You're the one who has to find it, compare it, negotiate it, present it to leadership, and then own the renewal cycle in three years. You don't have time for a 30-minute discovery call from a broker who earns 10% of whatever you sign.
The standard office search is built around broker incentives — not yours.
Three brokers calling you about the same spaces, all with different commission arrangements and none of them clear about who pays what. You end up managing the broker relationships as much as the actual search.
You never see the landlord's actual cost. The broker's quote has their margin baked in — and you won't find out how much until you're deep into the process. By then, sunk cost logic kicks in.
30-minute discovery calls, then a callback to present options, then another call to refine requirements. For a time-sensitive move, you're spending more time on the broker than on the actual procurement process.
Your current lease is coming up and the broker surfaces this late — or you find out at the last moment that there are expansion clauses, break clauses, or rent review mechanisms buried in the small print. No one told you at signing.
Beyond the broker's commission (10% of annual rent, often not disclosed as a line item), there are arrangement fees, renewal fees, and in some cases fees for simply receiving a quote. The true cost of office space via a broker isn't in the headline.
When leadership asks "how did we pick this space?", the answer is a broker's email chain and a verbal conversation. For a procurement function that needs to show value, that's not a paper trail — that's a gap.
Seek is built for operations and procurement teams who need speed, transparency, and a paper trail — not a broker relationship.
Operators update their listings directly. No stale CRM snapshots, no "that space just went" conversations with your broker. What you see is what's actually available — and what it actually costs.
Filter by location, desk count, move-in date, and amenity requirements. Operators who can actually deliver respond directly. No callback relay, no waiting for a broker to check their inventory.
When you find spaces that work, you can share them as a structured shortlist — price, location, spec, term. Built for the CFO presentation or the finance sign-off process, not just for your own reference.
Operators pay Seek a flat £125/month subscription. There is no commission on deals, no percentage of rent, nothing that changes based on what you sign. The price you see is the price the operator charges. Nothing added.
Here's what that 10% fee looks like on typical office searches for a 20–50 person company.
That's your next fit-out budget. Or the IT refresh the team has been asking for. Or 2 months of a new hire's salary.
The broker earned £50,000 before you'd moved in for the first time. On that same deal with Seek: £0 in broker fees. Operators pay Seek a flat £125/month.
Skip the broker. 3 minute office Finder →| Feature | Seek | Traditional broker |
|---|---|---|
| Time to first shortlist | 60-sec quiz → operator proposals within hours | 1–3 weeks (discovery call, requirements doc, shortlist, viewings) |
| Parties involved | You + operator | You + broker + landlord's agent + your agent (if you hire one) |
| Broker fee | £0 | 10% of annual rent (often £5,000–£15,000 on a typical deal) |
| Pricing transparency | Live, operator-published pricing | Broker-sourced — margin unknown until late in process |
| Audit trail | Direct operator correspondence, exported shortlists | Broker email chain, verbal agreements, CRM notes you don't own |
| Renewal management | Operators work to retain tenants — no renewal fee to a broker | Broker earns a fee at renewal — incentive to keep you uncertain about your options |
| Headcount flexibility | Operators experienced with growth companies; short-term and expansion options available | Requires new negotiation when team size changes |
| Internal approval process | Exportable shortlist with live pricing for CFO/finance sign-off | Broker produces a shortlist on their timeline, not yours |
Tell us your team size, location, and move-in date. Operators whose spaces match will pitch you directly — no broker, no commission.
3 minute office Finder →No account creation required. Takes 60 seconds.
See exactly what a broker would charge on your next office lease — and what you keep with Seek.