Furthermore, the CAT A fit outs will create an additional £45 million of professional fees for businesses across central London which in today’s economic situation could be seen a good thing but at a considerable cost to the industry in years to come.

Steven Barker, Senior Partner, Robinsons Low Francis, said: “Building costs and rents are a key consideration for businesses looking for a new property, whereas the price of fit outs are often overlooked. In addition to the financial burden, the construction industry is under increasing scrutiny to reduce waste and emissions and reducing this practice would be a step closer to meeting sustainability targets.”

RLF proposes that this waste of resources, material and time could be avoided by engaging all parties at the design stage of the project. If built as a shell and core building as well as offering clients mock-up areas or tools such as computer generated images (CGI) the property can actually be brought into the market faster and allow maximum flexibility for the final use. 

Steven Barker, Senior Partner, Robinsons Low Francis, added: “In order to ensure greater efficiencies we must challenge the current traditional mindset of our clients and consultants and provide them with the advice and resources to consider the whole life time of a building.”

Steve Wright of Architects ttsp, commented: “One of the main problems we face is that many clients have difficulty visualising how the space will finish up. As an industry we must work together to offer the necessary tools and design technology to close this gap. The benefits will allow us to reduce wastage of materials, time and fees through tenants stripping out existing furnishings as soon as they move into a commercial property.”

ENDS

* Figure calculated by RLF using data from Knight Frank Central London Office Survey

Media Contact at Mandate:

Fraser Walters, +44 (0) 20 3128 8167, fraser.walters@yourmandate.com

Notes to Editors:

About Robinson Low Francis

Robinson Low Francis (RLF) is a firm of construction and property consultants with 125 years experience in the industry.  RLF provides services to public and private sector clients and its 140 strong team is currently involved in projects in the UK and aboard with a total value well in excess of £1billion.

RLF has seven offices around the UK - Birmingham, Brighton, Edinburgh, Glasgow, London, Manchester and Stevenage – and two overseas in Malta and Guernsey, with further international expansion planned. 

Key areas of work are quantity surveying, project management, engineering services, building surveying, management consulting, development consultancy and health and safety services and more recently specialist sustainability advice to meet the major environmental changes in the industry.

RLF works across the office, commercial, education, government & defence, healthcare, industrial, public and private residential, retail and sport and leisure sectors, to provide clients with innovative solutions to their construction and property needs. Clients include Royal Mail, John Lewis, Grosvenor, Pfizer and Barclays. For more information visit www.rlf.co.uk