Its an interesting question. I'm a fan of renting, why tie yourself to a fixed premises, capital outlay, maintainace etc.
The rent becomes a monthly fixed cost, all the pressure is on the landlord and in the current climate, you can pick and choose your premises and drive a bargain.
Then theres always the flexibility, you upsize or downsize, you can find premises to suit.
Guess theory falls flat for manafacturing, maybe I'd think differently if I needed a factory