How Much Does an Office Relocation Cost? (2026 Guide)
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
Short answer: an office relocation isn't one cost — it's three groups: the physical move, the property and legal side, and the fit-out of your new space. A straightforward removal runs £3,500 to £23,000, but once you add dilapidations on the old office and the fit-out of the new one, a full relocation frequently passes £100,000. The move itself is rarely the biggest number.
Here's the full breakdown, the hidden cost that catches most businesses out, and how to keep the whole thing under control.
The full cost of an office relocation (2026)
Budget across all three groups — miss one and your number falls apart:
Cost group | What's in it | Typical cost |
Physical move | Removals, packing, IT decommission and recommission | £2–£5 per sq ft |
Dilapidations | Reinstating your old space to lease condition | £15–£25 per sq ft (£30+ prime London) |
New-space fit-out | Cat B fit-out of the new office | £75–£150 per sq ft |
Legal & professional | Lease, solicitor, agent, project management | £2,000–£8,000+ |
The new-space fit-out is almost always the largest single cost. See our office fit out cost guide for the per-sq-ft detail, and office furniture costs for kitting it out.
Removal cost by office size
The physical move alone, for a local relocation:
Office size | Local move (removals only) |
Small (5–15 staff) | £800–£2,200 |
Medium (15–50 staff) | £2,200–£6,500 |
Large (50–150 staff) | £6,500–£18,000 |
Add IT relocation (£500–£3,000) and professional packing (£300–£1,500) on top. Book mid-week or off-peak, declutter before the survey, and never accept hourly pricing on an office move.
Dilapidations: the cost that catches everyone out
Dilapidations are your contractual obligation to return the old office to its lease condition — usually stripping out your changes back to Cat A. It's the single most underestimated cost of moving: a British Chambers of Commerce survey found 68% of SMEs hit surprise dilapidation bills over £50,000, often more than the physical move itself.
Budget £15–£25 per sq ft, rising to £30+ in prime London. The lever that controls it is a schedule of condition — a photographic record agreed before you signed the lease — which caps your liability. Landlords will often negotiate a settlement, so it's worth challenging the first figure.
Model your move in two minutes. Relocation has too many moving parts to guess. The Zentura Office Budget Calculator builds fit-out, dilapidations, move and first-year running costs into one figure — and our Stay vs Go tool helps you decide whether to move at all.
How long does an office relocation take?
Allow four to nine months end to end for a full relocation. The property search, legals, design and fit-out overlap, with the on-site fit-out itself usually running 10–20 weeks depending on size. Start early — the biggest cause of blown budgets is a rushed programme forcing out-of-hours work.
How Zentura delivers a relocation
Most moves go wrong in the gaps between suppliers — the mover blames IT, the fit-out runs late, and nobody owns the whole sequence. We remove that risk with single-point, fixed-price delivery: design, fit-out, furniture and move under one roof, one accountable team, one price agreed up front. What you see is what you pay.
It's all delivered on time, on brief and on budget, backed by our 3-year post-contract care — with Accountability, Transparency and Peace of Mind at the core. See our office fit out service.
A real Zentura relocation: Klipspringer
When Klipspringer needed to relocate and expand, we delivered a full 37,000 sq ft relocation and fit-out in Ipswich with zero disruption to their operations — a cutting-edge workspace built for growth, handed over ready to work in from day one. See it alongside our other work in the Zentura project portfolio.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to relocate an office in the UK in 2026?
A straightforward removal runs £3,500–£23,000 depending on size, but a full relocation — including dilapidations on the old office and fit-out of the new one — frequently exceeds £100,000. The physical move is rarely the largest cost.
What are dilapidations and how much do they cost?
Dilapidations are your obligation to restore the old office to lease condition. They typically cost £15–£25 per sq ft, rising above £30 in prime London — often the biggest hidden cost of a move.
How much does the physical office move cost?
Around £2–£5 per square foot, or roughly £800–£2,200 for a small office, £2,200–£6,500 for a medium office and £6,500–£18,000 for a large one, plus IT relocation and packing.
How long does an office relocation take?
Typically four to nine months end to end, with the on-site fit-out running 10–20 weeks. Starting early avoids costly out-of-hours working.
Are office relocation costs tax deductible?
Most relocation costs — removals, professional fees and IT migration — are generally treated as revenue expenses and are tax deductible, though fit-out costs may need to be capitalised. Check with your accountant.
Planning an office move? Talk to Zentura about a single-team, fixed-price relocation delivered with zero disruption — get in touch.
