Office fit-out in Tower Hamlets
Office Fit-Out and Refurbishment in Tower Hamlets
Office space in Tower Hamlets runs from the Grade A towers of Canary Wharf, where the landlord has usually delivered a Cat A finish and its fit-out guide sets the rules, to converted warehouses in Wapping, Limehouse and Spitalfields and workshop buildings on Fish Island. The building type decides most of the cost, the programme and the paperwork before a single partition goes up. Tower Hamlets also publishes its own Building Control charges for office fit-outs, so that part of the budget is known before work starts.
Quick answer
Office refurbishment in London costs £45 to £165 per sq ft for the construction work: a cosmetic refresh of 1,000 sq ft runs £45,000 to £65,000 and a full Cat B fit-out £100,000 to £165,000. Most internal office fit-outs in Tower Hamlets need no planning permission, but they usually need the landlord’s licence to alter, and work that changes escape routes or services needs Building Regulations approval, which Tower Hamlets charges at £2,323.95 plus VAT for a fit-out costing £50,000 to £99,999.
Every enquiry gets a written reply within 2 hours, Monday to Saturday.
By building type
The office buildings Tower Hamlets has
Tower Hamlets has some of London’s newest office towers and some of its oldest working buildings, often a short walk apart. Each type changes what a fit-out involves.
Canary Wharf and South Quay towers
Modern Grade A floors on the former West India Docks (E14). Cat A finishes are usually already in place, so most work is Cat B: partitions, meeting rooms, kitchen points and finishes. Works follow the landlord’s fit-out guide and licence to alter, and deliveries are booked in advance through building management.
City fringe: Aldgate and Whitechapel
Office blocks of different eras on the edge of the City (E1). Older blocks may need upgraded electrics and fire doors before Cat B work, and in any building built or refurbished before 2000 an asbestos refurbishment survey comes before strip-out.
Warehouses in Wapping, Limehouse and Spitalfields
Converted dock warehouses and older workshop buildings (E1, E1W, E14), several inside conservation areas such as Wapping Pierhead, Narrow Street and Fournier Street. Exposed brick and timber, heritage fabric and narrow or missing goods lifts mean a pre-survey before pricing and careful planning of how materials get in.
Fish Island and Bow workspaces
Creative and light-industrial studios on Fish Island (E3), beside Hackney Wick across the canal, partly inside the Fish Island and White Post Lane conservation area. Planning decisions here moved back to Tower Hamlets Council on 1 December 2024, after the London Legacy Development Corporation handed back its planning powers.
Rules that apply
What approvals does an office fit-out need in Tower Hamlets?
Planning permission: usually not, for internal work. Partitions, ceilings, flooring, lighting and decoration inside an office are not development. Since September 2020 offices, shops, cafés and similar uses share one use class, Class E, so switching between them needs no planning permission either. Planning is needed for external changes such as new shopfronts or windows, for most illuminated signs (advertisement consent), and for listed buildings, which need listed building consent even for internal changes. Tower Hamlets has around 58 conservation areas, and an Article 4 direction removes the right to convert commercial premises to homes in parts of the borough.
- Licence to alter: almost every commercial lease needs the landlord’s written consent for Cat B works, and in managed estates a superior landlord may need to consent too. Landlords usually ask for drawings, method statements, risk assessments and contractor insurance first.
- Building Regulations: a fit-out that moves partitions on escape routes, adds drainage for a kitchenette, or adds ventilation or new fixed lighting is usually building work. Approval comes from Tower Hamlets Building Control or a registered building control approver.
- Fire safety: under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, the fire risk assessment should be reviewed after a layout change, and new partitions must not create unprotected routes or inner rooms.
- Asbestos: in non-domestic buildings there is a legal duty to manage asbestos, and a refurbishment survey is needed before work that disturbs the fabric of a building built before 2000.
- CDM 2015: the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations apply to every fit-out. A commercial client has duties of its own, and a project lasting more than 30 working days with more than 20 workers at once, or over 500 person-days, must be notified to the HSE.
- Electrics: electrical work is carried out and certified by a registered electrician, with an Electrical Installation Certificate to BS 7671.
- Landlords re-letting: since 1 April 2023 a commercial property cannot continue to be let with an EPC rating below E unless an exemption applies, so a refurbishment between tenants is often the time to deal with lighting and heating.
Costs
How much does an office fit-out cost in Tower Hamlets?
Office refurbishment in London costs £45 to £165 per sq ft for the construction work, depending on how much changes and the finish. Fit-out consultancy K2 Space puts a straightforward Cat B fit-out on good Grade A space at around £80 to £120 per sq ft in 2026, with high-specification projects passing £200.
Typical London market ranges, not fixed Soraiz Builders prices
| Scope | Per sq ft | 1,000 sq ft office | Time on site | What it covers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cosmetic refresh | £45 to £65 | £45,000 to £65,000 | 4 to 6 weeks | New flooring, redecoration, LED lighting, minor layout changes |
| Mid-level refurbishment | £65 to £100 | £65,000 to £100,000 | 6 to 10 weeks | Partitions, suspended ceiling, upgraded electrics, kitchenette, new floors |
| Full Cat B fit-out | £100 to £165 | £100,000 to £165,000 | 10 to 16 weeks | All trades, joinery, finishes and data routes |
| Strip-out and Cat A reinstatement | £30 to £55 | £30,000 to £55,000 | 3 to 6 weeks | Dilapidations, services reinstated, white-box finish for re-letting |
Construction costs only: furniture, AV, IT, professional fees and VAT are extra. Sources: our office refurbishment and fit-out in London page (Fusion Office Design 2025, Savills Cat B cost data, RICS guidance) and K2 Space’s 2026 guide to the cost of UK office space.
