Office Fit-Out Cost Calculator London (2026)

Updated · By Office Refurbishment London

Cost calculator

A London office fit-out typically costs £60–£95 per sq ft for Cat A, £120–£200 for a standard Cat B fit-out and £220–£380 or more for a premium Cat B, excluding VAT, so a 5,000 sq ft standard Cat B fit-out is roughly £600,000 to £1 million. Enter your own floor area, scope, specification and location below for a budget range.

Estimate your fit-out budget

2026 London rates, excluding VAT unless you add it.

sq ft

Net internal area. 1,000 sq ft is about 93 m².

Scope
Specification level

Your estimate · Cat B · Standard

£750k–£1m

Per sq ft£150–£200
Per deskAdd a desk count
Floor area5,000 sq ft
Get a detailed quote

Rates used in the calculator

Rates used in the calculator
ScopeEssentialStandardPremium
Refurbishment£40–£55£55–£75£75–£95
Cat A£60–£70£70–£82£82–£95
Cat A+£95–£110£110–£125£125–£140
Cat B£120–£150£150–£200£220–£380
Design and build£130–£165£165–£215£235–£400

Rates are per sq ft of net internal area, in London, for 2026, excluding VAT. A downloadable copy of our benchmark rates and location premiums is available as a CSV file; you are welcome to cite it with a link to this page.

Choosing the right scope

Refurbishment suits teams staying in their current office: redecoration, new flooring, LED lighting, reconfigured meeting rooms and a better kitchen, often phased around people at work. Cat A is the landlord’s base finish: raised floors, ceilings, lighting, air conditioning and fire systems on an open floor. Cat A+, or plug and play, adds basic meeting rooms, a kitchen and furniture so smaller teams can move straight in. Cat B is the tenant’s own fit-out: partitions, meeting rooms, kitchens, furniture, IT, AV and branding. Design and build covers the same scope as Cat B, but space planning, design and construction come under one contract with one team, so the rate includes design and project management that would otherwise be separate professional fees. Our guide to Cat A vs Cat B explains who usually pays for what.

What the specification levels mean

Essential reuses as much as possible: sound partitions, ceilings and mechanical systems, standard carpet tiles and loose furniture. Standard is a well-finished modern office with new meeting rooms, a good tea point or kitchen, acoustic treatment and reconfigured power, data and air conditioning. Premium covers headquarters-quality schemes with bespoke joinery, extensive glazing, stone or timber finishes, feature lighting and high-end AV.

Why location changes the price

London estates have their own rules. In the City, Canary Wharf and around Broadgate, strict loading windows, waste rules and out-of-hours working add labour cost. Compared with a Farringdon, King’s Cross and Paddington baseline, expect about 15–20% more in the City of London, 18–22% at Canary Wharf, 12–18% around Liverpool Street and Bishopsgate and 10–15% in Westminster, while west London locations such as Hammersmith can be up to 10% lower.

What else to budget for

The calculator covers the construction and fit-out works. Most projects also need professional fees on traditionally procured jobs, furniture unless it is part of the brief, IT cabling, Wi-Fi, AV and security systems, and the landlord’s legal and surveyor fees for a licence for alterations. Allow a contingency for surprises in older buildings, and plan for reinstatement at the end of your lease: our guide to office dilapidations explains why.

From estimate to quote

An estimate is the right starting point for a budget conversation with your board or landlord. A reliable price needs a survey of your space and a clear brief. Send us your floor area, timescale and requirements, and we will survey the space and return a detailed, itemised quote that lists every inclusion and exclusion. Read more about office fit-out costs per sq ft in London or how to choose an office fit-out company.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a 5,000 sq ft office fit-out cost in London?
About £300,000–£475,000 for Cat A, £600,000–£1 million for a standard Cat B fit-out and £1.1–£1.9 million for a premium Cat B, excluding VAT and professional fees.
Is design and build more expensive than a traditional fit-out?
The rate per sq ft is slightly higher because it includes design, space planning and project management under one contract. Once you add the separate professional fees of a traditional route, the total is often similar, with one team responsible for the whole project.
Does the calculator include VAT?
Not by default. Tick “Include VAT at 20%” to add it. Many businesses can recover VAT, so budgets are usually discussed excluding VAT.
How much does an office refurbishment cost per sq ft?
A light to mid refurbishment of an occupied London office typically costs £40–£95 per sq ft, depending on how much of the existing ceilings, floors, partitions and air conditioning can be reused.
How do I convert the estimate to cost per desk?
Enter your planned number of desks and the calculator divides the budget by it. Cost per desk depends heavily on how densely you plan the space, so use it as a cross-check rather than a primary benchmark.

Related guides

Next step

Planning an office fit-out?

Send us your brief and we will be in touch to arrange a survey and a detailed, no-obligation quote.

Request a quote
Request a quote