let.

The site encourages landlords to list their available units to new companies at significantly reduced commercial rates, while also providing business, legal and financial guidance for new firms. Powered through the website www.anyspacedirect.co.uk it has been built free of charge by the Workspace Group.

Property vacancy levels in the capital have increased considerably since the recession. A report compiled for the British Property Federation, by the Local Data Company, showed London had a 13.9 per cent shop vacancy rate compared to a national figure of 12.5 per cent. Even though the supply of property is high there are many new businesses in London still looking for premises.

Liz Peace, chief executive of the British Property Federation, which represents developers, landlords and investors, said: “This initiative is about demonstrating the industry’s responsible attitude towards new businesses and its desire to help them find a stable platform for the long-term. By overcoming the financial burdens or getting into property and offering the right advice, the industry can also help itself at a time when vacancies are still rising. We accept it’s not good enough simply to complain about the government’s lack of help for small business, we want to play a real part in supporting the recovery ourselves. New Enterprise London is the perfect way for us to convey that landlords are committed to the long-term prosperity of communities. While the industry can’t be responsible for the actual occupiers, it should be prepared to do everything inside its control to giving them a leg up. The BPF will be writing to all members encouraging them to take part.”

‘London New Enterprise’ has been developed by the Mayor, Workspace Group, Capital Enterprise and is supported by the British Property Federation. It follows a City Hall roundtable, where they discussed how the Mayor could promote the use of empty properties in London. The scheme seeks to broker vacant units through the website, which lists and match properties in London that are suitable for new businesses and commercial property seekers. Benefits to new business include the use of short-term lets and encourages a flexible environment for them to work in. Landlords and agents can make use of free listings on the website, encourage new social enterprise hubs, and can use ‘fag end leases’ where businesses on long leases have vacated early.

Launching the scheme today at offices in Kennington, the Mayor met with businesses that have benefited from similar offers through Workspace. He was accompanied by BBC’s The Apprentice winner Tim Campbell, from the Bright Ideas Trust, and Harry Platt, the Chief Executive of the Workspace Group. Speaking to the audience of small businesses, enterprise support agencies and property owners, the Mayor issued a call to action for property owners to make their empty units available to the capital’s new businesses.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: “It’s absurd that right now, across the capital, there are so many properties lying vacant while new businesses are looking for space and opportunity to grow. These innovative firms are the backbone of the London economy and with the launch of this fantastic new website we can help both businesses and property owners get the right deal.

“The winning factor with this new initiative is that it has public, private and industry support. London remains a city full of opportunity and this new website is another weapon in the capital’s armoury to stimulate enterprise, revitalize empty properties and create employment opportunities for Londoners.”

Harry Platt, Chief Executive of Workspace said: “As London moves forward from the recession, SMEs and new business start ups will be an important component of the recovery. At Workspace we have used incubator units and special start up leases and we know this approach works well and encourages entrepreneurs. In our view, the long leases demand by institutional landlords do not sit well with people starting a new business. They need flexibility and controlled costs. This initiative with the GLA is, we feel, an important part of growing London’s SME community.”

Tim Campbell, founder of the Bright Ideas Trust, said: “We know that to help with the economic prosperity of the capital we need to support aspiring small business owners in every way we can as they will be the driving force behind any recovery. There is growing amount of evidence we see here at the Bright Ideas Trust that the high cost of accommodation in London is deterring new entrepreneurs setting up in London and with the Mayors support of this website we hope that we can get rid of one of the obstacles deterring the next generation of entrepreneurs.”

John Spindler, CEO Capital Enterprise, said: "According to our member Prince’s Trust, over 25% of new business ventures supported by them fail to start because they can’t find affordable property in the right locations. We hope the www.londonnewenterprise.co.uk website will go some way to helping to solve this problem”.

For more information and all PR and media queries, please contact Andrew Teacher, Head of Media, on 020 7802 0113 or 07968 12 45 45 or ateacher@bpf.org.uk.