International city business running costs revealed
Industry experts have created an infographic showing the different business running costs for a selection of the world’s major cities.
Whilst London came out as the most expensive in the world to rent office space, the capital proved competitive when it came to other business amenities.
The experts at LondonOffices compiled various different costs associated with running or working for a business in London and compared them with other major cities around the planet.
Across the board, London came out on top in the rankings ahead of Moscow, Tokyo, New York and Rio de Janeiro in that order.
Just missing out on a spot in the top five were Hong Kong, followed by Paris, Beijing, Sydney and, in tenth place, New Delhi.
Researchers looked at factors ranging from the cost of office space to the price of a cappuccino and a business lunch.
In the Australian capital parking charges could set you back a massive £15 per hour. New York came second £13 per hour.
Despite being the most expensive city to lease office space, the cost of flexible work space in London (serviced offices and hot desking) compared favourably.
When it came to serviced office space, priced on a per workstation basis, Moscow, topped the list at £990 per workstation per month, closely followed by Rio, £945, Tokyo, £941, and then London at £698 per workstation per month
With regards to business amenities, London was the joint most expensive city for business lunches with the average per head cost coming out at £12. It shared the top spot with Paris.
London also proved extremely competitive for the average one-night stay in a hotel. At an average £128 per night the capital came seventh. The most expensive city was Rio with an average of £205 per night.
Alec Ryan, LondonOffices spokesperson, said: “We naturally assume that because London has the highest office prices in the world, it will top the list for other business costs.
“As our infographic shows, this is not the case. If you take car-parking charges for example hourly parking charges are more than twice as much in Sydney as they are in London.
“Similarly London came out as very reasonable for hotel accommodation, coming seventh out of ten.
“However there is no getting away from the fact that the capital is still a very expensive place to do business.
“This is both a blessing and a curse in equal measures. Firstly, it shows that people from all over the world want to do business in our capital. This demand is reflected in the high prices.
“On the downside however, is the cost for smaller businesses trying to set up in the capital. The cost of accommodating your office in London and managing the increased expenditure that goes with being based there could price some businesses out of the city. However, serviced offices could offer the solution.”
