Virtual Office

UK Virtual Office & Office Space

Why would i need a virtual office in the United Kingdom?

The United Kingdom is a country that is composed of several islands known as the British Isle located off the coast of Europe. Essentially, this constitutional monarchy consists of the three countries of England, Scotland, Wales and the province of Northern Island. From an economic standpoint, the United Kingdom has the sixth largest capitalist economy in the world based on purchasing power parity benchmarks. Major industries here that contribute to the economy include financial, agriculture, oil and gas reserves, tourism and business services. Although the manufacturing industry had been historically important, is has seen a steady decline in recent years, although the production of petroleum products, personal computers and mobile telephones in the UK are still the highest in Europe.

The city of London is the capital of the UK, and also functions as the largest financial center in the world. Its GDP (2004) was $1,736 billion with a per capita income of $30,000 in 2005. Other major cities within the UK are Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Sheffield, Bradford, Liverpool and Manchester.

The city of London is the most populated city in the UK, with a population size of 7 million in the city, and between 14 and 15 million within the metropolitan area. As a major worldwide financial, political and economic center, London contributes 17% to the economy of the United Kingdom. Consisting of 32 boroughs throughout Greater London, the main central business district of London lies within the city of London, which is a relatively small area of approximately one square mile in the heart of London. This is where many financial corporations are based, such as the London Stock Exchange, the Bank of England and Lloyd’s of London. The main streets of the city include Fleet Street, Piccadilly, The Strand, Holborn and Liverpool. Some of the highest skyscrapers here include Tower 42, which is the tallest skyscraper in the City of London. Originally known as the NatWest Tower, it was originally occupied by the National Westminster Bank, but now its tenants include law firms such as Pillsbury Winthrop Shaws Pittman and banks such as the Bank of Korea.

Another financial district within the vicinity of London is the Docklands area, where offices of the Financial Services Authority, Barclays Bank and Citibank are situated. Located in East London and formerly known as the Port of London, Docklands has been redeveloped from a port to an area for commercial and residential utilization. Infrastructure had been improved and old warehouses had been demolished to make way for commercial buildings. Among the prominent commercial buildings here include the One Canada Square, also known as the Canary Wharf Tower, the tallest building in the whole of London. Two shorter towers flank this building, the HSBC Tower and the Citigroup Centre, both on each side of One Canada Square. Tenants currently operating their offices here include the Bank of New York, KPMG, the Swiss Stock Exchange and PricewaterhouseCoopers. With this, these two major CBD areas within London would be really ideal locations for any company considering a virtual office (or an office space) set up in London.

Birmingham is the second largest city in the United Kingdom, with a population of 1 million in the city center and about 2.2 million in the West Midlands conurbation in which Birmingham is part of. Located in the English West Midlands, Birmingham’s main industrial contributors include manufacturing and engineering. In fact, a quarter of the UK’s exports are from this city, with pen manufacturing being one of the traditional industries unique to this city. Many of these manufacturers operate from the Jewellery Quarter within the city, which till this day is the largest Jewellery producer within Europe. Apart from that, until the year 2003, the coins in UK used for circulation was also produced in the Birmingham Mint located in the Jewellery Quarter. Therefore, the Jewellery quarter would be the ideal location for a virtual office of businesses which are involved in this industry.

The city center of Birmingham is the area approximately bounded by the St. Chad’s Queensway at the north, the Irish Quarter at the south, Suffolk St. Queensway at the west and James Walk Quay and Park Street at the east. The main streets in the city include New Street, Corporation Street, High Street and Bull Street. The BT Tower is the tallest structure in the city, and is mainly used for television transmission purposes. There are many skyscrapers in this city, but many of them are utilized for housing and hotel usage, such as the Holloway Tower, the Orion Building and the Alpha Tower.

The city of Leeds is located in northern England in the region of Yorkshire and is the third largest city in England with a city population of 700,000. The major industrial contributors to this city’s economy are distribution and business services. This stems from the fact that the transportation infrastructure for Leeds has been well-developed, making this city a hub for the motorway network of northern England, canals and also the railway network. Additionally, Leeds is also well-known for its shopping district, with the area of Briggate as the main shopping area with the retail industry being another major contributor to the city’s economy. There are relatively few skyscrapers in Leeds, with most existing ones built by the local council. In fact, some of the most prominent commercial centers here include the West Riding House, which offers 7,150 square meters of office space over 15 floors, and the Leeds Town Hall which had been completed in 1858.

Other major cities within the UK would be Glasgow, which is the largest city in Scotland. Downtown Glasgow is bounded by High Street at the east, River Clyde at the south and with the M8 motorway making up the western and northern boundaries. There are many subsections within downtown Glasgow, including the shopping district at Argyle, Sauchiehall and Buchanan Streets, the Merchant district located to the east of the shopping district, Old Glasgow and the Financial District located in the areas of areas of Blythswood and Anderston. Many companies within the financial sector have set up their offices here including renowned organizations such as the Royal Bank of Scotland and AXA insurance. In recent years, much emphasis has been placed towards the development of new buildings, a factor which has led to the existence of many attractive towers here such as the Science Centre Tower and the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre.

In conclusion, launching a virtual office in the United Kingdom would serve to enhance business reputation of any corporation. With the myriad of facilities and the string of major cities in the united kingdom, anyone considering a virtual office here would be given multiple choices. Ideally, the forte of each city should match the core economic activity of each of the organization setting up the virtual office or renting an office space in the UK.