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Moving premises guide Your guide to efficiently moving your business to a new location

▪ Nomis Connections & Wadham and Isherwood: The perfect partnership for your office move ▪

Nomis Connections Limited – Tel: 01252 415 191 – Email: [email protected] – Web: www.nomisconnections.co.uk

Wadham and Isherwood – Tel: 01252 710 822 – Email: [email protected] – Web: www.wadhamandisherwood.co.uk

Business as usual?

Moving premises is a busy time for any business. There are so many things that staff and owners must keep in mind to successfully manage this process from beginning to end.

Sometimes the amount of work can lead to high stress levels amongst your team, but with this easy guide we hope to help you navigate smoothly through the moving process; providing you with solid information, useful tips and things to remember throughout.

Don't forget to talk to us if you're looking to move...

Nomis Connections and Wadham and Isherwood have a strong, long-term partnership built on giving our clients the valuable support and knowledge they need. This approach is backed-up by extensive experience in the commercial property sector.

Both Nomis Connections and Wadham and Isherwood can help with all aspects of your move – from property selection, budget assistance and putting you in touch with removal firms to moving or updating your phone system and numbers, provisioning your broadband and addressing your voice and data cabling.

This all helps you hit the ground running and concentrate on building your business.

In short, we make moving business as usual.

http://www.nomisconnections.co.uk/




Stage 1 – Deciding to move

Ending your current lease

A commercial property lease usually continues until its expiry or, in the case of a protected tenancy, the lease continues until either the landlord or tenant serves a formal notice to bring the lease to an end.

Often a lease will also contain a break clause which allows either the tenant or landlord to bring the lease to an end before its expiry.

As a tenant, you often have to give your landlord up to six months’ notice to trigger the break option. We recommend that you contact Wadham & Isherwood, or your solicitor, before serving a break notice, as there are many pitfalls to watch out for.

You can also end the lease earlier:

- By negotiation if the landlord agrees

- If you assign your lease to another business

- If you are allowed to sub let

You’ll want to consider and budget for your dilapidation responsibilities at an early stage to clarify your obligations. Professional advice at this stage can often save you significant amounts of money in the long term, so contact Wadham and Isherwood on 01252 710 822.

Remember your objectives

When looking to move, it's important to remember your reasons for moving in order to make the best decision. Whether you're expanding, downsizing or simply relocating, your motives are key to finding an office that will suit your needs.

Our pointers overleaf will help you consider what is most important to you.

Get a feel for what you want, be that to rent or buy, and then contact Wadham and Isherwood on 01252 710 822.

Set your budget

When looking to move, setting a budget that you can work to is very important. You must consider all costs from agency and solicitors’ fees to removal costs and the provisioning of internet and cabling at your new premises.

You may need to allow for additional costs if you need to move over a weekend or out of hours.

Need some help budgeting your move? Contact the experts at Wadham and Isherwood on 01252 710 822

Lease or buy your next property?

There’s no set answer to this question; it will depend very much on your individual circumstances, the local property market and your business plans.

Benefits of renting

- You don’t have significant capital tied

up in the business which might restrict

your ability to invest in growth

- You have more flexibility to move if

your business rapidly grows or shrinks

- You have reduced responsibilities

should issues arise with the building

Benefits of buying

- Your mortgage payments may be

cheaper than rent

- You have freedom to modify the

property to suit your needs

- You have security of tenure – you won’t

be forced to move against your wishes





How do Wadham and Isherwood help you through the moving

process?

Initial Search and Report

We will conduct a search of the agreed area by circulating a requirement to all relevant agents, approaching our extensive network of contacts as well as by driving the search area to ensure that no appropriate opportunity is missed.

We will then compile all this information in to a report for you to review. If appropriate, we will be happy to attend a meeting with you to discuss all the options.

Viewing of shortlist

We will arrange viewings of the properties of interest and accompany you.

From this point we will be able to assist you in selecting the appropriate property for you needs.

We will also be able to advise on any further surveys that may be required and discuss any

other matters that you may need to consider or be protected from.

Negotiation of terms

Using our knowledge of comparable deals, as well as market sentiment, we will negotiate the best possible deal.

We will prepare a Heads of Terms document for all parties to agree. This document will then be used to instruct the solicitors.

Monitoring of legal process

We remain involved through the legal process, ensuring that the lease that is granted reflects the terms that were agreed, and working with you to ensure that all relevant timescales and deadlines are met.

Completion

We are committed to the continuing success of our clients and will continue to be on-hand with advice and support following completion.





Moving with the times

Businesses always move office for a reason – be that expansion, downsizing, or perhaps simply your lease has expired.

If you're expanding, your phone system may not be up to the job of providing clear communication in your new office, or be able to support additional users. Nomis Connections offer a range of new systems that are technologically advanced, future proof and guaranteed to match the individual needs of your business.

