Avanta – a short history
January 2004. Avanta founded by executives with extensive business centre / serviced office sector experience. Avanta’s mission: to acquire buildings and convert them into quality serviced offices with excellent facilities, including meeting and training rooms and virtual offices .
April 2004. First management contract won, to run the development and letting of “The Space” serviced offices in London W1. This central London business centre proved very popular and the serviced offices – from entire floors to executive suites – were soon fully occupied.
May 2004. 83 Victoria Street acquired freehold for development as serviced offices in London SW1. The first serviced office phase opened in December 2004, with phase two ready in October 2005. High quality meeting and training roomsvirtual office base for many clients. Serviced office occupants now include oil companies and government departments.
June 2004. Avanta acquires a 15 year lease on 131-151 Gt Titchfield Street, known as Media Village , to create serviced offices in London W1. This business centre is a creative hotbed for music, media, fashion and technology companies and provides a variety of suites and large offices, as well as meeting and training rooms. The business centre also includes Avanta’s private members club , which is a complementary bonus to all Avanta clients.
July 2005. 10 Margaret Street acquired on a 10 year lease to provide a further 9,500 sq feet of London W1 office space. The serviced office building is full of quaint period features, which were retained during the refurbishment process. The result is a distinctive business centre in London W1 that’s especially popular with media, recruitment and technology companies.
September 2005. Avanta acquired 6 out of 11 floors at 1 Hammersmith Grove on a 15 year lease. These modern serviced offices in London W6 overlook Lyric Square in Hammersmith’s bustling thoroughfare. Close by is Hammersmith tube station which links directly to Central London and Heathrow via the Piccadilly line.
November 2005. 48 Charlotte Street acquired freehold and transformed into quality serviced offices in London W1 , amongst the cosmopolitan shops and restaurants of Charlotte Street, W1. The business centre’s location is also know as “Noho” which for many years has been a popular district with London’s arts, media and music community.
December 2005. Avanta acquired 18 Hanover Square , an elegant 6 storey Mayfair building in one of London’s most prestigious business locations. It was refitted to a high standard as serviced offices, complete with meeting and training rooms, and opened in March 2006. Interest in this highly desirable Mayfair business centre was high from the start and remains so today in this attractive corner of London W1, close to Regent Street. were incorporated into the Victoria business centre and subsequently into all others. It also serves as a popular
January 2006. Avanta acquires 31 Southampton Row on a 15 year lease, to provide serviced offices in Holborn , London WC1. This period building opened in June 2006, with fully refurbished serviced offices and meeting rooms overlooking the cafes of Sicilian Avenue. Holborn tube station is close to the Southampton Row business centre, providing fast links to the city, the West End and Heathrow.
November 2006. Avanta acquires the remaining 5 floors of 1 Hammersmith Grove , thereby expanding its serviced offices in London W6. The centre also provides popular meeting and training rooms close to Heathrow and is the hub of Avanta’s virtual office operations, housing dedicated virtual PAs who answer calls to virtual office clients’ dedicated numbers.
January 2007. Dukesbridge House is acquired in the prime centre of Reading. This is Avanta’s first move outside of London, giving them serviced offices in Reading RG1. Meeting and training rooms will also feature in the Reading business centre , which is located in a quiet street, overlooking the river and a minute’s walk from Reading’s Oracle shopping and entertainment complex.
June 2007. Avanta opens further serviced offices in London W1, in Regent Street. Overlooking Oxford Circus, the Regent Street serviced office centre provides Avanta’s customary high quality accommodation and services; as well as meeting and training rooms that are a few seconds’ walk from one of London Underground’s most important hubs - where the Central, Victoria and Bakerloo lines intersect.
July 2007. Hot on the heels of the Regent Street Business centre comes Avanta’s second serviced office development outside of the capital. 65 Church Street provides serviced offices in Birmingham B3, which is the city’s newly regenerated jewellery quarter. This is an extremely fashionable business district that’s a short walk from the city centre. The new business centre offers grade A accommodation, including highly equipped meeting and training rooms.
August 2007. Avanta extends its serviced office presence to the City by opening 23 Austin Friars. This prestigious business centre in London EC2 combines an elegant 19th century façade with a spectacular new build interior that houses extensive serviced offices and meeting and training rooms. Set in one of the City’s finest locations it’s part of a powerful axis of Avanta service office centres that now extends across London.
