Press Releases

New figures released today by Lexmark International reveal that the average cost of a square metre of space in Britain has reached a staggering high of £1,709. In London, the cost is almost double the average at £3,182 - meaning that a tiny studio in Central London could be costing you as much per square metre as the Beckham’s Essex palace, where the cost of space is only £1,628. Size it seems really does matter!

For the increasing majority who enjoy the luxury of working from home (1.9million of us – that’s 87% more than in 1997), you can expect to pay up to £3,182 in London, simply for the space to store your office equipment! Forget the humble homeworker up in the attic with an old typewriter, in today’s technology driven age, homeworkers have an abundance of office equipment – computer, fax, printer, scanner and phone - all taking up at least a metre of precious space worth over £1,500 (UK average £1,709).

Lexmark’s research reveals that Yorkshire offers the best value in terms of cost of space at only £1,155 per sq. metre, a third of the London cost – should local Yorkshire celebrities Gareth Gates and Spice Girl Mel B be tempted to move back to their roots for some song writing, the space for a home office would cost them a mere £1,155, leaving plenty of change for a second swimming pool or yoga room!

The research also shows that over two thirds (64.5%) of home office workers can’t even make the most of the limited space that they have, with their offices having to double up as a dining rooms or kids’ playrooms, meaning they waste time everyday unpacking and packing up their work and office equipment to make space.

Lucy Parsons, Marketing Operations Manager, Consumer Printer Division says, "We are very aware of the space restrictions encountered by people who work from home and Lexmark have developed devices, such as the new X5150, in direct response to the needs of this group. Because the X5150 is an All-In-One Desktop Solution offering printing, one touch copying and scanning, it can save homeworkers over £1,000 worth of space. The number of homeworkers in Britain has increased by 87% since 1997, but we’ve seen the pressures on them such as the cost of space and amount of equipment that they need increase massively."

"People are increasingly choosing to work from home in order to spend more time with their families and avoid wasting precious time commuting," says Alan Denbigh from the UK Telework Association. "But although not having to cram onto the 8.20am train in the morning sounds idyllic, many people find themselves in just such overcrowded conditions at home, that they may even be more crammed in their home office than on a busy train! Before deciding to work from home, we encourage people to plan where and how they are going to work and to think carefully about the office equipment they buy to fit it in the often limited space they have."

To cheer up home office workers across the UK, Lexmark has put together a few handy hints to make the best out of your office space:

• Keep a fruit bowl on your desk to help maintain your vitamin and energy levels
• Get a portable TV to you can keep up to date with the latest news and weather reports
• Amalgamate your space guzzling office equipment into one trendy, compact All-in-One device from Lexmark which allows you to print, scan, copy and fax – why have four devices, when you can have one, plus it only costs you £316 in space
• Keep tidy – pack any document that you haven’t looked at in 6 months and place them in the attic to free up space. Or use your All in One to scan your old documents and file onto a CD.
• Swap your large PC for a laptop - that way when the kids need to use your study you can be flexible and move elsewhere.

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