If you're downsizing, you may wish to have a system that saves you money from day one – as well as one that’s able to cater for future members of staff, as well as current.

If you’re looking for more flexible working without compromising the service you provide to your clients or customers, we offer a superb hosted VoIP service that can be used anywhere and your customers will never know whether you are working from the office, home or even on holiday.

At Nomis Connections, we are able to facilitate the moving of your existing system or the installation of a new system; it’s a great idea to understand your options early on so please don't hesitate to call us on 01252 415 191.

Find the right office for you

Wadham and Isherwood offer a property acquisition service which aims to take the stress out of finding new premises. For further information, please contact us on 01252 710 822.

What’s on your wish list for your new

premises?

Location

How does your current/future workforce get to your site? If you have a significant number using public transport, maintaining or improving accessibility could be key.

Do customers visit you? Will your new location enhance your business?

Recruitment Challenges

If staff retention or recruitment is an issue in your industry, thinking about the facilities your new location can offer could ease this difficult issue.

Shopping, gym or leisure facilities close by makes for a happy team.

Size

Do you know how your business will expand or contract in the next five years? Thinking about this now might save you time and money in the long run.

Consider whether you might use offsite archive facilities and flexible working (especially in light of the UK’s flexible working legislation) when you move. These strategies can be employed to save your company money.

Be flexible

Whilst it’s good to fully understand your requirements, don’t be too rigid as the perfect property rarely exists.

Be open to what is available; there’s no substitute for getting out and seeing a property rather than viewing it online.

An experienced property consultant can help you understand how premises can be optimised to meet your needs.





Can I check on internet speeds at my new location?

This is one of the first questions any business should ask once they have found suitable premises.

With the amount of business conducted over the internet, it’s very important that your company has a solid, high-speed internet link in your new office – and you will want this before you have moved in.

Many businesses rely heavily on their internet connection, especially when using or planning to deploy ‘remote services’ such as cloud storage, hosted desktop or VoIP – all of which are heavily dependent on a quality internet connection to run correctly.

Indeed, knowing about internet availability could impact your decision to move to a specific office altogether.

With the correct planning, Nomis Connections is able to provision the best internet package for your needs – be it a standard business broadband, right up to dedicated Leased Lines – and have it available for use on your moving day.

Not sure what you need? No problem, we can supply you with a connectivity report detailing all available services at your new office; ensuring you select the best one for your business.

You should think about what you use your internet for – it’ll help indicate the best package for you:

- Do you upload and download large files?

- Do you connect to cloud services?

- Do you have VPNs set up?

- Do you stream music and video?

We also have a great blog about the cost to your business if your broadband goes down. You can find it at www.nomisconnections.co.uk/news-centre/whats-the-cost-to-your-business-if-your-internet-goes-down/.


http://www.nomisconnections.co.uk/news-centre/whats-the-cost-to-your-business-if-your-internet-goes-down/

http://www.nomisconnections.co.uk/news-centre/whats-the-cost-to-your-business-if-your-internet-goes-down/




How about my mobile reception?

Much like your internet, having a strong mobile signal for your particular network is an important consideration when viewing offices.

As well as internet availability, our connectivity reports look at signal strength from all the major providers at your new location.

With this, you’ll be able to make the decision to stick or switch networks; again something we can help sort out for you without fuss.

Can I keep my telephone numbers?

Deciding upon keeping existing or having new numbers is an important decision.

It's very rare that we are not able to move your numbers with you. This can save you significant work in notifying all your contacts and importantly save the cost of losing a customer, which could be disastrous for your business.

If you don’t already have non-geographic numbers (such as those beginning with 03), we can provide these to give your business a national identity.

We can also supply you with local numbers (beginning 01 and 02) even if you don’t have an office in the area, which could be useful if you wish to remain a local presence in the area you're moving out of.

Project Management

If the questions surrounding your IT and telephony move sound daunting, don’t worry. Nomis are able to project manage the telecoms aspects of your move on your behalf from site visit and surveys to ordering and installing all of your requirements.

We pride ourselves on clear communication, so you feel well informed and confident that your move will go as smoothly as possible.





Stage 2 – Planning your move

So, you've found the perfect office. Now what?

Instruct your solicitor

Once you’ve found the right premises and negotiated an acceptable deal, you will need to instruct a solicitor to review the lease and ensure that the contract is fair and mirrors what was agreed at the outset.

Typically, the legal process takes four to six weeks, so please don’t leave your move to the last minute.

How much planning does moving telecoms take?

How much notice do I need to give?

In a sentence: As much as possible.

The time that it takes to provision new services can vary widely depending on lead times from infrastructure providers such as BT, or even how responsive your current telecoms provider is.

