Many business owners will not consider a commercial property lease without first checking broadband speeds.
A Censuswide survey for CityFibre in Scotland found that two thirds of business owners questioned say that high speed broadband is a vital requirement for new business premises.More than 90% of decision makers in the IT, legal and finance sectors said they would not sign a lease before checking connectivity. Over a quarter of firms are dependent on cloud-based storage and apps and would suffer lost business and reduced productivity if internet access fails.
The chief executive of CityFibre, Greg Mesch said:
“Businesses need to stay ahead of the competition, so the ability to adopt new technologies and thrive digitally is critical. Our economy runs on the internet, which makes connectivity as important as a prime location.”
He said that many areas of the UK do not have decent connectivity. He urged commercial property owners to make sure that their buildings have high-speed broadband before finding tenants.
Craig Watson of JLL in Edinburgh commented:
“From our experience across the regions, it is clear that broadband availability and speed is starting to become one of the most important factors when choosing an office, often ahead of the occupational cost.”
Commercial landlords have a lot of considerations when making property purchasing decisions. They need commercial mortgages at good interest rates, property in the right location where rents are high, and now they need to add good broadband connectivity to this list.
