Depending on the type of business you are setting up, you may need to find business premises. These can be spaces shared with other businesses or exclusive spaces, leased or owned, serviced or non serviced.
There are a lot of premises options available. Finding the right premises for your business can be crucial to getting the business going and keeping it growing. Fledgling businesses need to be focused on running the business and looking after customers. They don't want to be worrying about not having the space or facilities that they didn't realise they needed. Or, they don't want to discover that sharing space with another business isn't going to work.
So, choosing the right premises for your business is very important. You will need to consider a number of factors:
Cost
How much rent will you need to pay and how often. Remember that premises costs are overheads of the business and you need to pay them regardless of how well the business is doing. Remember to factor in the cost of the business rates on top of this, and the cost of the utilities and insurance (unless you are paying an all inclusive rent).
Location
Consider your travelling time to work and consider access to your customers; For example you may need to think about the following factors. Is there parking? What is the internet speed like? Does it have the right type of power supply to operate the machinery you require? Does it have the correct size of access height/width for your deliveries?
Size
Paying for premises that are bigger than you need may be a waste, but think about what you may need in the near future, is there space to grow? Can you adapt the premises to give you more space in the future (perhaps put in a mezzanine floor?). Try to achieve a balance as relocation in the future may cause you extra expense.
Planning Use
Make sure that you check that the activities you intend to do in the premises are covered by the correct planning use. If not you may have to consider whether to seek a change of use (which may not be granted), or find an alternative location.
Type of Lease / Licence
Ensure you know what your lease agreement involves, how long you are committing to and what the costs and obligations are. Remember, you are responsible for paying those costs to the end of the agreement term, regardless of whether the business is operating or not. Sometimes you can negotiate break clauses to give you options part way through a long lease term.
Speak to a commercial solicitor or get expert advice to make sure you understand your obligations.
Business Premises in the Derbyshire Dales
You can search for business sites and premises by using our Premises Search facility You can also search for business space directly on the appropriate websites via our Business Parks page.
Local press can often also be a good source of small space for rent, and often just speaking to other local businesses can point you in the right direction for space that may be available or coming up in the future.
Business Rates
If you choose to rent or buy business premises, you will need to be registered for business rates.
Non-Domestic Rates (business rates), collected by local authorities are the way that those who occupy non-domestic property contribute towards the cost of local services.
The amount of rates that you will pay will depend on what the Rateable Value (RV) of the property is. The valuation of the property is made by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA). You can search the VOA database to find out the valuation of any specific property that you are interested in.
If you are a small business and only have one business property, then you may be eligible for Small Business Rate Relief.
For information about business rates and whether you may need to register, please visit the relevant page on the Derbyshire Dales District Council website.