Reception Refurbishment across City of London (EC1, EC2, EC3, EC4). Commercial reception refurbishment — the first 60 seconds of every client visit. Joinery, stone, signage, lighting, seating and AV containment, delivered to a fixed-price brief that signals brand quality from the door.
Reception Refurbishment across City of London (EC1, EC2, EC3, EC4) is delivered by our in-house commercial team with current estate approvals and compliance records on file. We have completed works in or adjacent to 22 Bishopsgate, The Leadenhall Building, 20 Fenchurch Street (Walkie-Talkie), The Scalpel, 100 Liverpool Street among others. Teams mobilise from our London operations base, with direct transport links via Liverpool Street, Moorgate, Bank, Cannon Street, Fenchurch Street, St Paul's, Aldgate and the new Elizabeth line at Liverpool Street and Farringdon. Every project is run by a named project manager reporting weekly with photographs and programme RAG. Out-of-hours loading, estate permit-to-work and managing-agent liaison are included in the prelims — not charged as variations.
The City of London market is dominated by global investment banks and trading houses, top-tier law firms and professional services, insurance and reinsurance (lloyd's market), each with distinct reception refurbishment requirements — programme compression, landlord co-ordination, out-of-hours delivery, and full compliance ownership. Our commercial team has delivered reception refurbishment in trophy buildings including 22 Bishopsgate, The Leadenhall Building, 20 Fenchurch Street (Walkie-Talkie), The Scalpel.
The Square Mile is London's densest office market — 9m+ sqft of Grade A stock across trophy towers (22 Bishopsgate, Leadenhall Building, Walkie-Talkie, Scalpel) and period blocks around Liverpool Street and Moorgate. Occupiers are dominated by financial services, professional services, insurance and legal, with increasing tech and life-sciences take-up post-2022.
Standard working hours are 08:00–18:00 Mon–Fri; heavy noise works typically only permitted 08:00–18:00 or out-of-hours by managing-agent agreement. Trophy buildings commonly mandate loading slots booked 72 hours in advance. Loading bays are pre-booked through estate management — Broadgate, Paternoster, Aldgate all operate tight loading windows. Vehicles over 7.5t face restrictions in the City's Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) and in some streets under the Bank Junction traffic restrictions.
Brand workshop — mood boards, materials, brand guide input
Concept design and sample board
Detailed joinery and signage drawings
Procurement — stone, joinery veneers, fabric, lighting
Phased installation with maintained access
| Tier | Range | What's covered |
|---|---|---|
| Refresh | £80–£180 per sqft | Paint, joinery touch-up, new signage and lighting |
| Standard rebuild | £180–£360 per sqft | New desk, wall cladding, flooring, lighting, signage |
| Premium | £360–£620 per sqft | Stone, premium joinery, designer furniture, feature ceiling |
| Trophy / HQ | £620+ per sqft | Bespoke stone, full architectural commission, AV, art |
City, Canary Wharf and prime Westminster carry a typical 10–20% premium over outer London zones due to loading restrictions, out-of-hours working and estate-approval overheads. Figures are guide ranges — we provide a fixed quote after survey.
Reception desk — delivered in City of London under estate-approved loading and out-of-hours protocols.
Wall cladding — delivered in City of London under estate-approved loading and out-of-hours protocols.
Stone feature wall — delivered in City of London under estate-approved loading and out-of-hours protocols.
Timber veneer — delivered in City of London under estate-approved loading and out-of-hours protocols.
Feature lighting — delivered in City of London under estate-approved loading and out-of-hours protocols.
Signage — delivered in City of London under estate-approved loading and out-of-hours protocols.
Wayfinding — delivered in City of London under estate-approved loading and out-of-hours protocols.
Directory board — delivered in City of London under estate-approved loading and out-of-hours protocols.
Works in the City engage the City of London Corporation's planning framework and, for listed buildings, Listed Building Consent. Out-of-hours loading is tightly controlled under the Code of Construction Practice. Many buildings carry conservation area or heritage designations requiring specialist finishes and reversible alteration.
Reference list available on request under NDA.
Measured condition survey within 5 working days, including M&E, fabric and compliance review.
Scope capture workshop with stakeholders — occupier, landlord, managing agent, FM team.
Stage 3 design package with space plan, M&E schedules, specification and CAT A/B split.
Lump-sum price against the design package. All prelims transparent.
CDM notification, RAMS, permit-to-work, landlord licence-to-alter, estate approvals.
Weekly client reports with photos, programme RAG, variation log, compliance status.
O&M manuals, as-built drawings, building-regs sign-off, 12-month defects period.
