The Bureaux offers allocated desk space, private office suites and meeting rooms to rent in Woodstock, Cape Town CBD, Sea Point and The Water Club making up around 7,500m2 of entrepreneur-focused work space. Greg Beadle tells us about Bureaux Black, their latest premium space in Sea Point.
How did your business start?
The Bureaux started as an idea popping into my head at 2am one morning mid-2012. I got out of bed, wrote down the ideas and, as the business continues to grow rapidly, those pillars still stand firm today.
Why did you choose this area to set up shop?
We identified Sea Point as an area of high demand for serviced office space and co-working nodes. Our members mostly live in Sea Point, Fresnaye and Bantry Bay, with others commuting from Camps Bay, Llandudno, Hout Bay and the Southern Suburbs.
How did you find your premises?
We have strong relationships with landlords around Cape Town and always try to start working with them early on in the development stages of new buildings to ensure we have the optimal setup. We believe location is paramount to our members, offering them convenience, productivity and the perfect environment to focus on their business. On average we look at four potential new sites a month.
Why are the premises ideally suited to your business?
The Point Centre provides the perfect habitat for us with underground parking, a wide range of retailers, 
coffee shops, eateries, a gym, doctors and wellness specialists. Our views across the Atlantic Ocean are possibly the best in South Africa. 24/7 access, security, fibre-optic internet ensuring high speed internet service, and a dedicated reception service, round off the best possible premises for serviced office space.
Who are your neighbours?
RSAWeb, Berman Brothers Group, BUC Fitness Club, Knead, Bootlegger Coffee Company, Sorbet, Vodacom, Nedbank and Discovery.
What are the shop rentals like in this area?
Being a redevelopment building, the rentals are probably the highest in the area. That being said, the building is fully occupied, so all tenants see fair value in the rental rates.
What is your foot traffic?
We have a large amount of prospective members walking in on a daily basis to consider working from The Bureaux. Word of mouth from our existing tenants tends to attract most of our new members.
Do you have any expansion plans?
We are looking to expand within Cape Town as well as further afield within the next 12 months.
Do you operate online as well?
We offer virtual memberships on top of our normal rentals. Virtual Members are given access to our address for business address and mailing purposes, as well as reception services for VoIP lines if necessary. This specific tenant never needs to set foot in our space.
What’s your most popular offering?
Most of our members choose The Bureaux as their flexible work habitat as we include all our services in one rate rather than, as our competitors do, add on extra charges for services like using meeting rooms, internet usage and kitchen access – complicating what should be a simplified working environment. Also, our standard office notice period is three months and allocated desk rentals work on a month-to-month notice basis.
079 517 6357 / 087 470 0369
Words: Kit Heathcock | Images: Supplied
