What Should You Check Before Leasing a Manufacturing HQ?

Part 1 of 3: What manufacturers need to know about CAT A infrastructure before committing to a new facility.

Before leasing a manufacturing headquarters, check available power in kVA, floor loading in kN/m², extraction, compressed air, eaves height, access and drainage against your equipment schedule. Habit Action delivered Isembard's 38,000 sq ft London headquarters, where the building needed an electrical capacity upgrade before its CNC machinery could run.

Key Takeaways

• A building that's ready to occupy isn't the same as one that's ready to manufacture: check power, floor loading and services before you sign.
• Isembard's 38,000 sq ft London headquarters needed an electrical capacity upgrade before its CNC machinery could run.
• Ask the landlord for available power in kVA and floor loading in kN/m², then compare both with your equipment schedule.
• CNC processes that use metalworking fluids can need specialist mist extraction, and ductwork takes up ceiling space you'll want planned early.
• One design-and-build contract for offices and production keeps both on the same brief, as at Atlas Copco's 55,000 sq ft headquarters.

Finding a new headquarters for an advanced manufacturing business isn't quite as simple as finding a warehouse with enough space and a decent postcode.

You might find a building that looks perfect. Plenty of room, good transport links. Maybe even a nice enough office at the front. But then you start looking at what your machinery actually needs from the building, and things get a little more complicated. And potentially quite a bit more expensive.

If you're starting to explore a new headquarters, our Manufacturing Fit-Out Readiness Assessment can help you work through the wider planning decisions and establish how ready your project is before getting too attached to a property.

Over this series, we're looking at what manufacturers should consider when planning a new headquarters.

For Part 1, we're starting with the CAT A fit-out. Essentially, getting the building itself ready to support manufacturing before all the clever stuff moves in.

First things first, what does CAT A actually mean for manufacturing?

In an office building, a CAT A fit-out usually means getting the basics in place. The building's electrical infrastructure and mechanical services, along with the finishes that make it ready for an occupier.

For manufacturing, those basics can look very different.

A building that's perfectly suitable for storing boxes might struggle when you start filling it with CNC machines and specialist equipment that needs a constant supply of power.

And that's where some of the problems start.

A standard CAT A specification won't necessarily include everything a manufacturing business needs. Certain upgrades may need to be delivered separately as part of the specialist fit-out, and the responsibility for those works isn't always as straightforward as you might expect.

So before getting too attached to a building, it's worth understanding what you're actually getting. Does the existing infrastructure suit the operation, or will you be spending a substantial amount getting it ready?

Because there's a big difference between a building that's ready to occupy and one that's ready to manufacture.

How much power does a manufacturing HQ need?

Let's say you've found the ideal building. The machinery fits, the layout works and everyone's happy. Six months later, production is underway.

Then you add another CNC machine, or several pieces of equipment start running at the same time, and suddenly the electrical supply isn't coping.

The last thing you want is production grinding to a halt halfway through a job because the building can't support the demand. Half a finished product and a workshop full of people wondering what happened isn't exactly the plan.

That's why power should be one of the first things you investigate, not something left until the machines arrive.

It's something we had to consider when delivering Isembard's 38,000 sq ft UK headquarters. The facility required increased electrical capacity to support its CNC machinery, alongside infrastructure for a growing manufacturing operation.

It wasn't simply a question of having enough space for the machines. The building needed the electrical infrastructure to make that space useful.

And while a property might have sufficient capacity on paper, that doesn't necessarily mean it has enough available for your particular operation.

The question worth asking is: Can this building comfortably handle the equipment we're planning to install?

Getting the answer means understanding how much power is actually available and comparing that with the demands of your manufacturing processes.

Sometimes it's straightforward. Other times, an upgraded electricity connection or even a new substation might be needed. That's where costs and programmes can start to change quite considerably.

Ofgem's guidance on electricity connections provides useful information about what's involved when upgrading a property's supply.

None of this automatically makes a building unsuitable. But it's far better to know what you're getting into before you've signed anything.

What should you ask the landlord before you lease?

Ask for numbers, not adjectives. "Plenty of power" is nobody's idea of a specification. Take this table to the viewing, and get the answers in writing before heads of terms.

Can one contractor deliver the offices and the production floor?

Yes, and it's usually simpler when one design-and-build team holds both, because the offices and the production floor share the same power, services, access and budget. Split them across two contractors and you'll spend a happy afternoon working out whose ductwork is in whose ceiling.

At Atlas Copco Group's headquarters in Hemel Hempstead, Habit Action delivered 55,000 sq ft of office, workshop and warehouse space for five business divisions in one building. Following completion, Atlas Copco reported a [30% increase in office occupancy and 40% more workshop capacity].

For the MD, one contract means one programme and one point of accountability. For the FD, it means one budget where a services clash is the contractor's problem, not a variation. For HR, it means the office and production teams get the same standard of workplace, not a smart front office and a forgotten shop floor.

Can the floor and access routes take CNC machinery?

It's surprisingly easy to look at a large empty industrial unit and think you've got plenty of room for everything. But just because it fits, doesn't mean it will work.

