If you had read our previous blog “When Foreign Real Estate Investors See 3 Canadian Cities in the Top 3 in the World, More Will Follow“, you will recall that we mentioned that some foreign investors may not want to open a traditional office while exploring the market, but still want to have a visible presence in Canada. This is why they choose a serviced office or a virtual office in an upscale business centre.
A serviced office means a foreign investor can have a physical office for his or her local representative without the need for capital investment into such things office furniture, telephone systems or business equipment – like photocopiers and fax machines. These investors also do not need to hire a receptionist to answer calls or support staff to help with secretarial services or office management. At a business centre, office management is taken care of and they can pay for secretarial services as they need them. When they are not in their office, they can have their mail forwarded to them no matter where they are.
For a foreign investor who is looking for a presence in downtown Toronto (but does not want a physical office), he or she may look for a virtual office solution. They will not only have a business address, but they can have a local or a toll-free telephone number. They can also choose to get a VoIP extension with their virtual office – so that they can use it anywhere in the world and still appear to be in Toronto.
The other great part about being a tenant at a office business centre is the free access to boardrooms and meeting rooms. Foreign companies who have an office in a business centre can book a free boardroom for meeting with clients whenever they are in town. Even virtual office clients can arrange a meeting room at the location that is listed as their business address in Canada. But they only need to pay a small fee for this service when they do need it.
With more investment coming into Toronto because of its resilience in terms of real estate (residential and commercial) and its growing economy, foreign businesses will also begin to look at opening up in this new market. Having office options (other than traditional raw office space) can be an attractive proposition to those businesses who want a Canadian presences or head office, without the risk and expense of a long-term lease or capital investments.
