2026 London Office Guide

How much does office space cost in London? (2026 prices)

Verified desk and lease pricing across 6 London submarkets — City/Bank, Shoreditch, Soho/Fitzrovia, King's Cross/Farringdon, Mayfair, Canary Wharf. Updated May 2026. Takes 60 seconds to get matched.

Central London desk range
£475–£1,300 /desk/mo
↑ 12.1M sq ft London take-up in 2025
Knight Frank London Series 2026
Prime lease headline rent
£80–£200 /sq ft/yr
↑ City Core Grade A at record occupancy
Savills, Cushman & Wakefield 2026
Business rates uplift (April 2026)
+19.2%
↑ national avg — Farringdon +38%, Mayfair +23%
VOA 2026 revaluation, Kontor analysis
Standard broker fee
10% of yr 1 rent
£5K–£50K+ depending on deal size
Seek charges £0 — operators pay flat subscription

Answer 5 questions and get matched to live London availability — no broker, no commission, no waiting for a callback.

Find my London office in 60 seconds →

Prices updated May 2026 | Sources: Rubberdesk Q4 2025, Hubble Q1 2026, Oktra 2026, Savills, Knight Frank, Cushman & Wakefield, Colliers

TL;DR

London Office Prices at a Glance — 2026

Private office (serviced/managed) per desk per month, and Grade A lease headline rent per sq ft per year. All submarkets, all sizes.

Submarket Private Office (£/desk/mo) Lease Grade A (£/sq ft/yr) 10-person all-in/mo Character
City / Bank / Liverpool St £750–£1,100 £80–£145 £9,500–£14,000 Finance, law, fintech
Shoreditch / Old Street / Tech City £475–£700 £60–£95 £6,000–£9,000 Tech, creative, startups
Soho / Fitzrovia / Covent Garden £700–£1,100 £100–£165 £8,500–£13,000 Media, advertising, fashion
King's Cross / Farringdon / Clerkenwell £550–£850 £65–£105 £7,000–£10,500 Tech, professional services, HQ
Mayfair / Marylebone / Victoria £800–£1,300 £115–£200 £10,000–£16,000 Finance, luxury, boutique advisory
Canary Wharf / Southwark / Bermondsey £475–£700 £50–£90 £6,000–£9,000 Banking, professional, creative

10-person all-in includes rent, rates, service charge, internet, meeting rooms. Sources: Rubberdesk Q4 2025, Hubble Q1 2026, Oktra 2026, Savills, Knight Frank 2026.

Browse live availability in your preferred submarket — no broker, no commission.

See live London availability →
By submarket

London Office Pricing by Submarket — 2026

Detailed pricing cards for each of London's six major commercial submarkets, including notable operators, typical building stock, and 10-person all-in estimates.

City of London / Bank / Liverpool Street
EC1–EC4 · Zone 1 · Crossrail + Central/Circle/Jubilee
Private office £750–£1,100/desk/mo
Dedicated desk £450–£650/desk/mo
Lease (Grade A) £80–£145/sq ft/yr
10-person all-in/mo £9,500–£14,000
Notable operators

Fora, TOG, Spaces, WeWork, Landmark, IWG, DeVono

High-spec glass towers, converted Victorian banking halls. Business rates up +38% from April 2026 revaluation (VOA). Lowest Grade A vacancy of any UK submarket at 0.3%.

Shoreditch / Old Street / Tech City
EC2/N1 · Zone 1 · Elizabeth Line (Whitechapel), Overground, Northern
Private office £475–£700/desk/mo
Dedicated desk £275–£450/desk/mo
Lease (Grade A) £60–£95/sq ft/yr
10-person all-in/mo £6,000–£9,000
Notable operators

Second Home, TOG, Huckletree, Work.Life, TechHub, WeWork

Best-value Zone 1 tech cluster. Converted warehouses, exposed brick, creative fit-outs. Popular with scale-ups, agencies, and AI companies. Elizabeth Line via Whitechapel connects to Canary Wharf in 4 mins.

Soho / Fitzrovia / Covent Garden
W1/WC2 · Zone 1 · Oxford Circus, Tottenham Court Road (Elizabeth Line), Covent Garden
Private office £700–£1,100/desk/mo
Dedicated desk £400–£650/desk/mo
Lease (Grade A) £100–£165/sq ft/yr
10-person all-in/mo £8,500–£13,000
Notable operators

LABS, The Office Group, Soho Works, Uncommon, WeWork

London's creative heartland. Media, advertising, fashion, and entertainment firms. Period buildings on Soho squares sit alongside modern Fitzrovia offices. Tottenham Court Road Elizabeth Line now the dominant hub.

