If your office no longer works as well as it should, there are usually two options. Stay and refurbish, or relocate and start again.
Until recently, plenty of organisations could make that call on instinct and tidy up the numbers afterwards. That's harder now. On 5 November 2026, the Bank of England raised Bank Rate to 4%, its first increase since 2023, and it expects inflation to climb further next year.
When money costs more, large capital decisions get more scrutiny. Whichever route you favour, you're likely to need a business case that holds up in front of a finance director.
In simple terms:
Refurbish if the building still works for the business.
Relocate if the building itself is becoming the problem.
Then prove it with numbers that compare both options fairly.
Define what the business needs from its workplace before choosing a property outcome.
Test the existing building and any new options against the same brief.
Count the cost of money, not just the cost of construction. Higher borrowing costs change how the two options compare.
Spread the spend where it helps. A phased refurbishment can reduce how much you need to fund at once.
Build the business case before you commit, comparing whole costs over the same period and testing them against a further rate rise.
It doesn't change which building suits your business. It does change how the two options compare on paper.
The Bank of England raised Bank Rate by a quarter point to 4% on 5 November 2026, and it now expects inflation to peak at around 5% next year. The next decision is on 17 December. We've covered the wider picture in Interest rates rise to 4%: what it means for your office plans.
For this decision, the biggest effect is on timing. A relocation tends to concentrate spending at the start: the new fit-out, furniture and technology, removals, a period of overlapping leases and dilapidations on the office you're leaving. If much of that is funded through borrowing, it has become more expensive to fund.
A refurbishment can often be phased, so the money goes out over a longer period. That can reduce how much you need to borrow at any one time. It isn't automatically cheaper, though. Phasing brings costs of its own, such as temporary partitions and out-of-hours working, and later phases may be priced later. Our guide to phasing an office refurbishment without disruption explains how to weigh that up.
A move can still come out ahead. Landlord incentives, such as a rent-free period or a capital contribution towards the fit-out, reduce how much you need to fund yourself. When borrowing costs are higher, those incentives are worth more, so they're worth negotiating hard and counting properly.
Then there's the cost of waiting. If inflation rises as the Bank expects, materials and labour may cost more by the time a postponed project goes ahead. Putting off a decision isn't the same as saving money, particularly if the current office is already holding the business back.
Before comparing properties or costs, define what the business needs from its workplace. Headcount is part of it, but so are working patterns, client space, technical requirements and how much you expect to grow.
Start with two blunt questions. Is the current office genuinely too small, or just poorly arranged? And does the location still work for the people who use it?
The clearer the requirement, the easier it becomes to judge whether your current office can meet it. If you're still defining the brief, our Office Fit-Out Readiness Assessment takes you through the key decisions to make before starting a workplace project.
An office can feel too small without actually being too small. Poor layouts, oversized meeting rooms and the wrong balance of spaces can make a workplace feel more constrained than it really is.
Before deciding to relocate, look at how the office is actually being used. Peak occupancy tells you more than total headcount, and utilisation data will show which spaces are in demand and which sit empty most of the week.
The British Council for Offices' 2025 review of office utilisation found that the traditional 80% utilisation benchmark no longer reflects how UK offices are used. It now treats around 66% as a more realistic figure for space planning, which works out at roughly 15 sq m per person rather than the previous 12.5 sq m.
Our Office Space Calculator can help you estimate how much space you actually need. Sometimes the answer isn't more space. It's better use of the space you have.
A better layout will only take you so far. You also need to know whether the building can support the way the business will operate in future.
Power and data capacity, heating and ventilation, accessibility, security and landlord restrictions all affect what's possible. So does any specialist or operational requirement, and whether the building can be adapted again later.
Technical due diligence answers these questions before they become expensive surprises. A building may look right on paper, but if major upgrades are needed to make it work, the case for staying can change quickly. With borrowing costing more, an unplanned infrastructure upgrade is harder to absorb than it was a year ago.
The question isn't just "Can we refurbish this office?" It's "Can this building support where the business is going?"
It's easy to compare refurbishment costs with the rent on a new office and think you have your answer. You usually don't.
Staying can involve refurbishment, temporary accommodation, phased works and infrastructure upgrades, as well as some disruption to day-to-day operations. Moving brings surveys and legal costs, a new fit-out, furniture and technology, removals and possibly a period of paying for two buildings at once.
Dilapidations are worth understanding early. RICS advises commercial tenants to consider their potential dilapidations liability throughout the lease and budget for it. Depending on the lease, you may need to reinstate alterations as well as carry out repairs before you leave.
The right comparison is the whole cost of creating the workplace you need, not the headline property or fit-out figure. Now that finance costs more, that comparison should include what the money itself will cost. The business case section below sets out how to do it.
Moving office isn't just a property decision. It can affect commuting, recruitment, client access and how often people actually use the workplace.
A move that looks small on a map can feel very different to the people travelling there every day. Equally, staying in the same location doesn't mean keeping the same workplace. A refurbishment can completely change how the office supports the way teams work.
