Office Strip-Out London: Cat A Return and Cost

Every fit-out eventually comes out. When a lease ends, when a new tenant wants a blank canvas or when a floor is being prepared for a major refurbishment, the existing fit-out has to be removed safely, cleanly and in line with the building's rules. We carry out office strip-outs across London, from removing a few meeting rooms to returning whole floors to Cat A, and we coordinate the work with dilapidations obligations so the floor is handed back in the condition the lease requires.

What is removed in an office strip-out?

A strip-out usually removes the tenant's Cat B items, including:

• Partitions, doors and glazed meeting rooms
• Kitchens, tea points and breakout furniture
• Feature ceilings, bulkheads and lighting added by the tenant
• Tenant floor finishes and floor boxes
• Data and power cabling in the floor void
• Comms rooms and supplementary air conditioning
• Signage, manifestation and branding
• Furniture and storage

What stays depends on the lease and agreement with the landlord. Often the base-build items, the raised floor, ceiling grid, main air conditioning and fire systems, stay in place and are repaired or reinstated as part of the Cat A return. See Cat A fit-outs in London.

Work out a budget for your own floor area, scope and location with our office fit-out cost calculator.

Strip-out to Cat A vs strip-out to shell

How strip-out links to dilapidations

At the end of a lease, the landlord will usually serve a schedule of dilapidations listing what must be removed, repaired and reinstated. Strip-out is often the largest single item. Doing the work yourself, before the lease ends, can be cheaper than paying a claim, but only if it is done to the standard the lease requires and agreed with the landlord. Our guides to office dilapidations, the schedule of dilapidations and what dilapidations are explain the process, and our guide to VAT on dilapidations covers tax.

How long does an office strip-out take?

Programme depends on building rules, working hours, lift access, waste routes and how much reinstatement is needed. Planning the work three to six months before lease end gives time to agree scope with the landlord.

Safety, surveys and building rules

• Asbestos: in older buildings, a refurbishment and demolition asbestos survey may be needed before strip-out.
• Services isolation: power, water and gas must be safely isolated and capped.
• Fire systems: fire alarm and sprinkler systems must remain operational or be managed with the building.
• Building rules: London buildings often restrict noisy work to evenings and weekends, and control loading bays and lifts.
• Waste: waste must be removed by licensed carriers and documented.

Reducing waste in a strip-out

We aim to keep as much as possible out of landfill:

• Furniture reused, resold or donated
• Demountable partitions taken down for reuse. See demountable office partitions.
• Carpet tiles recycled through manufacturer schemes where possible
• Metals, timber, plasterboard and cabling separated for recycling

Strip-out before a refurbishment

Strip-out is also the first stage of most major refurbishments. Clearing the floor allows the new fit-out to be designed and built efficiently. See office refurbishment cost and office design and build.

Strip-out when relocating

If you are moving offices, strip-out of the old office often runs alongside the fit-out of the new one. Coordinating both with one team avoids gaps and duplication. See office relocation in London.

What a strip-out quote should include

• Survey and method statement
• Isolation and making safe of services
• Removal of the agreed items
• Protection of retained base-build elements
• Waste removal, segregation and documentation
• Cleaning at completion
• Optional reinstatement and redecoration
• Out-of-hours working where required

Who manages the strip-out?

In a lease-end strip-out, the tenant usually appoints the team carrying out the works, often with input from its dilapidations surveyor, and the landlord's building manager controls access, loading bay slots and working hours. We liaise with the building manager from the start, submit method statements and risk assessments, and agree inspection points with the landlord's surveyor so the finished floor is accepted without dispute.

Common strip-out pitfalls

• Starting too late and running past the lease end, which can create further liability
• Removing items the landlord wanted to keep, such as meeting rooms an incoming tenant could use
• Damaging retained base-build items, then paying to repair them
• Leaving redundant cabling in the floor void
• Not documenting the finished condition with photos before handing back the keys

Strip-out in occupied buildings

Most London office buildings are multi-let, so strip-out happens while other tenants are working on the floors above and below. Noise, dust and waste removal are controlled tightly. Noisy work such as breaking out partitions is often limited to evenings and weekends, waste is bagged and removed through agreed routes, and lifts are protected. Planning these constraints into the programme from the start avoids delays and complaints.

Should the landlord keep some of the fit-out?

Incoming tenants increasingly prefer fitted or part-fitted space, so landlords sometimes ask outgoing tenants to leave meeting rooms, kitchens or cabling in place. If that is agreed, it can reduce your strip-out and reinstatement costs significantly. Any agreement should be in writing, ideally recorded in the dilapidations settlement, so you are not later asked to remove items you left at the landlord's request.

Strip-out and business continuity

When strip-out is part of a refurbishment of your own office, rather than a lease exit, the business often needs to keep working. Phased strip-out, temporary partitions, dust screens and careful IT planning keep disruption to a minimum.

Keeping the building open during a strip-out

In a multi-let London building, the other occupiers and the managing agent judge a strip-out by noise, dust and lift disruption. We agree noisy hours with the building manager before work starts, protect common parts and the goods lift, and plan waste collections so skips or cages are not left on the street. Where the floor sits above a live tenancy, heavy breaking-out is often limited to early mornings, evenings or weekends. Building these restrictions into the programme from day one avoids stop notices from the landlord and keeps the strip-out on its planned dates.

Get a strip-out quote

We survey the floor, review your lease obligations with you and give you a fixed written quote for strip-out and, where needed, reinstatement. Request a quote through our form.

Frequently asked questions

Related guides

• Office Fit-Out Cost per Sq Ft and per m² in London (2026)
• Cat A vs Cat B Fit Out: What’s the Difference? (2026)
• Demountable Office Partitions: Cost and Reuse
• Office Flooring London: Options and Cost per m²
• Office Refurbishment Cost: London and UK Prices (2026)
• Office Fit-Out Cost Calculator London (2026)
• Office refurbishment and fit-out in London
• Areas of London we cover