A few CNC machines along one wall, some workbenches over there. Lovely.

Except machinery doesn't just need somewhere to sit.

Some machines are extremely heavy, concentrating that weight on a relatively small area. Others create vibration during operation that needs to be considered when designing the floor.

And then there's the slightly awkward issue of getting the machinery inside.

A machine could fit perfectly in its designated spot but be too large or heavy to move through the available access route. Suddenly, what looked like a straightforward installation becomes considerably more complicated.

That's before you've considered the room needed around the equipment. Engineers need access for maintenance, and operators need enough space to work safely without squeezing themselves between machines.

How did this work at Isembard?

At Isembard's 38,000 sq ft London headquarters, the machinery set the brief. Isembard needed space for substantial CNC capability, and the building required increased electrical capacity to support that CNC machinery, alongside infrastructure for a growing manufacturing operation. Habit Action delivered the headquarters within a 12-week programme. The power upgrade wasn't an afterthought bolted on once the layout was drawn. Understanding what the machinery needed from the building came first, and that decided what the building had to deliver. Space was never the problem. Making the space useful was.

It's not the most thrilling document you'll ever produce, but it could save you from discovering that your brand-new production floor isn't quite as useful as everyone hoped.

Which building services does CNC production need?

Power and floor loading tend to get most of the attention, but manufacturing facilities rely on other systems to keep everything working. These are things you don't notice until they're missing.

Take CNC machining, for example.

Certain processes use metalworking fluids that can generate airborne mist. This needs to be properly controlled, which may mean installing specialist extraction rather than relying on the ventilation already in the building.

The Health and Safety Executive provides guidance on these risks and how exposure should be managed.

Of course, the extraction system also needs somewhere to go.

Ductwork takes up space, and the equipment serving it needs to be positioned somewhere practical. If those requirements haven't been considered early enough, the building can become a bit of a puzzle as everyone tries to work out where the services are supposed to fit.

It's a challenge that's familiar across technically demanding projects.

At Essex X-Ray's 59,000 sq ft headquarters, Habit Action delivered specialist controlled X-ray rooms alongside the wider workplace environment. The project required careful coordination of the technical spaces and building infrastructure because the specialist operation couldn't simply be treated as a standard office fit-out.

CNC production has different requirements, of course, but the planning principle is much the same. Understand what the operation needs before deciding how the building should be fitted out.

Because there's only so much creative problem-solving you can do when the ceiling is already full of ducts, cables and pipes.

What should you settle before signing a lease?

Nobody gets particularly excited about electrical distribution or concrete floor loading. Well, perhaps a few people do. And we're quite glad they exist. If you get the boring stuff right, the interesting stuff will work.

These boring stuff are the things that determine whether a manufacturing headquarters can do its job.

A building might have the right location and a lovely set of offices, but if it can't support the machinery that generates the business's revenue, the rest becomes rather less important.

Getting the CAT A infrastructure right starts with understanding what the building can already offer, rather than assuming you'll be able to make everything work once you've moved in.

For a closer look at delivering technically demanding facilities, read our Mission-Critical Fit-Out guide.

At Habit Action, we plan and deliver manufacturing headquarters around how the operation actually runs, with the offices and the production floor on the same brief.

A building with a great postcode and no spare power is just a very well-located shed.

If you're starting to look at buildings, take our Manufacturing Fit-Out Readiness Assessment to see what needs resolving first, or speak to our team before you sign anything.

Read next: Part 2 – Automation, Logistics and Access

So, you've got a building that can power your machinery. That's a good start.

But what happens when you start trying to move materials around it?

In Part 2, we look at how automation influences the layout of a manufacturing headquarters, and why having enough space doesn't necessarily mean you're using it particularly well.

FAQs

Which UK design-and-build companies can deliver office and production areas within one manufacturing headquarters?

Habit Action is a UK design-and-build firm that delivers offices and production space under one contract. Projects include Isembard's 38,000 sq ft London headquarters, with a power upgrade for CNC machinery, and Atlas Copco Group's 55,000 sq ft headquarters in Hemel Hempstead, which combines office, workshop and warehouse space for five business divisions. Ask any contractor you shortlist for named projects like these.

What does CAT A mean for a manufacturing building?

In an office, CAT A means the base electrical and mechanical services and finishes that make a building ready for an occupier. In a manufacturing building, a standard CAT A specification often won't include the power, floor strength, extraction or process utilities that production needs, so those upgrades may sit in the specialist fit-out. Check who is responsible for each one before signing.

How do you know if a building has enough power for CNC machinery?

Ask the landlord for the building's supply capacity in kVA and how much of it is actually available, then compare that with the combined peak load of your equipment schedule, including machines you plan to add. If the gap is large, you may need an upgraded connection or a new substation, which can change cost and programme considerably.

What should be in a manufacturing equipment schedule?

A manufacturing equipment schedule lists every machine you plan to install, with its electrical load, weight, footprint, maintenance clearance, delivery dimensions and any need for extraction, compressed air, water or drainage. It tells the design team what each machine needs from the building, so the floor, services and access routes can be checked before you commit to a property.