A bad decision for your location might jeopardize your prospective earnings, raise your expenses, and endanger the company's potential development. This article will help business owners who are attempting to figure out where their company should be based and how to pick the best location.
Seeking a location for business is a major factor to consider. Planning and conducting research, as well as a desire to thoroughly analyze all of your possibilities, are all important aspects of a business location strategy because with good site decisions, your company's long-term performance can be considerably boosted.
Below is a compiled list of the best cities to put up a business in Metro Manila.
Makati Central Business District
© Ayala Land
As the name states, it is the prime business district in the Philippines. It is well renowned for being a forward-thinking commercial and operations that are related to different kinds of businesses. Makati CBD encloses a variety of prominent local and international enterprises — as declared by the city of Makati, 40 percent of the top 1,000 multinational and local firms have their headquarters here, along with 400 bank branches and over 1,000 BPO operations.
Bonifacio Global City (BGC), Taguig
© Top Realty
Bonifacio Global City is a strategic location for businesses across a variety of industries. The city provides the company and its employees with a comfortable and secure working environment, not to mention its accessibility to malls, restaurants, and various establishments for leisure. This stands as a great edge for setting up offices in Bonifacio Global City.
Wide, open areas prevail in BGC, which enterprises may take advantage of. This top-tier hub for business also caters to commercial establishments and office buildings accredited with LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) which contributes to energy and water efficiency, indoor air quality, and CO2 emissions reduction.
Ortigas Center, Pasig City
© Asiatikstic
Ortigas Center is an ideal district for start-ups to consider when it comes to accessibility as major roads and transportation such as EDSA, MRT, C-5, and the future Metro Manila Subway Project.
Aside from its convenient location, office spaces for lease in Ortigas Center belong to the most affordable and lowest office locations in the metro, averaging PHP 600-790 per sqm. The vacancy rate is at 19.3% in 2021 and may approach 30% in 2022. KMC Savills believes there will be a rise of 300,000 sqm - 100,000 sqm office space for completion until 2024. Ortigas is also eyed for upcoming redevelopment and township programs by Ayaland, Megaworld, and SMDC.
Quezon City
© Sweet Escape
Due to the rise of co-working spaces, WFH, and Hybrid set-ups, Quezon City continues to become an emerging ideal office location for start-up businesses, especially for those who are planning to generate a labor pool from Northern Manila, such as Caloocan, Valenzuela, and Bulacan.
According to KMC Savills, traditional office spaces in the area in 2021 average PHP753.80 per sqm per month and are heavily influenced by its low vacancy rate of 18.6%. Along with that, Quezon City has an accessibility edge with its North EDSA stations and future train exchanges of LRT 1, MRT 2, and MRT 7. Quezon City, therefore, becomes a golden opportunity for aspiring entrepreneurs to start their small businesses.
The cities on our list have many things in common: large metropolitan areas that boast affordable office rates and solid transportation options, giving them an advantage over smaller and rural business districts in the country.
With the rise of affordable office spaces, Makati, BGC, Ortigas, and Quezon City are projected to be key business hubs post-COVID-19.
References:
Dumlao-Abadilla (2021). NCR office vacancy rates feared to hit new highs in 2022 Retrieved from https://business.inquirer.net/335052/ncr-office-vacancy-rates-feared-to-hit-new-highs-in-2022
KMC Savills (2021). NCR office vacancy worsens in Q3 with more firms working remotely, POGO departures. Retrieved from https://www.cnnphilippines.com/business/2021/11/24/KMC-Savills-Metro-Manila-office-report-Q3.html
Makati Web Portal. (2017). Doing Business: Why Invest in Makati. Retrieved from https://www.makati.gov.ph/cms/business/doing-business/42?content=3321
W Group Inc. (2021, June 28). Iconic BGV tower W CityCenter secures LEED Gold Certification. https://wgroup.com.ph/news/w-city-center-leed-gold-certification/
Talavera (September 2021). Ortigas Center registers highest vacancy among business districts in Q2 2021. Retrieved from https://propertyreport.ph/commercialoffices/2021/09/03/22413/ortigas-center-registers-highest-vacancy-among-business-districts-in-q2-2021/