UNDER THE RADAR: Howard Doyle Officesuites.ieWHEN TIMES are good and business is booming, nobody thinks twice about the expense of setting up an office. But if you're a middle manager who's been laid off, and you're staking your future on a long-nurtured idea, cost control is everything.
“A few years ago a bullish start- up might have been quite happy to rent a whole floor of a Georgian building in the city centre, but would you take on those costs now if you didn’t have to?” asks Howard Doyle (35), chief executive of Officesuites.ie.
The question, as far as Doyle is concerned, is rhetorical. “You’d have to connect phones, electricity and broadband – with all the waiting that entails – as well as paying a service charge to the landlord, insurance, and possibly a share of the rates. And that’s before you buy furniture or even mention the rent.
“With our offices, you move in right way, with all those services already in place. And at the end of each month you get a simple invoice containing just two items: the rent and your phone calls. That’s it, all the overheads . . . apart from coffee.”
Doyle, a solicitor turned property developer, is quick to concede, however, that serviced offices are hardly a new idea, though they do tend to be counter-cyclical and fare considerably better during an economic downturn.
What’s different about Officesuites.ie, he maintains, is that it’s aimed specifically at start-ups and SMEs, with – uniquely – a Business Assist programme and a Business Mentor scheme for clients.
“The Business Assist programme means we have a panel of experts of the kind that every start-up needs: accountants, solicitors, website designers, for example. We put the two sides in touch and there’s generally a discount of 15 to 20 per cent thrown in . . .
“With the mentoring, we do our best to match the mentor to the needs of the start-up.
“So our aim is not just to rent out office space, it’s to do our best to ensure that the people who rent it stay in business. That’s by no means purely altruistic. Every time someone moves out, we incur costs and it plays havoc with our cash flow. So client retention is hugely important.”
What’s also different about Officesuites.ie, says Doyle, is that it plans to locate its offices in the suburbs. The first block is Anglesea House, a €4 million redevelopment in Blackrock, Co Dublin, which opened last February, with 26 offices and 70 work stations.
He’s bought a second site in Killiney, where’s he plans a €3 million new-build development of 32 offices suites, subject to planning.
“From a lifestyle point of view, people want to be as close to home as possible. They’re sick and tired of driving, being stuck in traffic, and then paying through the nose for city-centre parking.”
Design has also been a key factor. We went to a lot of trouble to make the offices look chic and inviting . . . It’s much more conducive than the isolation of working alone at home.”
Howard Doyle knows a thing or two about setting up his own business; he set up Officesuites.ie the hard way – selling his apartment, moving into rented accommodation and putting his own money into the project.
“Our break-even point in terms of occupancy was 62 per cent and we’ve now reached 68 per cent after six months – so this is a concept that’s going to work.”
petercluskey@ireland.com
ON THE RECORD
Name:
Howard Doyle
Company:
Officesuites.ie www.officesuites.ie
Job:
Chief executive
Age:
35
Background:
Graduated from NUI Galway with a B Corp Law in 1997, followed by an LLB in 1998, and joined McKeever Rowan at the IFSC, first as a trainee solicitor and then as a solicitor in the commercial department.
Left in 2004 to take up property investment, redeveloping period houses and developing luxury apartments.
In February 2009 opened Officesuites.ie, a 557sq m (6,000sq ft) €4 million managed office development at Anglesea House in Blackrock. Plans a second office development, €3-million new-build in Killiney, subject to planning permission. A member of the Law Society and the Dublin Solicitors Bar Association.
Challenges:
“The economy first and foremost. But after that, staying on top of the business in the sense of being up to date with technology and making sure clients have what they need. This business may be counter-cyclical, but nothing is recession-proof.”
Inspired by:
“Anyone who’s making a go of a business in the current economic climate and taking on new staff. It’s great to see someone who started a business in a single work station, expanding to two staff, four, then six . . . ”
Most important things learned so far:
“Retain your existing clients. For us that’s particularly important because every time someone moves out we incur costs and it plays havoc with our cash flow. In the past, it might not have been so important – but it’s a different market now.”