October 2007. The company launches another first for the serviced office sector, the Avanta Concierge Service, a unique new offer for clients across all Avanta’s business centres which enables them to be a phone-call away from a dedicated helpdesk who are available round-the-clock to meet clients’ everyday needs.
December 2007. Avanta has acquired a 9,000 sq ft office development at Royal Mills , Ancoats Urban Village, Manchester, close to the City’s cosmopolitan Northern Quarter. The building is owned by Kenmore Property Group and enjoys a prime city centre location, in close proximity to key retail, commercial and nightlife zones, whilst situated on the doorstep of the transport hubs of Piccadilly and Victoria stations. The building is also adjacent to the inner ring road, with fast motorway access.
January 2008. Avanta opens new business centre Royal Mills , Ancoats Urban Village. The company also acquires an 8,800 sq ft office building in Edinburgh City centre from Fidra Investments Limited for £1.85 million, which it will operate as a serviced office. The building is based on Hanover Street in the City centre, a five minute walk from Waverley train station and St Andrew Square bus terminal. The main shopping area of Princes Street is on the doorstep, along with the many bars and shops on George Street. Avanta acquires Capital Place office building on the A4 Bath Road, opposite Heathrow Airport , for £12.2 million from Capital & Counties.
March 2008. Avanta unveils its latest building at MIPIM (Europe’s Largest property event); Grove House, Orange Street , in the heart of London’s West End. Stars from sport and the screen joined Avanta on board their yacht during MIPIM to celebrate the launch of the Avanta Race Day due to take place at renowned race course, Kempton Park, in England on 22nd September 2008.April 2008. Avanta launches Grove House based in the heart of the West End, 2 Orange Street, W2, offering over 15,000 sq ft of prime serviced office space over five floors. Grove House is a modern serviced office centre that places you right in the heart of London, close to Trafalgar Square, Leicester Square, Whitehall and the Strand. There are 5 floors of modern, furnished office space, with an impressive reception and basement parking. Avanta also launches a new look easy to use website which aims to give browsers faster and more user-friendly access to the key information on the business centres, virtual office and meeting and training room facilities offered by the company.
May 2008. Avanta officially opens its latest business centre, the 51,000 sq ft Capital Place building on the A4 Bath Road, opposite Heathrow Airport. Situated directly opposite the world’s busiest international airport and between junctions 3 and 4 of the M4, Capital Place also enjoys excellent public transport links such as the Heathrow Express and Piccadilly Line underground services from Hatton Cross. Occupiers in the building will also be able to enjoy fresh coffee to kick-start their day, courtesy of a café situated close to the building’s reception.
Avanta also launches its business centre in Harrow. Over 100 guests attended the official opening of the centre at 79 College Road, Harrow, which provides 43,000 sq ft of high quality office space. The newly refurbished building is situated in a prominent position in Harrow, on the south side of College Road, immediately adjacent to the entrance to Harrow on the Hill bus station terminal. It has the additional benefit of multi-story parking facilities adjacent to the rail station and a short distance to the town’s local amenities.
Avanta appoints Sean Morgan to head up its international expansion strategy. Sean joins Avanta from Regus, where he was Operations Director for Regus in its Asia Pacific Region and more recently looking after its India operations. He takes up the position of Managing Director of Middle East and India for Avanta. He will work closely alongside Chief Executive David Alberto, who has spent a year building relationships and developing opportunities in these new markets.
June 2008. Avanta signs two leases on buildings in the centre of Delhi and Mumbai as it embarks on a major expansion drive into the Indian market.
Serviced office company Avanta has opened its first business centre in Scotland. Based in the heart of Edinburgh, the 8,000 sq ft building on Hanover Street, offers prime serviced office space for organisations looking for high quality, competitively priced managed business space in the heart of Scotland’s capital city
Avanta makes a statement of intent with its commitment to customer service by becoming the first serviced office company in the UK to join the ICS (Institute of Customer Service). The ICS is the independent professional body for customer service, setting the benchmark for standards of excellence in customer service levels and recognising organisations ranging from local authorities to blue chip companies, who can demonstrate that they work to these stringent standards.
July 2008. England rugby legend Jason Leonard OBE, the country’s most capped player of all time, has pledged his support, along with one of racing’s all-time greats, Richard Dunwoody MBE to the Sparks Race Day, sponsored by Avanta. Both personalities will be attending the event, with more big names expected to be confirmed ahead of the date.