Reception Refurbishment in trophy tower grade a (25,000+ sqft floor plates) is typically specified to refresh level — paint, joinery touch-up, new signage and lighting. Programme is governed by loading access and estate working-hours framework.
Reception Refurbishment in period refurbished blocks (5,000–15,000 sqft plates) is typically specified to standard rebuild level — new desk, wall cladding, flooring, lighting, signage. Programme is governed by loading access and estate working-hours framework.
Reception Refurbishment in listed buildings in conservation areas (bank, guildhall) is typically specified to premium level — stone, premium joinery, designer furniture, feature ceiling. Programme is governed by loading access and estate working-hours framework.
Reception Refurbishment in converted warehouses (shoreditch edge of ec2) is typically specified to trophy / hq level — bespoke stone, full architectural commission, av, art. Programme is governed by loading access and estate working-hours framework.
Reception works typically phase around business hours where the reception must remain operational — protective hoarding with brand-matched print, with heavy joinery and stone installation confined to evenings and weekends.
Standard working hours are 08:00–18:00 Mon–Fri; heavy noise works typically only permitted 08:00–18:00 or out-of-hours by managing-agent agreement. Trophy buildings commonly mandate loading slots booked 72 hours in advance. Loading bays are pre-booked through estate management — Broadgate, Paternoster, Aldgate all operate tight loading windows. Vehicles over 7.5t face restrictions in the City's Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) and in some streets under the Bank Junction traffic restrictions.
All City of London occupiers benefit from a PPM framework covering L8 water hygiene, EICR, emergency lighting, F-Gas registers and fabric maintenance. For a scoped PPM package in City of London see Office Maintenance in City of London or Commercial Maintenance in City of London.
Anonymised project outlines from our City of London and adjacent-area portfolio — full reference list with contact introductions available on request under NDA.
Scope · 220 sqm
Budget band · £680k
Programme · 8 weeks
Stone feature wall, bespoke desk, integrated AV directory
Delivered under single-contractor D&B with CDM 2015 principal contractor duty. Full compliance pack at handover.
Scope · 160 sqm
Budget band · £420k
Programme · 6 weeks
Timber cladding, biophilic wall, concierge coffee
Delivered under single-contractor D&B with CDM 2015 principal contractor duty. Full compliance pack at handover.
Scope · 360 sqm
Budget band · £1.1M
Programme · 14 weeks
Full lobby redesign including turnstiles and concierge
Delivered under single-contractor D&B with CDM 2015 principal contractor duty. Full compliance pack at handover.
Standard reception rebuild in a 120–200 sqm footprint: 4–6 weeks. Premium with stone: 6–8 weeks. Trophy with bespoke architecture: 8–14 weeks.
Yes — we phase works behind a brand-matched hoarding with a temporary desk inside the existing footprint. Heavy installation runs nights and weekends to minimise visitor impact.
Yes — we work with Boon Edam, Dormakaba, Kaba and client-preferred integrators. We provide the containment, power and fixing; the specialist commissions the hardware.
Large-format porcelain or stone on wall/desk, timber veneer on joinery (oak, walnut, fumed ash), engineered stone or terrazzo flooring, linear LED lighting, acoustic absorber behind signage.
Yes — we hold up-to-date CSCS, insurance and compliance records on file with all major City estate managers. First mobilisation time from instruction is typically 5 working days.
Loading is pre-booked with the estate — for typical CAT B fit-out we request a rolling 72-hour slot allocation. For out-of-hours deliveries (6am–8am, 6pm–10pm) we book 2 weeks ahead.
Yes. Most works are phased into 6pm–6am night shifts with full dust-sealed segregation, low-noise tools and managed waste removal. Trading floors remain operational throughout.
Yes — our architectural team manages LBC applications and works with the City's conservation officers on reversible fit-out, historic joinery retention and compatible finishes.
5,000 sqft: 8–10 weeks. 15,000 sqft: 12–16 weeks. 30,000+ sqft: 18–24 weeks phased.
Full commercial refurbishment for occupied and vacant offices — CAT B fit-out, finishes, M&E upgrades.
CAT A and CAT B fit-out for new leases, HQ relocations and floor consolidations.
Renovation of existing office space — modernising finishes, layout and services without full strip-out.
LED upgrades, emergency lighting, small power, containment. NICEIC certified.
Suspended ceiling grids, tiles, rafts, exposed-services finishes.
In-depth articles on commercial fit-out, compliance and market strategy.
Measured condition survey within 5 working days. Fixed-price quote within 10. Estate approvals on file.