WE HAVE all received a meeting invitation which comes with complicated instructions on how to find the office - but they don’t usually include suggestions like “remember to pay the ferryman.”

That is a little more likely now though, with one newly refurbished office currently being offered for rent in Sussex. Said office is situated in the middle of a lake.

The octagonal property might look an unlikely place to do business but the vendors insist it is much better connected than the rural setting would indicate,

Brighton property firm Graves Jenkins advertises the office as a “unique opportunity to occupy a modern office building situated on a lake,” adding “The premises are open plan with pedestrian access via a wooden bridge with parking on-site.

“Despite the picturesque rural surrounds the premises are located close to town amenities and within a short drive to the M23 and Gatwick.”

Bruce Burgess, who has owned the property for five years,said the structure was built as an office for bailiffs, who would check the licences of fishermen who came to use the lake.

He explained: “There’s hot and cold water and a little kitchen and loo but there’s no telephone or broadband, whoever takes it will have to call BT.”

It can be found on a small rural road called Old Hollow, just one and a half miles from junction 10 of the M23 on the outskirts of Crawley.

The concrete island is reached by a thin wood-covered footbridge, which like the decking around the building has a guardrail at waist height.

That is a reassuring feature for anyone worried that walking to work on an icy winter’s day.