UK office relocation · Planning guide
Office relocation guide and 12-month checklist
Most office moves are decided before anyone has tested whether moving is the cheaper answer. This guide sets out the timeline, the costs that get missed, and the checks to make before you sign heads of terms anywhere.
First test: relocate, or change what you already have?
Relocation is the most expensive of the three directions, because you pay twice — for the new workplace and for exiting the old one. Before committing, compare a reconfiguration of the existing space against a move on the same brief, over the same number of years.
Signals you probably should move
- The floor plate cannot deliver the meeting and focus space you need.
- Building services, accessibility or EPC rating cannot be economically fixed.
- The landlord will not invest and the rent is above market.
- The location is losing you people, or sits wrong for the team you now have.
Signals staying deserves a proper look
- Your passing rent is below current market for equivalent space.
- The shell works; only the layout and settings are wrong.
- You have surplus floors that could be sublet or handed back.
- Commute and transport links already suit most of the team.
A reconfiguration of space you already hold frequently lands at a fraction of the all-in cost of relocating, because it avoids double rent, exit dilapidations and a full move programme. That is not a rule — it is a comparison worth running before the search starts.
The 18-to-0 month office relocation timeline
Work backwards from your lease event, not forwards from today. Missing a break notice date by a week can cost an extra lease term.
18–12 months out
Strategy, occupancy audit and governance
- Set up a small decision group: operations, finance, people, IT.
- Measure real attendance on busy days, not average headcount.
- Agree the workplace brief — desks, meeting rooms, focus and welfare space.
- Size the target floor area before speaking to any agent.
12–8 months out
Lease options, search and heads of terms
- Confirm expiry, break dates and the exact notice conditions in writing.
- Compare staying, refurbishing in place and moving on the same brief.
- Shortlist buildings; understand Cat A, Cat A+ and fitted options.
- Negotiate incentives: rent-free periods, capital contributions, phased rent.
8–4 months out
Design, approvals and procurement
- Concept and technical design against the agreed brief.
- Apply for the landlord's licence to alter on the new premises.
- Choose a route: design and build, or traditional with separate designers.
- Survey the existing premises for dilapidations exposure.
4–0 months out
Fit-out, migration and exit
- Build programme, site inspections and snagging.
- IT and comms migration, including server room decommissioning.
- Move weekend logistics, crate hire, furniture reuse or disposal.
- Settle dilapidations and hand back the old premises.
What an office move actually costs
Rent is the number everyone compares. It is rarely the number that decides the outcome. Build the comparison from all of these, across the full term:
- Fit-out (Cat B): the largest capital item, varying widely by specification, building and region.
- Professional fees: project management, cost consultancy, design, building control and legal.
- Dilapidations: the reinstatement bill on the space you leave — often the single biggest surprise.
- Double running costs: overlapping rent, rates and service charge during fit-out and migration.
- Technology: cabling, comms room, AV, new circuits and lead times.
- Business disruption: lost productivity around the move, which never appears on a contractor quote.
- Incentives, as an offset: rent-free periods and landlord contributions can materially change the effective rent.
Commercial office removals: budgeting the physical move
Office removals are the visible part of relocation and the last part to be planned, which is why they overrun. For a corporate move, quotes should cover far more than vans:
- Crate hire, packing and labelling by department
- Furniture dismantle, reassembly and reuse assessment
- Secure disposal or resale of redundant furniture
- Confidential waste and document archiving
- IT decommissioning, server relocation and re-racking
- Out-of-hours access, lift bookings and building permits
- Insurance during transit and first-day support cover
- Clearance of the old premises before hand-back
Book removals against the fit-out completion date, not the lease start date, and keep a contingency for a delayed practical completion.
The office relocation checklist
Open each section and work through it with your project group.
Common mistakes that cost the most
- Starting the property search before the workplace brief. You end up sizing the brief to the building instead of the other way round.
- Treating break conditions as a formality. Conditional breaks fail on vacant possession, arrears or reinstatement detail.
- Ignoring dilapidations until the end. The exit bill can wipe out the saving that justified the move.
- Comparing rent instead of total occupancy cost. Incentives and fit-out change the ranking of options.
- Sizing on headcount, not attendance. Hybrid patterns mean peak-day demand, not payroll, sets the floor area.
Work out your numbers
Two free tools on this site cover the first two questions in the timeline: how much space you need, and whether staying, changing or going fits your situation.
This guide is general information, not architectural, property, legal or financial advice. Professional advice is available for decisions about a specific workplace or lease.