August 2008. Avanta has signed on Saunders House, 52-53 The Mall, Ealing Broadway, West London which will enable the company to deliver over 16,700 sq ft of prime office space across four floorsAvanta signs a five year lease on 20 Hanover Square. The Grade 2 listed building will provide 20,000 sq ft of office space over four floors, and adjoins 18 Hanover Square, which Avanta already operates 20,000 sq ft as a serviced office business centre.September 2008. Avanta launches 21,000 sq ft Statesman House, first business centre in New Delhi. Over 100 people attended the event which included a comedian and dancers. Statesman House is situated within Delhi’s prime business district, half an hour form the domestic and international airports and just a short distance from the railway station.
September 2008. Avanta establishes a new specialist team in India to facilitate the company’s ambitious expansion drive into this new market. The London-based company has embarked on a major recruitment drive and has built a team of 20 full time people who will be based across Avanta’s new business centres in India. Avanta also launches the first of its serviced office centres in India at Statesman House, Connaught Place, New Delhi, India. The building is ideally located in New Delhi`s prime business district, half-an-hour from the domestic and international airports and a short distance from the railway station. The main shopping area of Connaught Place is on the doorstep, along with a variety of restaurants and bars.
Avanta launches its ‘Switch it Off’ campaign where occupiers are encouraged to switch off all electrical appliances such as computers, photocopiers, fax machines and lighting at night and over the weekend to save on energy levels and work on becoming more environmentally friendly.
Avanta sponsored the annual Sparks Race Day where over 200 people from the property industry descended on Kempton Park and helped raise £15,000 for Sparks Children’s Charity. Guests were joined by a host of stars from the world of sport, including England rugby legend and most capped English player in history, Jason Leonard and England winger, Dan Scarborough, snooker great John Virgo, TV racing experts Mike Cattermole and Nigel Seeley.
The event was supported by a wide range of companies including Kenmore, Instant Offices and Colliers CRE. In addition to a packed afternoon’s racing and networking, guests enjoyed a champagne reception and lunch, and had an opportunity to bid for star prizes in an auction hosted by Charlie Ross. Lots included a luxury holiday in Barbados, a day at the races with the Channel 4 Racing team and dinner with Sir Steven Redgrave.
October 2008. Avanta signed a deal with owners Rockpoint Europe to let 29,000 sq ft of prime office space over two floors on the Devonshire Square Estate, London EC2 opposite Liverpool St Station, its second city building. Notable occupiers include Aon, Societe Generale, Standard Life and Hammonds.
Avanta announces a partnership with the United States’ leading provider of virtual office support applications Davinici, to make their unique package of services available to UK businesses for the first time. Davinci Virtual delivers virtual office solutions to over 4000 companies across all 50 states of America, Canada and Central America. This is the first partnership arrangement with a UK company which introduces their product to this market.
November 2008. Avanta opens Saunders House in Ealing, West London. The new 17,000 sq ft Saunders House business centre offers grade ‘A’ office space across four floors, and is located in Ealing Broadway, on the doorstep of the tube station and mainline rail station. It is the 6th new business centre to open in the UK in 2008.
Avanta reaffirmed its commitment to customer service by taking part in a special week designed to raise awareness of customer service and the vital role it plays within an organisation. In National Customer Service Week, Avanta’s business centres across the UK rolled out the red carpet for clients by organising a free raffle and ‘guess the number of sweets’ in the jar competition, handing out chocolates and pastries and generally spoiling their clients for the week,
Avanta introduces a unique computer power saving device which helps reduce CO2 use across its business centres in the UK. The ecobutton™ is an illumination USB device that acts as a reminder for the user to press it every time the computer is going to be left idle. When pressed the computer goes into ‘ecomode’ and operates more efficiently when not in use. Avanta aims to offer the ecobutton™ to its clients across all its UK centres, with around 4400 computers potentially being fitted with the device.
December 2008. Avanta helps children’s charity Sparks raise almost £150,000 at its prestigious annual Winter Ball. A long-standing supporter of Sparks, Avanta was a sponsor of the gala evening at the London Hilton hotel. Over 800 people attended the event with special guest of honour Sparks’ Royal Patron, HRH Princess Michael of Kent, who was joined by an array of sporting heroes and celebrities. All the money raised by the event will help fund pioneering research that has a practical, positive impact on the lives of babies and small children.
Sparks is at the forefront of cutting edge research into oxygen deprivation at birth and some of the money raised at the Ball will support that research. Previous research funded by Sparks led to the development of the Cooling Cap, now widely used in the NHS, which has reduced the number of babies who die or suffer severe brain damage as a result of birth asphyxiation.
See also
See Also:
