London · 2026 edition
How much does a London office actually cost?
Real prices from 11 submarkets, the broker fees you didn't know you were paying, and the deals operators only quote when they think you'll walk.
- Serviced desk, City average
- £625 — /desk/month
- Grade A lease, West End prime
- £140 — /sqft/yr
- Broker commission (industry standard)
- 10% — of year-one fee
Numbers refreshed each quarter from live deals on the Spacebly platform and verified public market reports (Knight Frank, JLL, Cushman & Wakefield, Hubble, Rubberdesk).
TL;DR — London office costs
London office pricing splits cleanly into four bands: the West End premium (Mayfair, Soho), the City & fringe, the creative east (Shoreditch, King's Cross), and the value belt (Southbank, Canary Wharf, Paddington). Here's where each submarket lands.
Team-size cost comparison (London)
| Team size | Sqft needed | Serviced (monthly) | Conventional lease (monthly) | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 people | 550 sqft | £3,200/mo | £3,800/mo + £45k fit-out | Serviced cheaper |
| 10 people | 1,100 sqft | £6,500/mo | £7,200/mo + £85k fit-out | Break-even at month 18 |
| 25 people | 2,750 sqft | £17,500/mo | £15,500/mo + £210k fit-out | Lease wins after year 2 |
| 50 people | 5,500 sqft | £35,000/mo | £28,000/mo + £400k fit-out | Lease saves £84k/yr from year 2 |
| 100 people | 11,000 sqft | £70,000/mo | £52,000/mo + £750k fit-out | Lease saves £216k/yr from year 2 |
Real London broker deals (recent)
| Size | Rent | Team note | Standard broker fee | Spacebly savings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5–15 desks | £60,000/yr | 10-desk serviced in Soho | £6,000 broker fee | Spacebly rebate: £5,400 |
| 20–50 desks | £240,000/yr | 35-desk managed in Shoreditch | £24,000 broker fee | Spacebly rebate: £21,600 |
| 60+ desks | £780,000/yr | 85-desk lease, City fringe | £78,000 broker fee | Spacebly rebate: £70,200 |
Hidden costs to watch in London
Dilapidations
End-of-Contract dilapidations - check with your operator and landlord as to what these will be to reset the space.
Rent reviews
Most leases bake in upward-only 5-yearly reviews. In Mayfair this has added 20–35% mid-lease for the last three cycles.
Broker commission
Industry-standard 10% of year-one fee, paid by the landlord — but priced into your rate. Operators are open to discounting when they save the fee.
Meeting room overages
Most serviced contracts include 8–20 hours/month. London operators charge £40–£90/hour over the cap.
Parking & bike storage
Central London parking is £350–£650/space/month. Bike storage is usually free but limited to 1 per 5 desks.
London submarkets
- Mayfair — London's prestige address. Family offices, hedge funds, luxury brands. Period townhouses behind Georgian façades; some of the most expensive sqft in Europe.
- Soho — Media, ad agencies and post-production houses. Townhouse-and-pub energy with the best food scene in central London.
- Shoreditch & Old Street — Tech, VC, design. Exposed brick lofts mixed with new-build towers; the densest creative ecosystem in Europe.
- King's Cross — Google, Meta, Universal, AstraZeneca. The most successful estate-led regeneration in modern London — and the best transport in the UK.
- City Core — Banks, law firms, insurance, fintech. The largest cluster of Grade A office stock in Europe and the deepest flex market in London.
- Canary Wharf — Big floorplates, big banks, big discounts on West End pricing. The most underrated London submarket for ambitious mid-sized teams.
- Southbank & Waterloo — Riverside views, brutalist culture (Southbank Centre, Tate Modern), and pricing 25–35% below West End. The smart-money submarket.
- Fitzrovia — Media, ad agencies and PR. Bookended by the Elizabeth line and BT Tower; cleaner streets than Soho but the same energy.
- Victoria & Westminster — Government, lobbying, consultancies. Modern Grade A around Cardinal Place and Nova; period stock toward St James's.
- Paddington — Microsoft, Marks & Spencer HQ, Vodafone. Best transport to Heathrow in London and Grade A pricing 25% below the West End.
- Stratford — TfL HQ, UCL East, FCA, BBC. The biggest transport hub in the UK and the cheapest serious Grade A submarket in London.
How Spacebly finds your London office
- Tell us what you need — Headcount, budget, preferred London submarkets, lease vs. flex, must-haves. Takes 3 minutes.
- We shortlist instantly — Our index covers thousands of buildings. You see real availability and real pricing — no inflated rate cards.
- We negotiate for you — Free month, capped rent reviews, break clauses, fit-out contributions. We push every lever, you keep the upside.
- You sign, we get paid by the landlord — Zero fee to you. The standard broker commission is handled between us and the operator — never priced on top of your deal.
Browse live London offices
London office FAQs
What's the cheapest London submarket for a 10-person team?
Canary Wharf and Southbank are the value picks at £450–£650/desk for serviced, well below Soho (£950+) or Mayfair (£1,100+). Both have excellent transport (Jubilee/DLR; Northern/Bakerloo).
Is Mayfair worth the premium?
For VC, family offices and luxury brands — yes. The address opens doors and the buildings are landmark. For tech and creative, you usually get more space and energy in Shoreditch, King's Cross or Soho for 30–40% less.
How fast can we move into a London serviced office?
Most operators can hand over keys within 5–10 working days. Larger managed and bespoke fit-outs run 8–16 weeks.
What's a normal lease length in London right now?
5 years with a tenant-only break at year 3 is the post-2024 norm. Operators offering 12–36 month managed terms are the fastest-growing segment.
Is Spacebly really free for tenants in London?
Yes. Landlords and operators pay us a referral fee when you sign — you pay nothing extra to use Spacebly.
How is Spacebly different from a traditional London broker?
Traditional brokers only show you the buildings they have a commercial relationship with. Spacebly shows you every option in the market, with direct landlord/operator contact and transparent pricing.
Do you cover serviced offices, managed space and leases?
All three. Serviced (instant move-in, monthly), managed (your branding, 12–36 months) and conventional leases (3–10 years). We model the total cost of each option side-by-side so you can compare like-for-like.
How long does a typical search take?
Most clients sign within 2–4 weeks of starting a search. Larger leases (10,000+ sqft) typically take 6–10 weeks because of fit-out planning and legal review.