King's Cross / Farringdon / Clerkenwell
N1C/EC1 · Zone 1 · King's Cross St Pancras (Thameslink, 6 tubes + Elizabeth Line Farringdon)
Private office £550–£850/desk/mo
Dedicated desk £320–£520/desk/mo
Lease (Grade A) £65–£105/sq ft/yr
10-person all-in/mo £7,000–£10,500
Notable operators

Argyll, TOG, Spaces, Google Campus, DropDesk, Fora

Best transport connectivity in London. King's Cross St Pancras has 6 tube lines, Thameslink, and HS1 to Europe. Google, Meta, Universal all have HQs here. Farringdon Elizabeth Line connects to Heathrow in 35 mins. Business rates up +38% post-revaluation.

Mayfair / Marylebone / Victoria
W1/SW1 · Zone 1 · Bond Street, Green Park, Victoria, Baker Street
Private office £800–£1,300/desk/mo
Dedicated desk £500–£800/desk/mo
Lease (Grade A) £115–£200/sq ft/yr
10-person all-in/mo £10,000–£16,000
Notable operators

Mayfair desks, Landmark, The Private Office, Pall Mall, TOG

London's most prestigious addresses. Hedge funds, private equity, family offices, luxury brands. Grade A buildings at record scarcity — 18-month lead times for best-in-class floors. Business rates up +23% from April 2026 (Kontor revaluation analysis).

Canary Wharf / Southwark / Bermondsey
E14/SE1 · Zone 2 · Jubilee, Elizabeth Line (Canary Wharf), Overground, Thameslink
Private office £475–£700/desk/mo
Dedicated desk £275–£450/desk/mo
Lease (Grade A) £50–£90/sq ft/yr
10-person all-in/mo £6,000–£9,000
Notable operators

Fora, WeWork, Spaces, TOG, Huckletree West (Bermondsey), Second Home

Best value for large banking and professional services teams. Canary Wharf's major tenants (HSBC, Barclays, Clifford Chance) are relocating to the City — creating more Grade A availability. Southwark/Bermondsey is the fastest-growing sub-market for creative/tech firms seeking lower rents within Zone 1–2.

Find real availability across all six submarkets — direct to operators, no commission layer.

Match me to live availability →
The broker maths

How Much Does a Broker Cost on a London Office Deal?

Standard commercial broker fees are 10% of year 1 rent. Here's what that means at three common London deal sizes — and what you save going direct.

Small deal
£50K/yr rent
5–8 person team, Shoreditch / Canary Wharf serviced
Standard 10% broker fee
£5,000
Seek fee: £0
You save £5,000 — 1 month's rent back in your pocket
Mid-market deal
£150K/yr rent
15–20 person team, City fringe / King's Cross
Standard 10% broker fee
£15,000
Seek fee: £0
You save £15,000 — hire 2 people for a month instead
Large deal
£500K/yr rent
50+ person team, City / Mayfair managed lease
Standard 10% broker fee
£50,000
Seek fee: £0
You save £50,000 — a senior hire's salary

Why London deals are more expensive than anywhere else: The same 10% fee structure applies nationally — but London's higher absolute rents mean the cash cost is disproportionately large. On a Mayfair floor at £200/sq ft, a broker fee on a 3,000 sq ft space = £60,000 — before you've signed anything.

Where the money goes

The Hidden Costs London Landlords Don't Tell You About

Business rates revaluation, broker fees, dilapidations, fit-out — the costs that surprise tenants when the lease is signed.

1

Business rates — April 2026 revaluation (+19.2% nationally)

The VOA's April 2026 revaluation is live. Average UK commercial rateable values rose 19.2%. London submarkets hit harder than the average:

Farringdon
+38%
City of London
+38%
Mayfair
+23%
West End
+23%
£15–£35/sq ft/yr typical London business rates on top of headline rent

Standard multiplier: 49.2p. Small business: 43.2p. Properties above £500K RV face supplementary charge. Source: SHW, Kontor, Colliers 2026 revaluation analysis.

