In short
The IT layer of an office fit-out for a typical UK small to mid-sized office usually lands somewhere between a few thousand pounds and the low tens of thousands, depending on headcount, building and specification.
The three figures that move it most are the number of data points, the access point count the building actually needs, and how early the internet connection is ordered. A site survey is what turns that range into a fixed number.
Why fit-out quotes vary so much
That opening range is deliberately wide, because an office fit-out covers two very different budgets that routinely get added together.
The first is the interior. Partitions, flooring, furniture, decor, priced per square foot.
The second is the IT layer, the cabling, WiFi, phones, security and connectivity that decide whether the team can work on the first morning. That one is priced per data point, per access point and per user, not per square foot.
This guide covers the second budget, because it is the one we price every week, and the one most cost guides skip.
What sits in an office IT fit-out
A complete IT fit-out for a new office normally covers six things:
- Structured data cabling to every desk, meeting room, printer and wall-mounted screen
- A comms cabinet housing the patch panels, switches and router
- Business WiFi designed around the building rather than plugged in and hoped for
- An internet connection ordered early enough to be live on the first morning
- A phone system, which for almost every business moving today means a cloud-hosted one
- Security and extras such as CCTV, door entry and meeting room AV
Each has its own pricing logic. Every figure below is a market range, not a quote, because only a survey reads the building.
Data cabling, priced per point
Structured cabling is the foundation of the fit-out, and the trade prices it per data point, meaning each outlet on the wall or in the floor box. Our data cabling page covers how an installation runs; this section covers what moves the price.
UK market rates for a professionally installed Cat6 point on a standard commercial project typically sit in the £40 to £120 range, with most straightforward office installs landing at £50 to £90 per point, including cable, termination, testing and certification. Cat6a sits towards the upper end.
Three things decide where a project lands in that range.
Volume
Per-point pricing rewards scale. Pulling forty cables to a floor costs far less per point than pulling eight, because most of the labour is shared.
Containment
If the building already has trunking, baskets and clear routes, the installer simply pulls cable. If routes have to be created, that lands in the quote. It is the single biggest reason a survey beats a calculator.
Specification
Fire-rated cable to current British standards, Fluke certification testing and as-built documentation all belong in a professional quote.
Budget for the comms cabinet in the same line. The cabinet, patch panels and leads are modest; the switches are the larger share and scale with point count. A labelled, certified cabinet is what makes every later change, a new starter or a moved desk, take minutes rather than a call-out.
A rule of thumb when counting points: at least two per desk, then printers, wall screens, access points, cameras and door entry. Most offices need more than they first assume, and one visit costs far less than a return trip for the ones that were missed.
The network cable types page sets out Cat5e, Cat6, Cat6a and Cat7 in plain English. Cat6 carries what most offices will realistically ask of it for years, so a good installer will talk you down to the cheaper drum where the design allows it, not up to the dearer one.
Business WiFi, priced per access point and sized by survey
WiFi is where fit-out budgets go wrong in both directions. Some businesses buy far more hardware than the building needs. Others under-provision and live with patchy coverage in the two rooms that matter most.
The fix for both is the same, and it is the cheapest line in the project: a WiFi survey before anything is ordered. A survey measures how the building actually carries signal. Walls, floors, glass and racking all behave differently, and a survey turns the access point count from an opinion into a number.
The budget then follows that count. Hardware per access point, a data point for each one, then design and configuration time. A small office often needs two to four. Warehouses and multi-floor buildings need more. Business WiFi planned this way costs a known amount and works from the first morning.
The internet connection, where lead time matters more than cost
The connection is a monthly cost rather than a fit-out cost, but it belongs in the budget for one reason. Lead time. Delivery to new premises can take weeks or months depending on what is already in the building.
Order it the day the premises is confirmed. Ordering early costs nothing extra and is the single most effective thing on this list. Where a site is rural or hard to reach, Starlink for business can carry the office while a fixed line is delivered.
Phones, more predictable than they used to be
Phone systems have become one of the easiest lines to budget. Cloud-hosted systems are priced per user per month, existing numbers move across, and handsets or headsets are the only hardware.
With the copper network retiring in favour of internet-based calling, this is the moment to put the right telephone system in rather than carry an ageing one into a new building.
Count the users, decide who needs a handset and who needs an app, and the monthly figure follows.
CCTV, door entry and AV, cheapest while the ceilings are open
Security and AV are optional lines, but this is comfortably the cheapest moment to add them. Commercial CCTV, door entry and meeting room screens all run over the same structured cabling, so putting their points in during the main cabling visit shares the labour across everything.
Putting the budget together
The order of work that produces a number you can take to a board:
- Count the data points. Two per desk, then printers, screens, access points, cameras and door entry.
- Book a WiFi survey. It makes the access point count a fact rather than a guess.
- Order connectivity immediately. Lead time shapes everything else.
- Price phones per user per month. Handsets and headsets are a separate one-off.
- Decide on CCTV, door entry and AV now. The cabling visit can absorb them.
- Get a site survey and a fixed itemised quote. Containment and building quirks are what move the final figure.
Everything above is knowable from a survey, which is why the survey comes first and the price comes second.
How Core Comms can help
Most facilities, operations and finance managers want a number before they commit, so here is how that number gets made.
We survey the premises, count the points against your desk plan, measure the building for WiFi, then issue a fixed itemised quote covering cabling, WiFi, phones and security.
We will not put a figure on a fit-out from a floor plan, because containment is what moves it. Where cabling left by a previous tenant tests clean against the standard your layout needs, we will reuse it and take those points off the quote rather than sell you replacements.
We work across the North West and West Yorkshire, and UK-wide for multi-site clients. Once the premises is confirmed, the next step is a survey. Talk to our team and we will get one booked, or call 0330 838 1000.
FAQs
How much does an office IT fit-out cost in the UK?
For a typical small to mid-sized office, the IT and connectivity layer usually runs from a few thousand pounds into the low tens of thousands. Data point count, access point count and building layout are the main drivers. A site survey is what turns that range into a fixed figure.
How much does data cabling cost per point?
UK market rates for a professionally installed Cat6 point typically sit at £40 to £120, with most standard office projects landing at £50 to £90 including cable, termination, testing and certification. Larger installs bring the average down. Cat6a sits towards the upper end.
What do office fit-out cost calculators leave out?
Almost always the IT layer. Calculators price the interior per square foot, while cabling, WiFi and phones are priced per point, per access point and per user. The building itself, its routes, containment and construction, then shifts the figure again, which is why a survey beats a calculator.
Can I reuse the cabling already in my new office?
Yes. Cabling left by a previous tenant can be tested and certified, and where it meets the standard your layout needs, reusing it takes points off the quote rather than adding them. Where the desk plan differs, fresh points go in alongside.
Do I need a WiFi survey as part of the fit-out?
Yes, for anything beyond a single-room office. A survey tells you how many access points the building needs and where they perform best, so you buy the right hardware once rather than twice. Guessing usually costs more than surveying, and it is the cheapest line in the whole project.
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