If you’re looking for more specific lead times, please contact us on 01252 411 111 and we’ll be able to give you a better idea of the time frames required to provision the services you need.

When it comes to notifying your existing line and broadband provider that you’re moving, you’d typically have to give 30 days’ notice; though we always recommend that you consult your supplier’s terms and conditions for their official notice period, as some suppliers tie customers in for longer periods.

Provision the infrastructure in your new office

Voice and data cabling

It's important that you are able to get your business up and running again as soon as you're in your new location. For this reason, our expert installation team are able to conduct a site survey and make detailed floor plans so cabling can be installed according to the ergonomics of your office.

This means that, on moving day, it's a simple case of connecting your equipment and being on your way.

High speed business broadband

When internet speed and reliability is critical to your business, you may want to consider how a dedicated lease line can give you a competitive edge and improve your productivity, not to mention staff morale.

These services provide your business with a 1:1 connection between your office and local exchange. Connections have excellent SLAs and bandwidth is scalable to your changing needs.

Once your new office sale or rental has been agreed, contact Nomis Connections on 01252 415 191 to provision your infrastructure.





How much downtime can I expect when I move?

Assuming your lines and broadband are all provisioned ahead of your move date, your downtime will be kept to a minimum. Every business is different so it’s best to discuss your needs as early as possible so the right planning takes place to minimise any disruption.

You don’t even need to worry about missing calls once your system is disconnected, as Nomis Connections provides an inbound call management service that can be set to divert calls to alternate numbers, including mobiles, on a company-wide basis.

Get quotes for removals

Moving is a great time to address what needs to come with you, and what doesn’t. Before you ask for quotes for moving, think about:

- What equipment will go with you, what needs upgrading and what is destined for recycling

- If you have a lot of paper files, would these be better in an archive facility?

- What documents are you no longer required to keep? Secure document destruction can be

arranged to tackle this.

- When is the best time for your business to move? You’ll want to avoid any peak trading

periods. Can you move in normal office hours, or would it be better over a weekend?

- Does it make sense to move everything in one go, or in stages?

Ask suppliers for several quotes and check they are available for your timescales.





Plan it out, and get your team involved

- Assign a Project Manager to be the overall coordinator with all of your suppliers. If you’re a

larger organisation, consider having 'Moving Teams' to work across each department with

specific tasks to make sure everyone knows their role in the process. Inform staff of progress

and developments on a regular basis

- Establish the 'critical path' of your move - the minimum timeframe that your move is

possible in

- Create a SMART moving plan and checklist that details all time and budgetary aspects of

your move

- Inform your customers by telephone, email and social media - it's good to let them know

well in advance in case they have important projects on the go

- Notify relevant parties such as suppliers, delivery companies, your insurers, bank and HMRC

of your planned change of address and moving date

- Arrange all company stationery and marketing materials which will need amendment, plus

new building signage and what changes to your website will be required

- Consider the security/access requirements for your new premises

- Contact Royal Mail and arrange a redirection of mail to your new address





Stage 3 – Moving

The big day has arrived!

First tip: Don’t panic; by this stage your moving team will all know exactly what they have to do.

Make sure you go over plans with your teams once more before the move so that everyone has their responsibilities fresh in-mind.

Pack and label your equipment according to your plan so that you can keep track of things at all times. We recommend that non-essential items are packed as early as possible before the moving day.

You may want to consider colour coding your boxes to display the type of equipment in it or the area of the office it's to be placed in.

Ensure your moving team leaders check off all their allocated equipment so that you can keep track of things at all times.

On the day: Nomis Connections provides an inbound call management service that once added to your system can be set to divert calls to alternative numbers, including mobiles, on a company-wide basis. Staff can set up their own divert options to ensure they are never out of contact.

Did you know? We can label the ports in your new office to ensure your equipment connects properly, first time.

Note: Any Nomis-installed phone systems and broadband are covered in our support and maintenance agreements. This means you can settle in to your new office and never have to worry about the health of your telecoms services.

! Remember to read your electric and gas meters at your new premises.





Stage 4 – Post-move

Once you've moved in, it’s important that you make sure all your equipment has arrived. Your labelling system and checklist will ensure all your equipment is accounted for and in the right area of your office.

Make sure that all your equipment has arrived as it left your previous office and contact the removals company if anything is damaged as a result of the move.

As you unpack, you can begin to set up and connect your equipment as per your floor plan. We recommend furniture first, followed by computers and phones. If your cabling infrastructure is installed by us, it's a simple case of plug and play.

As you install your equipment, check and sign it off. If there are any issues you can contact the Nomis Support Desk immediately.

Once all your systems are installed, notify the Nomis Support Desk and our support staff will conduct a series of tests to make sure your telecoms systems are all working correctly, as per schematics.

