01·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.
The median flexible desk rate in London is £565 per month excluding VAT, from 851 buildings ( spacebly Price Index, November 2026).
02·TL;DR — the headline numbers
Numbers refreshed each quarter from live deals on the spacebly platform and verified public market reports (Knight Frank, JLL, Cushman & Wakefield, Hubble, Rubberdesk).
03·Real offices in London
Live London offices — closest to centre
Click any building to see suites, photos, pricing and availability.
03·Every submarket, in detail
11 London submarkets, side by side.
Click any card for the full submarket guide — buildings, transport, who moves here, pros & cons.
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.
04·TL;DR table — by submarket
London pricing at a glance
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.
| Submarket | Private office /desk/mo | Grade A lease /sqft/yr | 10-person all-in /office/mo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mayfair Zone 1 | £1100–£2200 | £110–£140 | £13,000–£22,000 |
| Soho Zone 1 | £850–£1500 | £95–£125 | £9,500–£16,000 |
| Shoreditch & Old Street Zone 1 | £550–£950 | £65–£95 | £6,500–£11,500 |
| King's Cross Zone 1 | £700–£1200 | £85–£115 | £8,500–£14,000 |
| City Core Zone 1 | £525–£925 | £70–£105 | £6,000–£10,500 |
| Canary Wharf Zone 2 | £425–£700 | £50–£75 | £4,500–£7,800 |
| Southbank & Waterloo Zone 1 | £475–£800 | £60–£85 | £5,200–£9,000 |
| Fitzrovia Zone 1 | £700–£1200 | £80–£115 | £7,800–£13,500 |
| Victoria & Westminster Zone 1 | £625–£1100 | £75–£100 | £7,000–£12,000 |
| Paddington Zone 1 | £525–£900 | £65–£88 | £5,500–£9,500 |
| Stratford Zone 2/3 | £350–£600 | £42–£65 | £3,800–£6,500 |
05·Real broker fees
What you actually pay a broker in London
Industry-standard 10% of year-one fee — quietly priced into your headline rate.
06·Hidden costs
The line items not in the quote
Dilapidations
End-of-Contract dilapidations - check with your operator and landlord as to what these will be to reset the space.
Rent reviews / renewals
Most agreements bake in upward-only renewals. Usually landlords and operators will uplift your monthly all inclusive license fee by 5–10%.
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 rooms
Most operators have PAYG meeting rooms bookable in advance. Some use credits and some have free rooms you can drop in and out of. Just check what each operator/landlord does as it can be building specific.
Parking & bike storage
Central London parking is £350–£650/space/month. Bike storage is usually free but limited to 1 per 5 desks. Just check.
07·Serviced vs lease
By team size, in London
Real all-in monthly cost. Lease numbers include fit-out amortised over 5 years.
| Team | Space | Serviced | Lease + fit-out | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 people | 550 sqft | £3,200/office/mo | £3,800/office/mo + £45k fit-out | Serviced cheaper |
| 10 people | 1,100 sqft | £6,500/office/mo | £7,200/office/mo + £85k fit-out | Break-even at month 18 |
| 25 people | 2,750 sqft | £17,500/office/mo | £15,500/office/mo + £210k fit-out | Lease wins after year 2 |
| 50 people | 5,500 sqft | £35,000/office/mo | £28,000/office/mo + £400k fit-out | Lease saves £84k/yr from year 2 |
| 100 people | 11,000 sqft | £70,000/office/mo | £52,000/office/mo + £750k fit-out | Lease saves £216k/yr from year 2 |
08·How it works
How spacebly saves you money in London
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.
09·FAQ
Common questions
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. Operators pay a 10% success fee or a flat subscription — you pay nothing, and get Cashback by spacebly when you sign.
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.
10·Keep exploring