Nils Baker is a man with an idea who is reluctant to shout about it just in case it fails to become a runaway success – but he has managed to catch the attentions of an eclectic group of people who are convinced that his floating office concept is a winner.
Internet companies, a large bank, a gym, a chiropodist, a law firm, a boat charter company, a couple of parties looking for residences, a gallery and an estate agent representing restaurants and bars have all registered their interest.
Baker has managed to combine an interest in property – he was former MD of residential developer Optimum Space – with a passion for boats to create property investment company Waterspace. The company plans to design, build and manage a number of water-based properties including offices, housing and retail units.
The idea for the floating office came to him while he was still at Optimum. He was involved with a site in Hoxton that overlooked a canal. “We came up with the idea of having a showroom on a barge but the only options were too retro for a modern development,” he says. “So we looked into building one from scratch.”
Initially he spent his own capital on designs. He says: “It seemed too good to just be an idea, so I thought I would throw it all in and try it out.”
He set up Waterspace and was later joined by co-director Guy Manners-Spencer, previously of Hamptons. They obtained additional funding through private equity from property and law professionals.
He explains: “We have tried to apply property thinking to boats. We’re a property investment company, with the only difference being that our property floats.”
So far, feedback from both commercial agents and potential tenants has been encouraging.
By last summer, Waterspace had instructed architect Rogers Yacht Design to work on the design.
Mother’s master plan
When it came to drawing up the master plan for these properties, Baker’s mother played an important part, as she detests boats.
He took on board the following particular features she dislikes in design:
· Getting on board: people don’t like having to clamber up gangplanks and over guard rails.
· Room to move: most boats have very limited floor space, which is invariably cluttered. They have bulkheads every few metres and aren’t flat.
· Toilets: this is a big problem for lots of people on boats. Portable loos aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, especially in their office.
· The damp: condensation can be a concern, especially with steel hulls, making the whole boat feel cold and clammy. It also plays havoc with PCs.
· Headroom: a lack of this is always a problem.
· Temperature: boats can often get very cold in the winter, and very hot in the summer.
· Stability: a lot of people do get seasick, so lots of ballast is needed to prevent rocking and rolling.
· Light: portholes may be nice and waterproof but they don’t let in much light.
· Maintenance: some boats require an awful lot of cleaning and polishing and every once in a while they have to come out the water to be cleaned.
· The smell: foul water tanks and diesel tanks, if not sealed properly, can be particularly nasty.
Having addressed these issues, the next step will be to find long-term moorings from private landowners. “They’ve been positive, so far. There seems to be the view that something more has to be done with the river.”
He would eventually like to create an international business. “Nobody has done this before in volume. There are only one-offs,” he says.
Baker wants it to be commonplace for occupiers to pick up the phone and say, “I want to rent a mooring.”
He doesn’t think generating tenant demand will be a problem – making people aware will be the task. Some occupiers, however, may have concerns about working on water. Baker explains: “We have to overcome preconceptions. Living and working on a boat doesn’t have to be cold and damp. And there are benefits, such as fantastic views that change with the tides.”
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Can the Thames regain its glory? |
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Picture the scene: You wake up in your luxury pad and revel in its sundeck and river views as you have breakfast. Then you take a taxiboat down the Thames, past the numerous sturdy and stylish fibreglass homes and offices that have replaced the old-style houseboats that once littered its banks. If London wants to make the most of its development potential, it should look towards the Thames. Two hundred years ago, businessmen constructed a revolutionary new transport system on London’s river – barges. By 1885, 2,019 barges were in operation but by 1980 this figure had dwindled to 50. Worldwide there are many examples of making the most of water, including the floating islands of Lake Titicaca in Bolivia and the canals of Amsterdam. The present under-use of the UK’s most prominent river has prompted campaigning from action groups and the GLA is also keen to see the Thames regain some of its former glory. Transport for London operates a limited commuter service. A spokesman says it would consider going out to tender to increase supply if the demand materialised. He says: “The river used to be one of London’s busiest areas. There is definitely room for growth in services.” Roger Weston, who chairs the West London River Group, also believes that river transport could be increased, despite the tides and the fact that the meanderings of the river would make transport west of Chelsea Harbour difficult. He is in two minds about floating development. “In Hammersmith and Wandsworth, good residential development has come about. On the other hand, this obstructs the river. Floating structures must also be sure to leave bio-diversity unaffected.” Moorings are another issue. “Places are limited. Each has to be judged on its merits. But we do want to see more life on the Thames.” |
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Modernist surface area |
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Each floating fibreglass office will offer approximately 1,100 sq ft of useable space over two floors as well as sundecks. They will all have air conditioning, ADSL, telephone lines, mains power and mains sewerage and two office-standard toilets. Baker says: “The idea is that unless you look out of the window you shouldn’t know you’re on a boat.” He estimates the life-span of each vessel to be 50 years. They will be leased on a semi-service basis. And pricing? “It would be about 60% of what Regus would charge and within 10% of a traditional office,” he says. Leases will typically be one year and Waterspace will target marketing companies, advertising agencies and businesses that want “something unique”. He also intends to deal in residential boats at the upper end of the market that will avoid the problems of traditional houseboats – dry rot and instability. He says prices may be around £300,000. Vessels can be mass-produced, and each one would take nine weeks to build, which, as Baker points out, is much quicker than an office. The first vessel will be in the water for testing by mid-May and one will be afloat in London by June, although a location has yet to be chosen. |
