How to set up a virtual office in London?

From the need to put a company on the world stage and set it up for greatness to giving it the best reputation ever, there are so many reasons many businesses all over the world want a piece of the prestige a London address on their official documents has to offer. No matter how small the office space may be, the mere thought of a company being located in a well-known street is usually a selling point to many clients.

With everyone wanting a share of the luxurious prestige London city has to offer, however, comes the problem of competition for space in specific high-rated areas or prestigious locations. Since it is very vital to make the right first impression with your clients and potential customers, locating your company in the hub of business activities is therefore important!

In this article, you will learn all you need to know about setting up a virtual office address for your company in London.

Virtual Office: definition and additional services 

A virtual office is an office located in a specific geographical location or real estate building, in which your company is not physically located but where your company’s mail correspondences can be received, scanned, and sent to you in an email. Virtual offices also offer much more such as, they provide –

• Registered office address in a prestigious location at low costs per month or year
• Telephone number uniquely for your company
• Live secretary to receive, manage and forward your calls in an efficient manner
• Efficient staff to attend to your office needs when necessary
• Office and conference rooms for conferences and meetings on an as-need basis
• Additional voicemail space to accommodate more voicemails than is provided by the regular telephone service providers

These and more are the advantages that can be gotten from having a virtual office address in London. Even if your company is located outside of the UK but you need a presence in the UK, consider the option of a virtual office for efficiency and cost-effectiveness.

How then do you go about obtaining a virtual office address in London city?

It’s pretty simple actually. There are many service providers online with different packages that will cater to your virtual office needs. So, it is very important to know what you will need and when you’ll need them so that you can pick the package best suited to your company, although some of the services provided are free.

Here are a few steps in making your London office address a reality.

Step #1: Choose a virtual office address from a wide range of prestigious locations in London. Compare the prices and offers

First, choose an office address in the city that is best suited for your company. For example, if you are into finance-related services, you may want to consider Wharf Street in London for your virtual office address location and if you are into fashion, you should get a virtual office address in Camden Passage.

In other words, you should have prior knowledge of which area in the city is best suited for your company so that you can choose wisely. You can do this easily by doing a quick internet search.

Bear in mind that, as much as physical address in some locations is more expensive than others, so also is the virtual office address, though at a drastically reduced rate.

Step #2: Add additional services according to your needs and budget.

As mentioned earlier, this step is very important. If you are a small start-up company, you may not need a large office space for conferences or meetings. Maybe you just need a secretary to attend to your calls and set up video conferences or a unifying phone address system and company email for your team. There are occasions where you find all this in a single package. So, knowing what you need beforehand makes your decision easier.

Also, work within the range of your budget. There are so many virtual office service providers with varying prices and addresses according to the location. So, take your time! Don’t be in a rush to make a decision that will hurt your pocket!

Step #3: Sign your contract and get your virtual office address in a few clicks!

Once you have made your decision and chosen a package, sign the necessary contract(s). But make sure to read the fine lines to avoid unnecessary headaches later.

Done that? You are good to go!

Who needs a virtual office?

Now, this is a very good question, isn’t it? Virtually any type of business owner can use a virtual office address – ranging from the sole trader to large companies. Using your home address doesn’t just cut it with some clients, hence the need to give the impression that your company is located in a prestigious area of London.

In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic has seen a rise in more people optioning to work from home with many companies beginning to even make this an option for their employees. Owning a virtual office address for your company however means that you and your employees can work from anywhere in the world without having to be physically present in the location of the address, except if there is a meeting of course.

Also, when you want to register with Companies House or HM Revenues and Customs, you will need a registered office address to be able to receive any correspondence from them. Luckily, virtual office addresses are usually registered to make them especially suited for such purposes. 

Governmental agencies do not recognise the PO Box address – in case you were wondering – except it is the street address of the Post Office itself, in which case you would have already purchased such an option from the Post Office prior.

It's important you know that if you choose to use your home address as your registered office address, it thus becomes public knowledge. Goodbye to privacy. To avoid such hassles, choosing a virtual office is the way to go.

Here are some other advantages to having a virtual office address – in case you are still not sold on the idea…

• Bring your business/company to the public view! When you own a virtual office address in London, your company automatically stands out and can compete with your more established counterparts. This is because when people go online to search for companies in London, your business will be listed and that brings you to the limelight.
   
• Your company does not need to be physically located in London for you to have a registered office address in the city.
   
• Your mails and packages that could not be handled by a normal PO Box can be received at your virtual office, scanned unopened, and sent to you via email. You can then decide what should be done to them either to be sent to an address of your choice or disposed of if they are spam mails.
   
• Effective mail sorting and handling by trained professionals.
   
• Effective phone answering and forwarding service by trained and skilled receptionists.
   
• It can be used as the director service address where legal correspondence to the director, shareholders, or company secretary can be sent.
   
• The cost of renting and maintaining a physical office space is greatly reduced when you buy a virtual office address.
   
• You and your employees can work from anywhere in the world.
   
• If or when your company changes location, you don’t need to inform clients of the change nor do you need to alter the address on important documents.
   
• You can use the address for your official documents, website, or as a mailing or trading address.