2

Service charges — £12–£30/sq ft/yr on London Grade A

Service charges cover lifts, building security, reception, HVAC maintenance, cleaning of common areas, and management fees. In London's Grade A towers these run significantly higher than regional markets.

£12–£30/sq ft/yr service charge range — City Core towers at the top

Always request the last 3 years of service charge accounts before signing. The variation between buildings of equivalent spec can be 2–3x. A high service charge on a 10-year lease = £500K+ additional cost.

3

Fit-out — £60–£200/sq ft for a London shell

Category A (shell finish): £60–£120/sq ft. Category B (turnkey, your branding): £80–£200/sq ft. London's labour costs, M&E complexity, and planning constraints push these significantly above Manchester/Birmingham.

£300K–£1M+ to fit out a typical 5,000 sq ft London shell (Cat A → Cat B)

Serviced and managed offices eliminate this entirely. Move in on day one, no capital outlay.

4

Broker fees — £5K to £50K+ on a London deal

Standard 10% of year 1 rent. On a City lease at £150/sq ft for 3,000 sq ft (£450K/yr), that's £45,000 to the broker. Who the broker works for depends on which side they're representing — and many work for the landlord, not you.

£5K–£50K+ broker fee at typical London deal sizes — Seek charges £0

Always instruct your own tenant rep broker if signing a leasehold. If using a flex/managed operator listed on Seek, no broker is involved — you deal direct, pay direct.

5

Dilapidations — £20K–£100K+ at lease end

At lease end, the landlord can bill you for restoring the space. Even if you made improvements, they can demand reinstatement of the original shell. London estimates are higher due to building complexity and specialist reinstatement contractors.

£20K–£100K+ end-of-lease reinstatement costs on a 3,000–5,000 sq ft office

Fix: commission a Schedule of Condition at lease start. It sets a baseline the landlord cannot exceed.

6

Deposits — 3–6 months upfront

Most London landlords require 3–6 months cash deposit. On a £15,000/month office, that's £45,000–£90,000 locked up from day one, earning nothing, and returned only at lease end.

£45K–£90K deposit on a £15,000/month London office

Calculate your true London office cost — including rates, service charge, and fit-out.

Calculate what you'll actually pay →
How it works

How Seek Saves You the Broker Fee

The traditional London office search involves 3–6 middlemen before you sign anything. Seek cuts the chain.

Traditional route (what most companies still do)

Seeker → search portal → broker → landlord's agent → operator → lease. Each hand in the chain takes a cut or adds weeks. A standard London deal takes 8–14 weeks and costs 10–15% of year 1 rent in fees.

The Seek route
1

Answer 5 questions

Team size, location preference, budget, move-in date, office type. 60 seconds.

2

Get matched to live availability

Seek surfaces real spaces from operators who have verified pricing and can move fast. No ghost listings, no stale stock.

3

Talk directly to the operator

No broker in the middle, no re-routed emails, no "I'll need to check with the landlord." You have the operator's direct line.

4

Agree and move in

Operators pay Seek a flat subscription — not a commission on your deal. So you pay the same (or less) than going direct, with none of the friction.

£0

Seek charges you nothing. No success fee, no commission, no percentage of your rent.

Operators pay us a flat subscription to list their spaces. Your deal size is irrelevant to us — we have no incentive to push you toward a larger space or a longer lease.

Find your London office the direct way — 60-second quiz, real operators, zero commission.

Find my London office — no broker →
Team planning

London Office Cost by Team Size — 2026

All-in monthly estimates for serviced/managed private offices. Ranges reflect submarket variation — Shoreditch at the low end, City/Mayfair at the high end.

Team Size Submarket (low) Submarket (high) Monthly Range Annual Range Per Desk/Mo
5 people Shoreditch / Canary Wharf Mayfair / Soho £2,500–£6,500 £30K–£78K £500–£1,300
10 people Canary Wharf / Bermondsey City / Mayfair £5,000–£13,000 £60K–£156K £500–£1,300
20 people Shoreditch / Southwark City Core / Mayfair £9,500–£22,000 £114K–£264K £475–£1,100
50 people Canary Wharf / King's Cross City / West End £25,000–£55,000 £300K–£660K £500–£1,100

All-in includes rent, business rates, service charge, internet, cleaning, meeting rooms. Source: Rubberdesk Q4 2025, Hubble Q1 2026, Oktra 2026.

