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Regional variations
The costs are, unless otherwise noted in the text, appropriate for projects in the South-east and should be adjusted by the following location factors for schemes in other regions.
Inner London1.09
Outer London1.03
South-west0.95
East Midlands0.91
West Midlands0.92
East Anglia0.96
Yorkshire & Humberside 0.91
North-west0.93
Northern0.92
Scotland0.89
Wales0.91
Northern Ireland0.75
Car parks - Current construction costs
 Unit size m2/carUnit cost £/space
Surface20-231,000-1,500
Surface landscaped20-251,500-2,500
Grade and upper level23-325,000-7,000
Multistorey flat slab24-328,000-14,000
Basement with mechanical ventilation28-3422,000-26,000
Warehouses and distribution centres - Current construction costs (shell only)
 Up to 10,000m2 £/m2 (gifa)10,000m2 to 20,000m2 £/m2 (gifa)over 20,000m2 £/m2 (gifa)
Low bay (6-9m)300-460
Low bay (10-15m)270-350200-270
High bay (16-24m)290-380220-350
Fit-out – tenant’s mechanical handling and chilled store installation425-790
Business park offices - Current construction costs (including developer’s finish)
 Less than 2,000m2 £/m2 (gifa)More than 2,000m2 £/m2 (gifa)
Functional – non air-conditioned 700-900650-850
Medium quality – non air-conditioned800-1,000750-950
Medium quality – air-conditioned900-1,050850-1,050
Good quality – naturally ventilated to meet BCO specification (exposed soffits, motorised windows and solar shading)950-1,050900-1,050
High quality – air-conditioned950-1,250900-1,300
West End and city-centre office buildings - Current construction costs (including developer’s finish)
 £/m2 (gifa)
Regional cities – high-quality speculative offices, air-conditioned1,150-1,450
City and West End – high-quality speculative offices, 8-20 storeys; air-conditioned1,400-1,900
City fringe – deep-plan speculative office towers, air-conditioned1,700-2,000
City and West End – iconic speculative office towers, air-conditioned1,900-2,400
Note: Cost of the City and West End speculative and owner-occupied offices are based on a Central London location. The regional city office costs are based on a South-east location
Office refurbishment - Current construction costs (including developer’s finish)
 £/m2 (gifa)
Minor refurbishment220-720
Medium refurbishment700-1,100
Major refurbishment1,100-1,600+
Note: Costs are based on a central London location
Office fit-out - Current construction costs
Indicative costs for fit-out of office space from shell-and-core condition
 City/West End offices £/m2 (nia)Out-of-town offices £/m2 (nia)
Developer’s fit-out to general office areas325-450250-325
General office space - open plan 425-550275-400
General office space - part cellular525-800350-550
Senior executive offices600-900550-900
Conference suites 1,100-1,5001,000-1,500
Sub-equipment room1,500-1,9001,200-1,700
Restaurant1,150-1,9501,100-1,950
Kitchen2,100-2,6002,000-2,600
Note: Fit-out costs are taken from shell and core condition. Cost of City/West End office fit-outs are based on a central London location. The out-of-town office fit-out costs are based on a South-east location. All rates are based on net internal floor area.
Stadiums and grandstands - Current construction costs
 £/seat
Basic stand; WCs and concession areas only 500-900
Regional stand/stadium; WCs, concession areas and limited hospitality 1,000-1,700
Regional feature stand/stadium; changing facilities, offices, retail/hospitality areas and conference facilities 1,500-3,000
National/iconic stadium; full facilities including retail, hospitality and conferencing; allowances at the upper end of the scale include retractable roof and pitch3,000-5,000
Indoor arena with permanent ice pad and demountable running track, with 50% retractable seating. (Unit costs based on higher seating capacity achieved in ice rink configuration.)4,500-5,500
Note: Estimating the construction costs of stadiums, grandstands and arenas should be based on a clear understanding of the cost drivers of a specific scheme. There are many development variables that may not directly be affected by the number of seats. These include: tier arrangement, roof structure, sightlines, building footprint and provision of additional space for hospitality/community use etc. Estimates prepared on a cost per seat basis without taking into account these variables could be inaccurate.
