Office relocation

Last updated: September 2026 | Written by Sasha Pendigrast, at London Relocation — [one line on relevant experience with corporate and office moves].

Moving an office is not simply a removals project. A successful office relocation in London means finding the right premises, planning the commercial move, preparing the new workplace, and making sure the people who work there can make the transition too.

London Relocation helps companies moving to, from or within London coordinate the property and people sides of relocation. Depending on the agreed scope, that can include commercial premises planning, location and transport analysis, support through the premises and lease process, employee relocation, and one point of contact across the move.

Physical transportation of office furniture, crates, servers and IT equipment is a separate specialist service. [CONFIRM: handled by a partner / coordinated through approved suppliers / not provided.]

Jump to:
What’s involved ·
Timeline & checklist ·
Finding premises ·
Fit-out costs ·
Relocating your staff ·
How we work ·
FAQ

What Does an Office Relocation Involve?

Whether a company is relocating within London, opening its first UK premises or consolidating several offices, the process can involve:

• Establishing the relocation brief
• Defining location, size and workplace requirements
• Searching for suitable commercial premises
• Reviewing transport and workforce implications
• Agreeing heads of terms
• Completing the lease process
• Planning fit-out and workplace requirements
• Coordinating IT, furniture and physical removals
• Communicating the move to employees
• Relocating employees who need to move home
• Completing the office move
• Settling the business and its people into the new location

These are not separate projects. The premises you choose affect commuting patterns. The lease programme affects the fit-out timetable. The fit-out controls when the company can actually move. And the new location may mean some employees need relocation support of their own.

That is why an office relocation service should start with the whole move rather than treating moving day as the project.

Office Relocation Timeline and Checklist

A clear programme reduces the risk of important tasks surfacing too late. The phases below are a working checklist for a typical London office move.

12 months before the move

• Establish the reason for moving
• Review the existing lease, including expiry and break dates
• Confirm current and target headcount
• Calculate space requirements
• Establish the total project budget
• Identify preferred London locations
• Review employee commuting patterns
• Create the premises brief
• Appoint an internal project lead and identify external advisers
• Establish decision and approval processes

6 months before the move

• Shortlist potential premises and arrange inspections
• Compare total occupation costs
• Review transport connectivity and employee impact
• Progress heads of terms
• Appoint legal advisers and carry out appropriate surveys
• Develop workplace design and establish fit-out requirements
• Plan employee communications
• Identify employees who will need relocation support
• Create a detailed project programme

3 months before the move

• Finalise premises arrangements and progress fit-out works
• Confirm furniture requirements
• Plan internet, telecoms, IT and AV
• Appoint removal and specialist suppliers
• Confirm insurance requirements
• Plan building access and security
• Prepare address changes and notify key clients and suppliers
• Begin employee home searches where required
• Confirm temporary accommodation if needed
• Prepare the moving-week schedule and contingency plans

Moving week

• Confirm access with both buildings
• Complete final inventories
• Back up critical business information
• Label equipment and workplace items
• Confirm supplier responsibilities
• Test internet, telecoms and access systems
• Complete the physical move
• Issue staff instructions and set up a clear issue-reporting process
• Check the new workplace before employees arrive

After the move

• Resolve outstanding defects
• Confirm all workplace systems are operational
• Support employees with new commuting arrangements
• Complete outstanding home relocations
• Close the previous premises correctly
• Review supplier performance and document outstanding costs
• Record lessons for future moves

Download the Office Relocation Checklist

Finding the Right Office Premises in London

The best London office is not necessarily the one with the most prestigious postcode. The location has to work commercially and operationally.

Before starting a premises search, consider:

• Current and expected headcount, and required floor area
• Hybrid-working patterns
• Client locations
• Staff commuting patterns and recruitment requirements
• Transport connections, proximity to major rail stations and airport access
• Local amenities
• Building specification, meeting and collaboration space, accessibility
• Room for future growth
• Budget

A professional-services firm with clients across central London has very different requirements from a technology business recruiting across East London, or an international company whose senior staff travel regularly through Heathrow.

The question is rarely “where can we find an office”. It is “which location makes the business easier to operate”.

Consider the workforce as well as the postcode

An office move affects staff significantly. A move that looks short on a map can add a lot of time to a commute if the transport connection is poor. With the Underground, Elizabeth line, Overground and National Rail all in play, journey time matters far more than straight-line distance.

Before choosing premises, map where employees currently live and work out how each shortlisted location would affect them. For businesses recruiting, the same analysis shows which parts of London give access to the workforce they need.

Conventional leases, managed offices and flexible space

Not every company moving office needs the same type of premises. Options include:

• A conventional commercial lease
• A fitted or managed office
• Serviced office space
• Flexible workspace
• A shorter-term solution while a permanent office is prepared

The right structure depends on company size, growth plans, how much control you need over the workplace, and how much flexibility the business requires.

With a conventional lease, the commercial terms cover lease length, rent, service charge, break options, deposits, repair obligations, permitted use, alterations, fit-out and reinstatement obligations. RICS recommends that important commercial terms are captured clearly in heads of terms, and that businesses take appropriate property and legal advice before committing to a commercial lease.

London Office Fit-Out Costs

Fit-out is often one of the largest single elements of an office relocation budget.

Cushman & Wakefield’s 2026 UK Office Fit Out Cost Guide gives a London benchmark of approximately:

• £148 per sq ft — lower specification
• £243 per sq ft — medium specification
• £359 per sq ft — higher specification

These are external market benchmarks, not London Relocation prices. Actual project costs vary materially by specification and building.