Before you get to cosy, don’t forget you’ll need to conduct a new Health and Safety Risk Assessment for your new premises if you haven’t completed one already.

Finalise the move out of your old premises, make sure nothing has been left behind and return the property to its original/agreed condition. Then you’re ready to hand back to the landlord.





FAQs

If your question is not in this list, please don't hesitate to call us on 01252 415 191.

Can I keep my existing number?

You can almost always keep your existing number, but there are other options available to you if you can't. Call Nomis Connections at any time on 01252 415 191 if you need further assistance.

How long does this all take?

It can take 3-6 weeks for BT to install new lines to your office, which is best done before your move date. Orders can be placed and, as long as BT does not actually install the equipment, appointments can be postponed or cancelled.

If you have a broadband line, you must install a new line two weeks before you move to guarantee that you have email and web access when you move in.

Can I reduce my costs when I move?

When you speak to us about your moving requirements, we will be able to provide you with a telecoms solution that offers the best value for your money. We can also put you in contact with our trusted moving partners to ensure you get the best service possible.

If I ask you to help us move, will we be inundated with calls?

Not at all. We are able to provide you with a single point of contact for all your business telecom’s needs. We will deal with any third party suppliers needed and you will only ever need to speak to us.





Checklist

- Contact Wadham and Isherwood on 01252 710 822, they’ll help you find the premises

you’re looking for □

- Research the area you want to move to and get an idea of what you want for an office □

- Contact Nomis Connections on 01252 415 191 to discuss your telecoms needs with a

member of our professional team to get an idea of how your requirements can be met □

- Agree the purchase or rental of your new office □

- Instruct a solicitor to agree the contract □

- Contact Nomis Connections so that we can begin provisioning the voice and data

infrastructure for your move, and see if your numbers can be taken with you □

- Is the computer and telephone wiring up-to-date, and are the points in the same place

that your desks will be? □

- Evaluate all your current telecoms equipment - is it time to get a new system? We can

help you assess your equipment if you'd like □

- Join our installation team for a survey of your new office so that we can create detailed

floor plan that takes into account the ergonomics of your office so that we can cable

appropriately

□

- Identify what furniture, equipment and storage will need to be moved to your new

location and what can be destroyed, recycled or archived □

- Agree a moving date with a removals company - its best that this date is around 4 weeks

away to allow us to provision your new premises fully □

- Once a date is set contact all your suppliers and cancel utilities at your old office and set

them up in your new office □

- Notify the appropriate parties of your move - including customers, Companies House and

HMRC □

- Arrange redirection of your post with Royal Mail □

- Change your address on your website, brochures, ordering sites and social media and

order your company stationery □





- Create a moving plan & assign moving teams and managers accordingly □

- Pack and label your equipment according to location, ensure that appropriate items are

marked 'FRAGILE' and indicate '↑THIS WAY UP↑' □

- Moving day - ensure your moving teams work in a methodical way according to the

moving plan □

- Read your gas and electric meters in your old and new offices to make sure billing will be

correct □

- Once at your new office - unpack, check and sign-off all equipment. Notify the removals

company of anything that's lost or damaged □

- Set your system up - arrange your furniture and then simply plug your equipment into

their matching sockets (which will be labelled accordingly by the Nomis installation staff) □

- Complete your health and safety risk assessment in your new premises □

- Arrange hand back of your old premises to your landlord □

Your notes

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Useful contacts

Royal Mail business redirection service

www.royalmail.com/business/services/receiving/safety/business-redirection

Companies House

T: 0303 1234 500 | E: [email protected] | W: www.companieshouse.co.uk

Nomis Connections Limited

Connections House, 11a Kings Road, Fleet, Hampshire, GU51 1AA

T: 01252 415 191 | E: [email protected] | W: www.nomisconnections.co.uk

Wadham and Isherwood

8 Borelli Yard, The Borough, Farnham, Surrey, GU9 7NU T: 01252 710 822 | E: [email protected] | W: www.wadhamandisherwood.co.uk

About Nomis Connections

Nomis Connections is an independent provider of telecoms services and solutions to business across the UK, and a long-term partner to Wadham and Isherwood. We provide our customers with a single point of contact for all their telecoms needs.

Nomis Connections Limited is ISO 9001:2008 accredited for the provision of telecoms solutions, maintenance and support to business customers. Our certificate number is: DAS98247850/0/Q.

About Wadham and Isherwood

Wadham and Isherwood is a regional firm of Consultant Chartered Surveyors and Valuers covering the south east of England with offices in Farnham, Guildford, Woking and the M3 Corridor.

Wadham and Isherwood is regulated by RICS.

© Nomis Connections & Wadham and Isherwood 2016


http://www.royalmail.com/business/services/receiving/safety/business-redirection

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.companieshouse.co.uk/




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