Imperial Servcorp to expand serviced office space for SMEs

Imperial also offers virtual office service by giving clients its address for all marketing and communication purposes

With the concept of serviced and virtual offices gaining significance, especially among entrepreneurs and small and medium enterprises (SMEs), Imperial Servcorp, a joint venture between K Raheja Corp of India and Australian multinational Serve Corp, is looking at expanding its offerings to more cities in India.

The joint venture, which was started in 2007, currently has two centres offering both serviced and virtual office packages — one at the Bandra Kurla Complex in Mumbai and the other at Mind Space in Hyderabad — together having a floor space of 50,000 sq ft.

“We are actively looking at other cities and right now have Gurgaon, Bangalore and Pune on the anvil. Our idea is to add around 80,000 sq ft of floor space across these cities by the middle of the next financial year. This should cater to at least 500 more clients, of which 80 per cent is expected to be SMEs,” Meenal Sinha, associate vice president, Imperial Servcorp, told Business Standard.

Serviced offices come with fully-furnished office space, including board rooms, executive offices, information technology (IT) and telecommunication facilities, which can be used on a pay-per-use basis.

“There is a lot of need among SMEs, entrepreneurs and also large enterprises who are entering India for the first time. They do not want to invest a lot of capital in traditional office space. Instead, they are looking at small offices with lesser administrative headaches. This is where serviced offices come into play. And, this is the market that we are looking to tap into,” she said.

Imperial also offers virtual office service by giving clients its address for all their marketing and communication purposes, and a phone number that will be answered in the client’s company name by Imperial’s reception. “Virtual office is an ideal platform for SMEs and entrepreneurs who are happy to work from home, but need some professional image and lend some credibility to their business,” Sinha added.

Imperial Servcorp’s serviced and virtual office packages have as little as a one-month term. At any given time, and between the Mumbai and Hyderabad locations, it serves more than 400 clients each in these two spaces. While the company is offering serviced offices for three-four people work space for Rs 40,000 a month in Hyderabad and for Rs 90,000 in Mumbai, it charges Rs 2,500 and Rs 3,000 in Hyderabad and Mumbai respectively for a month’s virtual office service.

Stating that the company was running a special offer where clients can try out its services in the first month for half the price with no further obligation, Sinha said 90 per cent of its virtual office and 60 per cent of its serviced office clients in Hyderabad were SMEs and entrepreneurs, while only 30 per cent of its serviced office clients in Mumbai were SMEs.