Jon Hunt, who made £375 million when he sold his real estate brokerage firm Foxtons Ltd., has invested some of his fortune creating a line of luxury office properties in various locations across London. The first office of the Dryland Business Members’ Club will open on Kensington High Street in West London, this month. The 58-year-old is looking to appeal to entrepreneurs who do not necessarily want to commit to a commercial property lease.
Membership in this Club definitely has its privileges. Along with high-speed Wi-Fi, members can access the premises around the clock. A chauffeured Maserati is also available.
This type of flexible workspace arrangement is becoming an increasingly popular option for entrepreneurs who need to have some type of office space but who don’t necessarily spend all (or even most) of their time behind a desk. Mobile devices and cloud computing are the order of the day for many business models, and it can make more sense to pay for only the level of service that an entrepreneur needs, as opposed to having a fully staffed commercial property at the ready if it is not being used regularly.
The Dryland Business Members’ Club offers three different levels of monthly membership. The least expensive one costs £139 per calendar month (pcm), which gives the member access to the Club’s lounges. The midrange option costs £799 pcm and includes a cubicle which the member can access on a daily basis. Members who wish to rent a private office suite will pay £1,299 per month.
The Club in Kensington High Street is about one-third full and will likely take two years to reach its full occupancy of 500 commercial tenants. The net annual rent at that occupancy level will be somewhere around £4 million, which is twice as much as it would generate if Hunt was operating it as a regular leased commercial property.
The next Dryland Business Members’ Club will open in central London’s Holborn district. The building is located near the city’s law courts, and is expected to be a popular choice for solicitors and accountants looking for office space.