Tower Hamlets Building Control charges for office fit-outs
| Estimated cost of the work | Plan charge | Inspection charge | Total before VAT |
|---|---|---|---|
| £20,000 to £49,999 | £743.34 | £1,115.01 | £1,858.35 |
| £50,000 to £99,999 | £929.58 | £1,394.37 | £2,323.95 |
| £100,000 to £150,000 | £1,115.82 | £1,673.73 | £2,789.55 |
| £150,000 to £250,000 | £1,302.07 | £1,953.11 | £3,255.18 |
Source: Tower Hamlets Council, Building Control charges, Table D “Fit out and alteration: Office and retail” (checked 8 October 2026). VAT at 20% is added to each charge; work over £250,000 is priced individually by the council. Getting approval after the work is done (regularisation) costs 1.25 times the plan and inspection charges. Skip licences, parking bay suspensions and scaffold licences are set by the council and arranged by us before the start.
Local work
What we can show you, honestly
We have not yet published a photographed office fit-out in Tower Hamlets, so you will not find one in our projects. The case studies there are homes across London. What we can show you for an office job is how we price and run it.
- A written scope and fixed-price quote after a site survey of your floor and your landlord’s requirements, not a per-sq-ft guess.
- A programme by zone, showing which areas are active in which weeks, so a team that stays in the office knows where it can work.
- One contractor for the trades: partitions, ceilings, flooring, electrics, kitchenette plumbing, joinery, plastering and decorating, built to your designer’s drawings or the landlord’s specification. We do not produce interior designs or supply furniture, AV or IT.
How it runs
How an office fit-out runs in Tower Hamlets
Survey the floor and the building
We check access, lifts and loading, the existing services, the building’s age for asbestos, and whether it sits in a conservation area or is listed.
Scope, price and programme
A written scope, a fixed price and a programme by zone, built from your drawings or the landlord’s specification.
Licence and compliance
We supply what the landlord needs for the licence to alter, apply for Building Control where the work requires it, and set up the CDM paperwork before anyone starts.
Build in phases, then hand over
Work runs one zone at a time wherever the building allows, and ends with the electrical certificates and, where approval was needed, the Building Control completion certificate.
Areas we cover
Office fit-out across Tower Hamlets
- Canary Wharf E14
- South Quay E14
- Aldgate E1
- Whitechapel E1
- Spitalfields E1
- Shadwell E1
- Wapping E1W
- Limehouse E14
- Poplar E14
- Bethnal Green E2
- Mile End E3
- Bow E3
- Fish Island E3
FAQ
Office fit-out in Tower Hamlets: common questions
How much does an office fit-out cost in Tower Hamlets?
Office refurbishment in London typically costs £45 to £165 per sq ft for the construction work. A cosmetic refresh of 1,000 sq ft runs £45,000 to £65,000, a mid-level refurbishment £65,000 to £100,000 and a full Cat B fit-out £100,000 to £165,000, before furniture, IT, fees and VAT. Add Tower Hamlets’ Building Control charge where the work needs approval.
Do I need planning permission to refurbish an office in Tower Hamlets?
Usually not for internal work such as partitions, ceilings, flooring and lighting. You do need it for external changes such as a new shopfront, advertisement consent for most illuminated signs, and listed building consent for any work to a listed building. Changing between office, shop and café use within Class E needs no permission. Your lease will almost always need the landlord’s licence to alter.
What does Tower Hamlets charge for Building Control on an office fit-out?
Tower Hamlets sets its charge by the estimated cost of the work. For an office fit-out the plan and inspection charges total £1,858.35 for £20,000 to £49,999, £2,323.95 for £50,000 to £99,999, £2,789.55 for £100,000 to £150,000 and £3,255.18 for £150,000 to £250,000, all plus VAT. Larger jobs are priced individually.
Can you fit out an office in Canary Wharf?
Yes. In Canary Wharf’s Grade A buildings the landlord has usually delivered Cat A, so the work is Cat B, built to the landlord’s fit-out guide once the licence to alter is granted. Drawings, method statements, risk assessments and insurance go to the landlord first, and deliveries are booked in advance through building management.
Can we stay in the office while the work happens?
Often, yes. The work is programmed one zone at a time so staff keep using the rest of the floor. A phased programme costs more per sq ft and takes longer than working in an empty office; on a 2,000 sq ft office it typically adds two to three weeks. For very small offices, moving out briefly can be quicker and cheaper.
What is the difference between Cat A and Cat B?
Cat A is the base finish a landlord provides: clean walls, basic lighting, mechanical and electrical services and floors ready for a tenant. Cat B is what the tenant adds to make it work for them: meeting rooms, partitions, a kitchenette, data points, branded finishes and storage. Most office projects for smaller London businesses are Cat B work on an existing Cat A floor.
Book a free office survey in Tower Hamlets
Send your floor plan or drawings, the building address and your target date. We survey the space, check what the landlord and the building need, and send a written scope, a fixed price and a programme.
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