Office refurbishment cost

Prices checked: November 2026
Basis: Per m² NIA, excluding VAT

Refurbishing an office in central London typically costs £160 to £320 per m² for a light refresh, £650 to £1,020 per m² for Cat A and £1,300 to £2,150 per m² for a standard Cat B fit-out. Set your floor area, scope and region below for a budget range.

Budget range, excluding VAT and fees

£1,300,000 to £2,150,000

Rate used: £1,300 to £2,150 per m²
Workstations at 10 m² each: 100
Per workstation: £13,000 to £21,500

Rounded to the nearest £1,000. Large simple floors land toward the low end; small, listed, occupied or high-specification floors at the top or above.

Brief a contractor

Cost by floor area, central London

Each scope's published range applied to typical office sizes, rounded to £1,000, before VAT, fees and furniture.

Floor area	Light refresh	Cat A fit-out	Cat B fit-out, standard	Cat B fit-out, premium
250 m² (2,691 ft²)	£40,000 to £80,000	£163,000 to £255,000	£325,000 to £538,000	£588,000 to £1,025,000
500 m² (5,382 ft²)	£80,000 to £160,000	£325,000 to £510,000	£650,000 to £1,075,000	£1,175,000 to £2,050,000
1,000 m² (10,764 ft²)	£160,000 to £320,000	£650,000 to £1,020,000	£1,300,000 to £2,150,000	£2,350,000 to £4,100,000
2,500 m² (26,910 ft²)	£400,000 to £800,000	£1,625,000 to £2,550,000	£3,250,000 to £5,375,000	£5,875,000 to £10,250,000
5,000 m² (53,820 ft²)	£800,000 to £1,600,000	£3,250,000 to £5,100,000	£6,500,000 to £10,750,000	£11,750,000 to £20,500,000

Regional adjustment

Region	Against central London	Standard Cat B
Central London	Base	£1,300 to £2,150 per m²
South East	-10%	£1,170 to £1,940 per m²
South West	-15%	£1,110 to £1,830 per m²
Midlands and East Anglia	-20%	£1,040 to £1,720 per m²
North West, North East and Scotland	-25%	£980 to £1,610 per m²
Yorkshire and the Humber	-28%	£940 to £1,550 per m²
Wales	-30%	£910 to £1,510 per m²

What sits outside the rate

Professional fees: design, cost consultant, project manager, principal designer.
Furniture and IT: £1,500 to £5,000 per workstation for furniture alone.
Landlord's costs: their surveyor's fees for the licence for alterations.
Asbestos removal: priced only once the survey is back.
Main plant replacement: chillers, boilers and air handling units are usually landlord items.
VAT: standard-rated for most commercial work.

Where these prices come from

Office rates per m² are converted from per ft² ranges published in Q1 2026 by a London fit-out contractor, cross-checked against a national property consultancy's landlord refurbishment guide (spring 2025) and an international property consultancy's 2026 UK fit-out cost guide, whose London low to high range is £148 to £359 per ft² (Manchester £128 to £310, Birmingham £121 to £295). Regional percentages are from the spring 2025 landlord guide. Firms that publish price guides are described, not named. Design density from the BCO.

Office cost questions

How much does an office refurbishment cost per m²?

Published central London guides: light refresh £160 to £320 per m², Cat A £650 to £1,020 per m², standard Cat B £1,300 to £2,150 per m², premium Cat B £2,350 to £4,100 per m², before VAT and fees. Regional rates are typically 10 to 30% lower.

How much does it cost to refurbish a 1,000 m² office?

Worked from the same rates in central London: £160,000 to £320,000 for a light refresh, £650,000 to £1,020,000 for Cat A and £1,300,000 to £2,150,000 for a standard Cat B. In the North West, the same Cat B is about £975,000 to £1,613,000.

What is the office fit-out cost per square foot?

Divide the per m² figure by 10.76. A standard central London Cat B of £1,300 to £2,150 per m² is roughly £120 to £200 per ft²; one international consultancy's 2026 guide puts full London fit-out between £148 and £359 per ft² from low to high specification.

Do these prices include VAT and fees?

No. They exclude VAT, professional fees (design, cost consultancy, project management, typically several per cent of the works), furniture and IT unless stated. Commercial building work is generally standard-rated for VAT.

Why do regional prices differ?

Labour rates, access and logistics, and the level of specification typical in each market. A national property consultancy's 2025 guide puts regional costs between 10% (South East) and 30% (Wales) below central London.

How much should we allow for furniture?

Published guides put furniture at £1,500 to £5,000 per workstation. The calculator assumes one workstation per 10 m², the BCO's design density for speculative offices.

Keep reading

Office refurbishment
Choosing the scope before pricing it.
Cat B fit-out
Where most office budgets go.
Dilapidations works
The cost of leaving, priced.
Office refurbishment in London
Rates and rules in the capital.

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