Leisure centres - Current construction costs
 Indicative area m2 (gifa) Unit cost £/m2 (gifa)
Dry leisure centre1,000-1,5001,000-1,500
Wet and dry leisure centre 4,500-9,0001,650-2,300
Pool; 25 m long1,800-2,5001,400-2,250
Pool; 50 m long, international competition standard 2,500-3,100
Out-of-town health and fitness club (shell and fit-out, including pool)3,200-4,2001,100-1,800
Museums and art galleries - Current construction costs
 £/m2 (gifa)
International standard art gallery/museum2,500-3,500
Regional-standard art gallery/museum2,000-3,000
Local standard art gallery/museum1,500-2,200
Note: Costs exclude specialist gallery fit-out
Theatres - Current construction costs (including developer’s finish)
 £/m2 (gifa)
Large theatre (more than 500 seats)3,000-4,000
Studio theatre (fewer than 500 seats)2,200-3,000
Note: Costs include theatre equipment
Hotels - Current construction costs
 Average gross floor area per room m2 gifaUnit cost £/m2 gifa£000s/ bedroom
Luxury city-centre hotel multistorey, conference and wet leisure facilities 80-1201,900-2,600170-250
Business town-centre or provincial hotel four to six storeys, conference and wet leisure facilities 70-1001,400-2,10080-140
Mid-range provincial hotel two to three storeys, conference and leisure facilities55-651,350-1,75070-100
two to three storeys, bedroom extension 35-451,200-1,60045-65
City-centre aparthotel four to seven-storey apartments, self-catering facilities50-651,000-1,40055-90
Budget city-centre hotel (new-build) four to six storeys, dining and bar facilities35-501,100-1,30040-65
Budget city-centre hotel (office conversion) four to six storeys, excluding dining facilities 32-38800-1,25025-50
Budget roadside hotel two to three-storey lodge, excluding dining facilities 28-35900-1,25030-45
Schools - Current construction costs
 Unit cost £/m2 (gifa)
Primary schools1,200-1,600
Secondary schools1,400-1,800
Note: Costs are inclusive of a typical allowance for abnormals, but exclude allowances for fixed and loose FF&E and ICT systems
Hospitals - Current construction costs
 £/m2 (gifa)
Diagnostic and treatment centres1,850-2,300
Acute services hospitals 1,700-2,250
Radiotherapy and oncology units1,650-2,500
Community hospitals1,250-1,650
Social housing - Current construction costs
 Unit size m2 Unit cost £/m2 (gifa)
Terrace, two-bedroom75540-750
Semi-detached, three-bedroom90650-800
Low-rise flats, two-bedroom62750-950
Medium-rise flats, two-bedroom 62820-1,050
Private housing - Current construction costs (based on London location)
 £/m2 (gifa)
Affordable apartments in mixed-tenure development – inner London  
framed construction, basic cladding and curtain wall to complement the development, single-core layout, basic finishes, individual LPHW central heating1,350-1,500
Mid-market apartments in residential towers – outer London 
framed construction, unitised curtain walling, single-core layout, medium quality finishes, centralised LPHW central heating1,700-2,050
High-quality multistorey apartments – inner London 
framed construction, cladding and curtain walling, multiple-core layout, high-quality interior with good-quality floor finishes, partial comfort cooling, centralised LPHW central heating 1,700-1,950
High-quality apartments in residential tower – inner London 
framed construction, unitised curtain walling with high proportion of glazing, single-core layout with enhanced lift provision, high-quality finishes, centralised LPHW central heating and comfort cooling2,000-2,400
Prestige quality multistorey apartments – inner London 
framed construction, high-quality stone and glass curtain walling, multiple-core layout, top-specification finishes, comfort cooling throughout, LPHW central heating2,200-2,400
Interior fit-out of apartment buildings only – inner London 
social housing/shared ownership600-700
private apartments – good quality800-1,000
Shopping centres - Current construction costs
 £/m2 (gifa)
New-build shopping centre 
mall, comfort-cooled2,700–4,150
retail shells: 
anchor tenants, capped off services 650–950
medium/small store units, capped-off services 600–850
public WCs2,150-2,500
centre management1,700-2,150
landlord’s back-of-house and service corridors1,300-1,600
basement service yard 1,300-1,600
New-build factory outlet centre  
retail units with enclosed mall2,350-3,800
retail unit with open mall430-800
Department stores - Current construction costs
 £/m2 (gifa)
Department store fit-out1,000–2,200
Note: Rate is inclusive of all costs, including equipment, shopfitting, IT, telecoms, vehicles, fees etc.
Supermarkets - Current construction costs (including developer’s finish)
 £/m2 (gifa)
Shell250-500
Supermarket fit-out750-1,050
Hypermarket fit-out650-850
Note: Costs are £/m2 gross internal floor area, which includes back of house areas. The fit-out costs include all display and refrigeration units, check outs and IT systems.