A workplace should solve today's problems without creating tomorrow's. Could headcount grow? Could teams be reorganised, or need more client space or specialist areas?
You don't need to predict the future perfectly, but you do need enough flexibility to adapt. If your current office can be reconfigured as the business changes, refurbishment may make sense. If you're already close to the building's limits, a move may give you room to grow without solving the same problem again in a few years.
A good business case doesn't argue for the answer you've already chosen. It compares the realistic options on the same basis, so the board can see why one is better.
"The office feels tired" won't get a project approved. "We can't fit the team we're hiring next year" or "our meeting space is full on Tuesdays and empty on Fridays" gives decision-makers something concrete to weigh. Use occupancy data and employee feedback where you have them.
Most business cases compare at least a refurbishment and a relocation. It's worth adding a do-minimum option too, covering essential repairs and nothing else. It shows what happens if the business does nothing, and it's often the option a finance team will ask about first.
Each option should be tested against the same brief. Otherwise you're comparing a well-planned refurbishment with a move nobody has properly scoped.
Pick a period that reflects the decision, such as the remaining lease term or the length of a new lease, and cost every option across it. Include the fit-out, fees, furniture, technology, moving costs and dilapidations, along with landlord incentives that reduce what you pay.
Include the cost of finance as well. If the project is funded through borrowing, a 4% Bank Rate changes the total. If it's funded from reserves, some boards will want to see what that cash could otherwise have earned.
Tax can work in your favour. The Autumn Budget raised first-year capital allowances to 50% from January 2027, which may apply to some of your fit-out spend. Our Autumn Budget 2026 summary explains the change, and your tax adviser can confirm what qualifies.
Costs are easier to count than benefits, which is why benefits often get left out. Focus on what you can support with data. Better utilisation might mean leasing less space, and upgraded services might reduce energy bills.
Avoid claims you can't measure. A finance director who finds one inflated benefit will question the rest.
The next Bank of England decision is on 17 December, and economists are split on whether rates will rise again in early 2027. Run the main options at today's rate and at a higher one. If an option only works when everything goes to plan, the board should know that.
The same applies to construction prices. Build in a contingency that reflects how well each option has been surveyed and designed, rather than a single percentage applied to everything.
Disruption is a real cost, even when it doesn't appear on an invoice. For a refurbishment, set out where people will work while their area is being done and how critical services will stay on. For a move, cover the overlap period and how you'll handle the changeover. A plan for business continuity often decides the case as much as the cost does.
Finish with a clear recommendation and the reasons for it. Then say what would change your view, such as a landlord refusing consent or rates rising further. It shows the board you've tested the decision rather than defended it.
Refurbish if the building can support where the business is going and the space can be improved without unacceptable cost or disruption.
Relocate if the building is holding back growth or the way your people need to work, and a move still makes sense once the full costs are counted.
If the answer isn't obvious, you probably need more information before making the property decision. Define the requirement, test both options against it and put the numbers into a business case.
Our Office Fit-Out Readiness Assessment can help you see how ready you are and where the gaps are.
We'd start with the organisation, what it's trying to achieve and how its people work. Then we'd compare what the existing building can support with what a shortlisted new property could deliver. Test fits and technical reviews turn an instinctive stay-or-go debate into a decision supported by evidence, and give you the figures a business case needs.
Our Atlas Copco Group project shows how important the full brief can be. Its new 55,000 sq ft headquarters needed to bring five divisions together and accommodate production, warehouse and workshop facilities as well as offices.
The building was assessed against those combined needs and transformed to support them. It's an example of testing property and workplace requirements together. It doesn't mean moving will be right for every organisation.
A good starting point is understanding how much space you actually need. Our Office Space Calculator estimates your requirements based on your people and ways of working.
There is no universal answer. Refurbishment may retain a suitable location and avoid some moving costs, but significant infrastructure work or phasing can change the calculation. Relocation adds property, fit-out and moving costs, but may solve constraints the existing building cannot. Compare the full costs and business impact of both options over the same period.
It can. A relocation usually concentrates spending at the start, while a refurbishment can often be phased so costs are spread over time. When borrowing costs more, spreading spend can ease cash flow. Strong landlord incentives can still make a move the better option, so compare both properly.
A clear statement of the problem, the realistic options including doing the minimum, and the whole cost of each over the same period, including finance costs. It should also cover the benefits you can evidence, how the business will keep running during the work and how the numbers change if rates or construction prices rise.
Check whether the existing building can support future headcount, the right mix of work settings, technical infrastructure and any specialist requirements. Review the lease and landlord permissions, along with whether the business can keep operating during the works.
Relocation becomes more compelling when essential needs can't be met in the present building, for example when the location no longer suits the business or the services can't be upgraded economically. The decision should follow a property and workplace assessment rather than assume a move is automatically an improvement.
Often it can, depending on the scope and building. Phasing the work around temporary workspace and planned service shutdowns can help protect operations. The delivery plan needs assessing for the specific building before the business commits to staying.