Other cities

Office cost guides for other UK cities

International markets

2026 Guide
Dubai
AED 2,000–6,000/desk/mo · MENA hub · 5 submarkets
2026 Guide
Singapore
S$550–S$1,800/desk/mo · APAC's #1 flex hub
2026 Guide
Hong Kong
HKD 3,500–18,000/desk/mo · APAC gateway
2026 Guide
New York
$900–$2,500/desk/mo · Midtown, FiDi, SoHo
New 2026 Guide ★
Sydney
AUD 500–1,200/desk/mo · ANZ's #1 market · 5 submarkets

Compare before you commit

Comparison
Seek vs Hubble
Direct booking vs broker referral — fees, inventory, model.
Comparison
Seek vs Regus
IWG/Regus London pricing vs direct operators — the real gap.
Calculator
Broker Fee Calculator
See what a broker costs on any deal size — and what you save direct.
Questions

Frequently asked questions

Answers to the questions London office seekers ask us most.

How much does office space cost in London per month?
For a private office in central London, budget £475–£1,200 per desk per month depending on location and spec. Mayfair and the West End command £800–£1,200/desk/mo; Shoreditch and Canary Wharf offer better value at £475–£650/desk/mo. Traditional leasehold space is cheaper per sq ft but requires fit-out and longer commitments.
Do I need a broker to rent office space in London?
You don't need one — but going without one means you're negotiating against an agent who works for the landlord. Instruct your own tenant rep broker. Their fee is usually 5–10% of annual rent (negotiable) and they work exclusively in your interest.
What's the cheapest area for office space in London?
Canary Wharf and Stratford offer the best value in central London, with Grade A rents from £45–£75/sq ft and desks from £475/month. Shoreditch and Old Street are popular alternatives with strong tech ecosystems and more affordable pricing than the West End.
How much is a private office in Shoreditch?
Serviced private offices in Shoreditch range from £475–£700 per desk per month depending on building quality and spec. Grade A fitted space runs £60–£95/sq ft on traditional leases. The area is popular with tech and creative companies for its ecosystem and Elizabeth Line connectivity via Whitechapel.
What business rates will I pay on a London office in 2026?
Business rates depend on your office's rateable value and location. Central London Grade A offices will see significant increases from April 2026 due to the revaluation. Farringdon offices face a 38% increase, Mayfair 23%, and the City of London 38%. Budget an extra £15–£35/sq ft/year in business rates on top of rent.
What costs are extra on top of office rent in London?
Beyond headline rent, factor in: business rates (£15–£35/sq ft/yr), service charge (£12–£30/sq ft/yr), fit-out if Category A (£60–£120/sq ft), utilities (£3–£8/sq ft/yr), deposits (3–6 months), and broker fees if applicable. Use our calculator to get a real figure.
Should I rent a serviced office or sign a traditional lease?
Serviced offices suit teams under 50 people needing flexibility (1–36 month terms), no capital for fit-out, and all-in monthly budgeting. Traditional leases suit established companies with 50+ people, 5+ year plans, and appetite to manage their own build-out and rates liability.
How has the Elizabeth line affected London office costs?
The Elizabeth line has transformed secondary locations near Farringdon, Liverpool Street, and Whitechapel into prime office destinations. Buildings near Crossrail stations command 10–20% premiums over comparable space without rail access. Teams near Farringdon can reach Canary Wharf in 10 minutes, Heathrow in 35 minutes — making the area popular with finance, legal, and tech firms.
When should I start looking for London office space?
Start searching 6–12 months before your planned move-in date. Grade A availability in the City Core and West End is at record lows (0.3–0.8% vacancy). Best-in-class buildings in Shoreditch, Farringdon, and King's Cross are being signed 12–18 months ahead of completion. The market rewards early action.
What is the London office market outlook for 2026?
Rents are rising. Knight Frank recorded 12.1M sq ft of take-up in 2025 — the strongest year since the pandemic. AI-linked tenants consumed 1M sq ft alone, representing 7% of all transactions. Supply remains constrained: 74% of all space let was Grade A. Expect continued upward pressure on rents through 2026, particularly in the City and West End cores.
Broker Fee Calculator

Calculate your saving

See exactly what a broker would charge on your London lease — and what you keep with Seek.

£75,000
Broker charges (10%)
£7,500
With Seek
£0
You keep
£7,500
Full calculator with lease term, share & embed →