CORT furniture rental
Harvard Business Centres Case Study
February 2009
Harvard Offices Finds An
Innovative Furniture Solution
With CORT Furniture Rental
Flexible furnishing solution proves ideal for
serviced office provider’s needs
When Harvard Office Business Centres needed to
move its central London location from Piccadilly to
very
Heddon Street, a key concern was to find a flexible
solution to furnishing its new 190-workstation building.
Founded in 1990, Harvard Office Business Centres
is an innovative provider of serviced office space with
two locations – one on Heddon Street in London’s
West End, and one in Slough. The London office
adept
moved from a location overlooking Piccadilly Circus
in September due to the previous building being
redeveloped by landlord The Crown Estate, with the
majority of the clients making the move with Harvard. “A key factor was the
“We had previously owned all of our furniture,” says flexibility and level of
Philip Parris, chief executive of Harvard, “but this was service on offer, and CORT
more due to the fact that there had been few options has proven itself to be very
to rent items of a high enough quality. This all changed
when we got a call from CORT furniture rental.” adept in these two areas.”
Philip Parris continues: “Key to our requirement is
flexibility – the “a la carte” nature of our service means
that the layout must be adaptable to suit each client.
Allied to this is the fact that the Heddon Street building
is listed and the furniture must be of the highest quality
flexibility
finish to complement its surroundings.”
After Harvard had explained its exact needs, CORT
furniture rental came back with a range of options,
each designed to fulfil the criteria and provide the
necessary solution. The cornerstone of the winning
proposal was the Abak Environments desking from
Herman Miller, which provides a flexible system that
can be configured to individual clients’ requirements.
level of
service
These were combined with a range of seating options
office space, reception and meeting areas, as well as
storage solutions and meeting tables.
“Once we saw the
solutions that CORT
could provide, it became
a simple decision.”
The furniture has been taken on an innovative multi- furniture requirements. This is of particular importance
year flexible rental agreement designed to allow in the current economic climate, where rental offers
Harvard to scale their total furniture requirements an off balance-sheet furniture supply solution, with no
dependent on individual clients’ needs. capital expenditure required.
Philip Parris adds: “Once we saw the solutions that “At the same time, firms can take advantage of the
CORT could provide, it became a simple decision. A latest furnishing solutions, a continuity in our product
key factor was the flexibility and level of service on range should they wish to acquire more furniture, and
offer, and CORT has proven itself to be very adept in the peace of mind that comes from dealing with a firm
these two areas. We are actively working with CORT to backed by Berkshire Hathaway.”
identify opportunities to help each other further and we
would have absolutely no hesitation in recommending Harvard Office Business Centres is a founder member
their service to other firms.” of Locartis, a leading provider of outsourced office
space, facilities and services to corporate clients of
all types. Harvard’s locations, which are free of any
company branding, also feature high quality meeting
rooms and business lounges that are available to hire
for any length of time.
CORT furniture rental has the experience and ability to
cater to all business requirements and deliver furniture
solutions to all needs and timescales.
Roger Hollis, managing director of CORT furniture “we would have absolutely no
rental, comments: “We pride ourselves on not only
the flexibility of our service, but also the quality and
hesitation in recommending
availability of the furniture on offer, such as our their service to other firms.”
Herman Miller ranges. Our ability to adapt to clients’
requirements made us an excellent fit for Harvard
Office Business Centres.
For further information please visit
“Another element is price. While the key factors for www.cortfurniturerental.co.uk or contact:
Harvard were the flexibility and quality of the service Tim Swaddle, Sales Manager
on offer, many clients find that CORT furniture rental’s Tel: 020 8397 9344
solutions are a very cost-effective way to manage their Email: tim.swaddle@cortfurniturerental.co.uk
CORT furniture rental provides solutions to commercial property CORT is a Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK.A and BRK.B)
occupiers and landlords. All aspects of office furniture are serving more than 80% of the Fortune 500 companies. For more
provided, including reception suites, desks conference tables, than 35 years, CORT has been the leading provider of rental
storage facilities and chairs. furniture, accessories and related services in the “rent-to-rent”
furniture industry. CORT established operations in the UK in 2008
through its acquisition of Roomservice Group and has an expanding
global network of affiliates in more than 50 countries. www.cort.com