Thinking About Moving Office?


Many clients ask:

“When is the right time to start thinking about my office relocation and fit out project?”

Unfortunately it is easy to underestimate the amount of time needed to combine all the elements required to achieve a successful office move and it is always better to have too much time, than to have not enough.

There are usually two triggers that determine a company needs to move into new offices, either:

  • You need more or less space
  • Your lease is ending

In the first scenario, you can work forward from now to establish how long you will need to search for new premises, design your new office,  carry out the fit out and relocate, whereas in the second, you have to work backwards from the lease end date to ensure you start the process in good time.

If your lease is coming to an end, you may also need to allow sufficient time after you move out, but before the lease ends, to carry out work to put your current office into good order, so factor this into the equation.

In either case, there are elements that can be accelerated to cut down the time required, but it is not unexpected that the whole process will take six months or more.

In addition, if you are looking to take advantage of a lease break option to end your lease early, you may need to give your landlord six or twelve months (and sometimes more) advance Notice, so expect the project to have an associated timescale to allow sufficient research and to obtain necessary professional and legal advice.

In very simple terms a period of three months is not unreasonable to search for and shortlist a new office building, to negotiate and agree terms and then to have solicitors agree the lease. This timeframe is likely to hold true independent of the size of property you are looking for, although specialist requirements may take longer to identify the right property.

The period of refurbishment will depend on the size of the office and the work required and this will be very specific to your needs, but it is unlikely that your contractors will be able to start the physical work on site until the lease has been signed. This does not mean that a lot of the preparatory design work can not be completed in tandem with the search and legal elements.

Knowing how time consuming an office relocation and refurbishment can be, we have developed an interactive tool to identify the key actions and the timescales you need to be considering to ensure a successful project.

Available as part of our email relocation and refurbishment guides, all you need to do is sign up to receive details of how to download this invaluable tool.

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