Worked example: a 5,000 sq ft London office

For illustration, a company taking approximately 5,000 sq ft could see indicative fit-out expenditure of roughly:

• Low benchmark: £740,000
• Medium benchmark: £1.215 million
• High benchmark: £1.795 million

That is fit-out expenditure only, based on the external benchmark above. It does not represent the complete cost of relocating the office, and excludes rent, business rates, deposits, legal work, removals, employee relocation and the cost of leaving the previous premises. Build the relocation budget around the whole project.

Relocating Your Staff

This is where office relocation and corporate relocation meet. Moving the workplace and relocating an employee are different services, but one triggers the other.

Your company may be:

• Opening a London office and transferring staff from overseas
• Moving a team from another UK city
• Consolidating several offices into one London location
• Moving across London and significantly changing existing commutes
• Recruiting internationally as part of a London expansion

Employees moving home may need help with neighbourhood selection, commute planning, London home searches, property shortlisting, accompanied viewings, remote home searches, rental guidance, school-related location planning, family requirements and settling-in support.

Two people moving to the same office often need completely different parts of London. One employee may want a central flat with a short commute. Another may be relocating with children and need space, schools and green areas. A third may work remotely several days a week and prioritise a home office.

The office move is coordinated centrally. Employee relocation stays personal.

More detail: corporate relocation services.

[TESTIMONIAL — use a real quote from a corporate or HR client. If none exists for an office move specifically, use a corporate relocation quote rather than inventing one.]

— [NAME, ROLE, COMPANY]. More client stories on our reviews page.

How London Relocation Works

The aim is to make a complicated project easier to control.

1. Define the move. We start with the company, the existing premises, the planned move, headcount, timetable and objectives. The initial brief establishes what needs to happen and which parts of the relocation need external support.
2. Build the relocation plan. The project splits into premises, operational and employee workstreams. Dependencies get identified early, so employee arrivals aren’t planned before the workplace is ready.
3. Find and secure the right premises. Where included, this covers premises requirements, London location analysis, property search and coordination of the commercial process. Lease negotiations and legal documentation should be completed with appropriately qualified commercial property and legal professionals. [CONFIRM: exact premises-search and lease wording.]
4. Coordinate the move. Fit-out, technology, suppliers, physical removals and employee communications all work to the same timetable. [CONFIRM: London Relocation’s role in supplier and project coordination.]
5. Relocate affected employees. Employees who need to move are supported through neighbourhood selection, home search, viewings and settling in. This is where our existing corporate relocation service plugs directly into the wider office move.
6. One point of contact. You get a clear line of responsibility rather than a collection of disconnected property, removal and employee-relocation projects.

Moving an Existing Office Within London

Not every business relocation involves moving to London from somewhere else. Changing office within London has significant operational consequences of its own.

A new location can affect:

• Staff commute times
• Recruitment catchment areas
• Client access
• Rail and airport connections
• Hybrid-working patterns
• Workspace requirements
• Employees who may decide to move home

Before signing for the new office, understand how the change affects the people already working for the company. An office that saves money on rent but creates significantly worse commuting conditions carries a different cost through recruitment, retention and employee experience.

Moving Your Business to London From Overseas

An international business move combines commercial relocation with employee relocation. The company needs to establish premises, prepare the workplace and create a functioning London operation while key employees are simultaneously moving countries.

The people side can include temporary accommodation, London neighbourhood advice, permanent home searches, family relocation, school-related planning, remote property searches before arrival, commute planning and settling-in assistance.

Coordinating these workstreams gives the company a clearer route from “we are opening in London” to an office and workforce that actually function.

Why Use an Office Relocation Specialist?

A business can manage an office move internally. The challenge is that office relocation touches property, finance, HR, IT, operations, legal work, workplace design and employees at the same time. Without one overall programme, each part progresses independently until the dependencies become problems.

An office relocation specialist in London helps by:

• Establishing the relocation programme
• Maintaining one central timetable
• Coordinating different workstreams
• Keeping premises and people decisions connected
• Identifying risks before moving week
• Giving the business a consistent point of contact

For companies also transferring employees to London, combining the workplace move with employee relocation removes another layer of internal administration.

Ready to Plan Your Office Relocation in London?

Whether you are opening a London office, moving across the city or relocating a wider business operation, the earlier the project is structured, the easier it is to manage. London Relocation coordinates the move from premises planning through to the people who will work there.

Discuss your office relocation

Frequently Asked Questions About Office Relocation in London

What is included in an office relocation?

An office relocation can include defining the premises brief, searching for a new location, progressing lease arrangements, fit-out, IT and telecom planning, physical removals, employee communication and staff relocation. The exact scope depends on the business and the services agreed with each provider.

How long does an office relocation take?

It depends on whether the business already has premises, the type of space being taken, lease negotiations, fit-out requirements and the scale of the move. A complex relocation involving a new commercial lease and fit-out can require many months of planning, which is why larger projects should be structured well before the intended moving date.

Can you negotiate the commercial lease?

We can support the commercial process and coordinate with your property and legal advisers. Commercial lease terms and legal documentation should be reviewed by appropriately qualified professionals before the company commits.

What is the difference between office relocation and corporate relocation?

Office relocation focuses on moving the business and the workplace. Corporate relocation focuses on moving the employees, executives and families affected by that decision. Many projects need both — a company may move its office while simultaneously relocating employees who need new homes in London.

Can you help relocate employees as part of an office move?

Yes. We support employees with neighbourhood planning, London home searches, property viewings, rental guidance and settling-in support, coordinated alongside the wider office move.

Can you help a business move to London from overseas?

Yes. A London business move can combine premises planning with employee relocation for executives, key staff and wider teams.

Start the Conversation

Tell us where you’re moving from, when the current lease ends and how many people are affected. Get in touch, or see all our relocation services in London.