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If you’re a landlord of a building, and you’re looking to attract new, well-paying tenants, then one of the most effective ways of achieving this is to engage in an ‘office fit out’ to create a highly-appealing attractive space. If you’re thinking about going down this route and fitting out your office space, then read this guide from the Rosehill team first…

So, what exactly does the term ‘Office Fit Out’ mean? At first glance it’s rather vague, so where there may be some confusion, let the Rosehill team provide some clarity.

Whilst there isn’t a de facto ‘official definition’ of the term office fit out, the office and furniture industry tends to agree that an office fit out refers to the process of transforming an interior space into a suitable office environment.

Furthermore, this process of transforming an interior space into an office environment includes the addition of all necessary structures, electrical, furnishings, decorations, and mechanical equipment.

In layman’s terms, an office fit out is simply the process of turning an inside space into an office.

Sounds simple, doesn’t it?

Whilst most office fit outs begin in a fairly standard fashion e.g. they start off as a uniform unfurnished space, the end result can vary considerably from client to client, with the fit out being carried out to meet the exact needs and requirements of the client.

Note: don’t confuse the terms office refurbishment with office fit out. The former term refers to the refresh and renewal of existing office space. The latter term refers to the creation of office space from scratch.

As we mentioned at the outset of this article, the term office fit out is actually an umbrella term that refers to a number of distinct, different types of office fit out.

This is the most comprehensive type of office fit out. As the name suggests, ‘Shell & Core’ refers to a scenario in which the framework and envelope of the building are in situ.

Other elements such as suspended ceilings, wall coverings, carpets, lighting, partitions etc are all absent and will need to be added.

You’re effectively dealing with an empty shell of an interior space and thus have a considerable amount of work to undertake to bring it up to a standard where it can be used as a functional office.

This category of office fit out is best suited to businesses that require two or more large floorplates (floorplates being the amount of leasable square footage on a single floor of a building). In other words, if you’re looking to lease two or more floors of a building, then it’s best to go with the Shell & Core office fit out model.

Category A office fit outs (sometimes just called Cat A fit outs) refer to scenarios in which the interior space has all the features of Shell & Core, in addition to basic finishings like flooring, suspended ceilings, electrical distribution (e.g. plug sockets around the walls), lifts, toilets, and fire alarms and smoke detection systems.

To put this into context, Cat A office fit outs are most commonly carried out by landlords prior to leasing a space to a tenant. This provides the tenant with a functional space, but in effect a blank canvas into which they can put their own fixtures and fittings.

To put it another way, Cat A office fits outs are the process of taking a Shell & Core space and turning it into a functional space (albeit one missing furniture etc).

It’s important to remember that category A office fit outs are typically carried out with no pre-lets in mind, and are thus relatively ‘generic’. They are in effect designed to accommodate a general occupancy level (in line with Building Control Regulations and/or British Council for Offices guidelines).

As you can imagine, this makes it even easier for potential tenants to move in and get up and running asap.

A cheap kitchen unit and an old electric water boiler bolted to the wall isn’t going to cut it for the majority of potential tenants.

Cat B fit outs are those that are the most highly tailored to a tenant. The space will feature a bespoke design that may include the tenant’s corporate branding, full room/departmental layouts, staff facilities, breakout spaces, and, of course, furniture.

In other words, category B fit outs provide a fully finished office. A new tenant is able to move in and can work almost straight away without having to provide any furniture, fixtures or fittings of their own.

Category B fit outs may also include alterations to the mechanical and electrical systems installed as part of a Cat A fit out. For example, a potential tenant may want additional electrical outlets installed in order to fit with their departmental layout.

As you can see, there’s a lot more to the term ‘office fit out’ than first meets the eye! Which type of fit out is best for you and your space is very much dependent on how quickly you want it to be occupied, how much leasable value you are looking to obtain and more.

Okay, so you’ve decided to take your space and fit it out so you can lease it out to tenants. What next? What does the typical office fit out process look like? Let’s take a look…

The initial stages of any office fit out involve determining the reasons for the fit out.

You need to establish exactly why the fit out is required and then work backwards from there. What is especially important is to consider the future trajectory of potential tenants. Are you going to be leasing the space to growing start-ups? Then the spaces need to reflect that.

Likewise, if you are predominantly going to be targeting sole traders or established small businesses with stable headcounts, then that will impact how you design your office spaces.

It’s also important to consider your budget; you need to strike a balance between investing enough to create a high-quality environment, whilst being able to charge enough per square foot to recoup your investment.

Finally, these initial stages should involve plenty of conversations with potential office fit out companies. It’s strongly recommended that you speak to several in order to get a broad range of opinions and quotes.

Next, it’s on to arguably the most exciting and creative part of the office fit out process; design and planning.

Site appraisals and surveys help to lay the foundation for an effective design that will fall within the agreed budget. Specific site information should be collected, as well as any nuances that could potentially cause delays or problems at the construction stage.

Should the design and planning stage result in an agreed upon architectural concept, the next step in the office fit out process is to actually execute it.

This begins with finalising all the design information, confirming the design programme, updating the cost plan and procurement strategy and commissioning specialist subcontractors (if necessary).

Once the fit out has been completed, the project will move to the completion and handover stage where the space is handed over to the client. Practical completion certificates will also be handed over at the same time.

You will often find that fit out projects include a ‘soft landing’ period. This is an aftercare phase (usually lasting up to 12 months following the initial handover), where any identified defects will be rectified.

And, that’s it! Once the fit out has been handed over, it moves into the use phase, where tenants move in and begin their commercial operations.

If you’re a landlord reading this, you may be wondering whether office fit outs are really worthwhile. Ultimately, the answer depends on the return-on-investment which you can receive from investing in a fit out (which is beyond the scope of this article).

However, there are a number of other benefits that can make office fit outs worthwhile for property owners.

An office fit out can pot