I had the pleasure of joining Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou as he toured his new easyOffice premises on Kensington High Street as the commercial office facility opened for business today.
Eager to welcome the latest batch of customers to his newest ‘no frills’ company, easyGroup founder Stelios wandered in as tenants unpacked, enthusiastically questioning them about the nature of their businesses and their plans. As the only member of the press permitted to join him it offered a fascinating insight into fledgling entrepreneurs – exactly what Stelios had hoped for having seized on the burgeoning start-up market (253,700 companies launched in the first half of the year, up 15% according to Barclays).
One start-up pair he popped in on were busy brainstorming the name of their business. Stelios talked through various trademarking issues associated with protecting your brand, something he’s spent the past decade ferociously defending, before suggesting a few name-crunching techniques and going for something that “doesn’t mean anything as it’s cheaper to protect”.
Next, he spoke to an ex-EMI Music executive who had moved his home-based music consultancy to the brand new facility because of the dirt-cheap price. There was an English teacher for foreign students who needed space for a couple of weeks at a time, a team from the UK arm of a publicly listed American company that needed somewhere quiet to brainstorm, and a self-employed PA, who needed an office in close proximity to her various clients.
There was the odd gripe too, such a relatively minor booking issue. Stelios explained he wanted to offer the flexibility of a hotel, but admitted “we’re learning and every time we release something we’ll email all our clients”. It all had the personal touch of Stelios
And just as typically, with easyOffice, he’s ruffling a few feathers. Not content with past battles with British Airways, Orange, National Express coaches, and Hollywood studios, he’s now challenging the UK’s serviced office providers, which have traditionally focused on the higher end of the market, requiring clients to have references, a rent deposit agreement and chunk of money up-front, a 50-page lease document and more legal work than you can shake a stick at.
Flexibility is the key here, with tenants able to rent space in the 8,000 sq ft building for as little as a week and for just £99 plus VAT (or an opening discount of £10 per week until later this month). For that they get their business rates, property service charges, furniture and utilities taken care of. Applying the yield management model again, the earlier you book, the less you pay. It didn’t take Stelios long to mention that upsetting a few industry big shots and bucking some trends was what he’s all about.
As usual with easyGroup you pay for extras, such as meeting room space and any extra secretarial help. Equally, as always with Stelios transactions take place online. His MD Anthony Robb-John told me it's the only online booking engine in the sector. If his Kensington High Street facility works out expect more of the same, with plans to franchise the concept. For now though he’s simply partnered with Instant Offices, founded by outstanding Growing Business Young Gun Rob Hamilton.
The third party agreement means that via http://www.easyoffice.co.uk/, users have access to all 4,500 of Instant Office’s global inventory. The question is, will Stelios' moves in the market force changes for the rest of the small and mid-size business community. Now there's a thought!