The financial case for managed and pre-fitted offices looks strongest at the point of decision. Low capital outlay. Predictable monthly costs. No fit-out project to manage. For a CEO watching cash, that is a compelling picture. Over the length of a lease, it rarely stays that way.
“Think about it like a phone contract. In the short term it feels cheaper. But you are paying for it. Whether you can see the total or not is a different matter.” – Burcu Bozok, Head of Client Partnerships
Monthly service charges, meeting room hire as headcount grows, rates once you cross certain thresholds – the costs compound in ways that are not always visible upfront. Finance options for bespoke office fit-outs can also be offset against corporation tax, and London landlords offering rent-free periods as part of a traditional lease deal can shift the numbers further still. The gap between managed and bespoke, properly modelled over three to five years, is often far smaller than it first appears – and sometimes inverted entirely.
The right question is not what does this cost to move in. It is what does this cost to stay in.
Who was your London office fit-out actually designed for?
A pre-fitted or landlord-spec office is designed before the tenant is known. The design is built around a hypothetical business, not yours. The consequence is that your team ends up adapting how they work to fit the space, rather than the other way round.
“Someone comes in and briefs you. They explain how the business works, how departments interact, what the circulation needs to look like. That understanding gets built into the design. Without it, you are always adapting your business to fit the space.” – Bart Bergandy, Co-founder & Creative Director
We recently worked on a London space that had seen consistent viewings but struggled to let. A single planning decision – a kitchenette positioned directly next to the main meeting room – meant prospective tenants kept walking away. Once the layout was reconsidered, the picture changed entirely. Even a well-intentioned pre-designed scheme works best when it is tested against how a real occupier actually operates.
“Once someone spots something that does not work for them, they cannot see past it. The answer is getting that input earlier in the process, before it becomes a problem.” – Dan Keith, Co-founder
If you are also weighing up whether to refurbish your existing space rather than move, our guide to refurb vs relocate is worth reading alongside this.
If a London landlord is offering the fit-out, what should you ask?
The landlord-partnered model, done well, is one of the most effective ways to deliver a great office fit-out in London. The landlords who get the best results from it bring the right fit-out partner in early and make sure the occupier’s needs are genuinely understood before work begins. As a tenant, these are the questions worth asking to make sure that has happened.
- Was anyone briefed on how your business actually works before this was designed?
- Is the scheme genuinely adaptable as your team grows, or fixed from day one?
- What happens after you move in if something does not work?
- Is there an aftercare relationship built in, so the space can evolve as your team does?
