Location, location, location

The location of a brokerage depends on the type of business but, whether a call centre or the headquarters of a commercial intermediary, research is key.

Historical links play a major part, as people like to set up near home and family. Other factors include communication links, cost of premises and facilities, availability of suitable employees and proximity to business partners and clients.

London, as the financial centre of Europe, is often seen as the obvious choice. Although the cost of leasing or purchasing office space in central London is higher than in other UK cities this has a minimal impact on profits for small companies, according to Simon Glenn, surveyor at FPD Savills' business base department.

He says: "If you only need an office for 50 people there isn't a massive benefit in going outside London. The choice of setting tends to be more to do with historical and communication links."

Open-plan offices

However, Glenn says call centres usually require large open-plan offices, which tend to be out of town where they can benefit from a big labour pool and cheaper rent. "Availability of young staff is the most important consideration and there are often grants available from local councils. For example, Cardiff has seen many call centres springing up in newly built offices."

Richard Sheikh, chairman and chief executive officer of Camberford Law, says the choice of premises depends on the type of broker. For example, high-street brokers want to attract people off the street and so opt for central locations, commercial brokers have high-profile clients and need somewhere prestigious to hold meetings, and personal lines brokers often have call centres in secondary locations.

Sheikh chose Bromley, in Kent, as Camberford Law's base as it is accessible to the City, without the expense. However, he is looking to open a small office in or around Lloyd's as, being a Lloyd's broker, it is necessary for a handful of his employees to make regular trips to the City.

Paul Dickson, managing director of commercial brokerage Dickson Insurance, originally set up in Potters Bar in the spare office space of a friend's business. As the brokerage grew it was relocated to Watford, at the time a major regional insurance centre.

Dickson says: "Although Watford is no longer a major insurance centre we still benefit from easy access to London and have the advantage of the M1 and M25 nearby. This makes the all-important visits to clients, nationwide, that much easier."

Expansion may mean Dickson Insurance will need to move to larger offices in the future, but Dickson says he would not consider relocating to London as he believes long commutes in and out of London sap the energy of employees.

Of course, London is not the only city with a thriving insurance market. Broker-only agency Fusion, whose parent is Lloyd's insurer SVB, is opening a new regional office in Manchester - its seventh after London, Leeds, Glasgow, Solihull, Bristol and St Albans.

Graeme Sutton, marketing manager of Fusion, says: "Most of our business is done in the regions. Visiting brokers and having a local market presence allows us to build closer relationships."

Commercial broker Beddis & Partners recently moved to new offices in the heart of Birmingham's financial centre. This places the broker in closer proximity to the city's law firms, accountants and banks, which refer clients in its direction.

Purchasing the freehold of a building is becoming increasingly popular for established businesses. Freehold properties appeal to shareholders as the premises are represented on balance sheets as an asset rather than a liability. For example, Camberford Law has purchased the freehold to its office. It lets part of the building to two separate companies and as the leases expire has the option to use the space to expand.

Edward Goldsmith, senior partner at Goldsmith Williams Solicitors, advises brokers to research an area and instruct a solicitor and accountant early on to avoid pitfalls when setting up new premises.

He says: "Leases are more complicated than freeholds and contain many pages of legal jargon. The duration of the lease is usually up for negotiation, although it is not likely to be less than five years so a breakout clause must be written into the contract to limit liability if something goes wrong. This is especially important for limited liability companies as a personal guarantor is likely to be required."

Once a location has been chosen and suitable premises found, the next thing to consider is interior design.

Grand designs

Martin Barber Redmore, associate senior designer at commercial interior design specialist Claremont Business Environments, says it is important for customer-facing companies to give the right first impression. He says: "The reception, meeting rooms and boardroom should be used to create the right image. Use of good design, attention to detail, quality materials and fittings are all areas visitors appreciate if implemented well. Use of branding and graphics is also important and can be integrated into an interior design scheme."

He describes the high street as a highly competitive visual jungle. Brokers have around four seconds (the time it takes to walk across the shop front) to grab the customer's interest. He says good retail design is vital and should integrate high-quality graphics, strong brand presence, lighting and audiovisual media.

Sheikh says: "Brokers should keep smart premises regardless of whether they have many visitors or not. The layout should convey professionalism, which is important both for clients and staff. Employees are in the workplace for eight hours a day and the working environment affects productivity and job satisfaction, so corners should not be cut."

The Davis Group picked a business park in Newmarket for its head office in order to accommodate its rapidly growing workforce. Henrietta Smart, director of TDG, says: "Travel to work is easy for employees. There is no congestion and parking is never a problem. Workspaces have been specifically designed to be roomy and comfortable and careful consideration was taken when choosing the colours, furniture and lighting to make the best use of space and appeal to all ages."

Barber Redmore says a pleasant working environment can help retain staff and is crucial for call centres, which experience high turnover. He says: "Poor staff retention is a huge drain on resources and management time. If you treat your call centre as a factory space, based purely on the number of desks that can be fitted in, with no thought to the welfare of staff, this is not surprising."

Carole Nash employs 370 people, with an average staff age of 27. It recently invested £500,000 expanding and refurbishing its headquarters and opening a new training centre in Altrincham. The refurbishment included equipping the rest area with an internet cafe, Playstation zone, Sky TV, pool table and darts. There is also a fully equipped kitchen and spacious eating area. Its new 9000 square foot training facility can train up to 280 staff simultaneously, and has eight training rooms, four syndicate rooms, a resource library, communal rest area and a 140-seat conference room.

Relaxing recruits

Sarah Holt, chief operating officer at Carole Nash, says: "The whole design is very funky and modern and focused on enabling staff to 'chill out' on their breaks. Relaxing and socialising is particularly important for new recruits who spend much of their first two weeks at the training centre in the company of strangers."

The correct investment in systems and technology can also increase performance and benefit staff well-being, says Barber Redmore.

J&M Insurance officially opened its new Epping head office and call centre in January. Although it will retain its two London offices, the new headquarters houses its administration, business development team, commercial and property division, accounts, claims and HR departments.

It invested more than £250,000 in refurbishing the offices, which includes a state-of-the-art call centre with the latest technology. The call centre is designed to provide swift answers to enquiries and look after the requirements of its insurer partners with simplified storage and use of complex data to support underwriting decisions.

The head office also has a technology-driven training room with plasma screens and individual computers to allow for teaching on an individual or group basis.

Martin Harris, chairman of J&M, says: "As well as helping to give us internal efficiencies, the new head office is designed to enhance our service to insurance partners and clients and places us in a position for strong growth in the future."

There is no typical premises for brokers, and locations vary widely. Ensuring offices are both pleasing to employees and clients in terms of location and design is good business sense and may well set brokers apart from their competitors.