Serviced offices and co-working buildings have changed what a small business move looks like. The desks, the chairs, the meeting rooms and the kitchen are already there, so what you are actually moving is a fraction of what a traditional office relocation involved. That makes it a job for one vehicle and an afternoon rather than a removals firm. Booking van hire in Warrington is usually the whole solution, and moving into a serviced office is far more about the building’s rules than about the load.
The Building Runs The Move, Not You
Managed buildings all operate on the same model. There is a booking system for the goods lift, a designated loading area, a window during which moves are permitted, and a building manager who will be entirely reasonable provided you have spoken to them first and entirely immovable if you have not. Many buildings restrict moves to outside core hours, which in practice means early morning or after five. Some require proof of insurance from anyone carrying goods through common parts. Nearly all of them will want to know the date well in advance because they are managing several tenants at once. Ring the building before you book the van and ask exactly what the arrangements are, because the answers will determine your date, your time and how many trips are realistic within the window you are given.
What You Are Actually Taking
The honest inventory for a serviced office move is usually shorter than anybody expects. Monitors, laptops and docking stations, a printer, a handful of storage units or pedestals, marketing material and branded display items, the contents of a stationery cupboard, a small kitchen box and whatever is on the walls. Furniture is generally provided, so resist the urge to bring existing desks unless you have confirmed there is somewhere to put them. It is worth walking the new space with a tape measure before the move rather than after, because a pedestal that does not fit under a provided desk becomes an obstruction on day one. Anything you decide not to take needs a plan of its own, whether that is sale, donation or disposal.
Choosing A Van For A Loading Bay
Because the load is modest and the access is constrained, a smaller vehicle is usually the better answer. A short wheelbase low roof van will get under most car park height barriers, which matters when the loading bay is inside a basement or a covered service area, and it parks in a bay that a longer vehicle would overhang. Where there is more to take, or where display stands and taller storage units are involved, a long wheelbase high roof van gives standing height in the load area without becoming unmanageable in a service yard. The decision usually comes down to whether there is a height restriction on the way in, so check that before anything else.
Protecting IT Equipment In Transit
Monitors and screens are the items most likely to be damaged and the most expensive to replace. Pack them upright rather than flat, in their original boxes if anyone kept them and between blankets if not, and never stack anything on top of a screen. Keep cables, adaptors and mounting hardware in labelled bags attached to the item they belong to, since an afternoon spent working out which power supply goes with which dock is the traditional way to lose day one. Back up anything critical before it moves. If a server or comms cabinet is involved rather than desktop kit, that is a specialist job and worth treating as one rather than lifting it into a van on the day.
Getting Trading Again Quickly
The point of a serviced office is that it is ready to work in, so the measure of a good move is how quickly the team is productive rather than how quickly the van is empty. Set up the essentials first, which for most firms means connectivity, screens and the phones, and leave the display material and the kitchen box until the following day. Tell clients and suppliers the new address before the move rather than after, and check what the building does with post and deliveries during the changeover. Buildings around the business parks near Birchwood van hire and the town centre alike will usually hold post at reception if you ask.
Timing Around Our Opening Hours
We are open Monday to Saturday from 8am to 4pm and closed on Sunday, which matters if the building only permits moves outside office hours. An early evening move means collecting the van during the day and returning it the following morning, so plan for a hire that spans two days rather than one. Short and long term hire are both available with no deposit required on most vehicles, and booking at least two weeks ahead brings a ten per cent advance booking discount on selected vehicles. Our guide on how to return a hire van in good condition covers the end of the hire.
Clearing The Old Space Properly
The half of the move that gets forgotten is the office you are leaving. Most leases carry a dilapidations obligation, which in practice means the space has to go back in the condition the lease describes, and that frequently includes removing anything you fixed to a wall and making good afterwards. Old furniture is the usual sticking point, because a serviced office move means you no longer need it and nobody wants a second-hand desk in a hurry. Charities, school PTAs and community groups will often take usable furniture if you offer it early enough, and a reuse organisation is a far better outcome than a skip. Book the van for the clearance as well as the move rather than treating them as one job, since doing both in a single afternoon is how the new office ends up full of things you meant to dispose of. Return every key and access fob and get confirmation in writing.
Tell us what the building’s loading arrangements are and whether there is a height barrier, and we will make sure the vehicle fits the bay as well as the load. Call the depot on 01925 396 222 once the building confirms your slot.
