office space
Office Space is the physical room, whether one desk or a whole floor, that a business rents or owns to carry out its work.
In plain English
"Oga, why are we still paying rent for that big office in Victoria Island when half the staff work from home now?" Adaeze asked her business partner over the phone.
"Because clients still need somewhere to meet us, and the lease has two years left anyway," he replied, sighing.
That short exchange captures what office space really is. It is more than four walls and air conditioning. It is a business decision that costs money every single month, whether the desks are full or empty.
In Lagos, a small fintech startup might rent two rooms in a serviced building in Ikeja for ₦800,000 a month, sharing a receptionist and a generator with other tenants. In London, a law firm might sign a ten year lease on a whole floor near Canary Wharf, paying rent that runs into hundreds of thousands of pounds a year, because being close to clients and courts matters to them.
For the Nigerian in the diaspora sending money home to a sibling starting a consulting business, this word matters more than it seems. That sibling might ask for help covering rent for a small office in Lekki, and understanding what office space really means, the lease terms, the size, the location, helps you ask better questions before the money leaves your account.
A digital marketing agency in Abuja rents 500 square feet of office space for ₦1.2 million a year, paid quarterly at ₦300,000 per quarter, with a two year lease and a clause that rent rises by 10 percent at renewal.
Questions people ask
Is office space the same as a shop or a warehouse?
No. A shop is built for customers to walk in and buy things, and a warehouse is built for storage, while office space is built mainly for people to sit, meet, plan and work at desks or in meeting rooms.
Can a small business avoid renting a full office?
Yes, many small businesses in Nigeria now use co working spaces or serviced offices, where you pay for a desk or a small room inside a shared building, which is far cheaper than renting a whole floor on your own.
What should someone check before signing an office lease?
Look closely at the lease length, the rent review clause that decides how much rent can rise later, who pays for electricity and generator diesel, and whether the location is convenient for staff and clients.
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