For clients ready to do business, it’s vital to get going fast – and smoothly.
Bespoke office fit out costs are both expensive and time-consuming, with JLL reporting prices in London coming in second only to Zurich in the entire EMEA region. With these costs continuing to soar – affecting design, labour and materials – it is unsurprising that tenants have been turning to CAT A+ spaces to answer their needs.
Firstly, what is a CAT A+ fit-out?
Unlike a CAT A space that offers an empty blank canvas with only the most basic of finishes (simple floors, ceilings and minimal decoration) and CAT B that is fully tailored to a company’s culture, right down to architectural and branded interior design elements that are both pricey and prevent immediate occupancy, CAT A+ fit-outs provide an optimised fusion of these options – a plug-in-and-play alternative that the market is crying out for.
With CAT A+ offices, floors and ceilings are rendered beyond the basic CAT A offering, and what would have been expansive empty floorplates instead provide meeting rooms, individual offices, workstations, fully installed cabling and lighting, and fitted kitchens and washrooms. Altogether, CAT A+ means tenants are ready to go from the moment they move in.
At Unica we are responding to this shift in London’s office market demand, strategically aligning our new acquisitions and current portfolio to provide the spaces and experiences tenants now want.
Unica Capital’s recent refurbishm ent at 167-169 Wardour Street is a prime example of a CAT A+ space, boasting Unica’s forward-thinking, design-led, tenant-focused commercial homes for clients looking for reduced costs and the ability to be up and running from day one.
Wardour Street is positioned in the heart of ever-thriving Soho, on the doorstep to a plethora of some of London’s best eateries, entertainment venues and nightlife. There are unrivalled transport links too, with four tube stations minutes away, accessing six underground lines, including the Elizabeth line with its direct service to Heathrow.
The six-story building, with a total area of 13,628 sq ft, has undergone major refurbishment and offers smaller floorplates (under 3,000 sq ft) that suit tenants looking for a stunning, fully functional backdrop that caters perfectly to their needs.
Just one of the buildings in the Unica commercial portfolio, this recent addition marks a renewed drive to deliver what the market is now seeking. From newer start-ups to established companies, clients who may have embraced hybrid working are increasingly looking to boost in-person collaboration. They know to do this, and to retain the best talent, they must have offices that people want to be in, in locations that abound in amenities.
By positioning ourselves as leaders in the CAT A+ London market, Unica’s experience, design focus and ethos are not only allowing us to compete with peers, but to stand out from the crowd, accelerating deals, reducing void, rent-free periods, and tenant turnover – which all remain crucial to any portfolio’s success and further growth.