What Does Office Space Cost in the UK in 2026?

Office pricing in the UK is quoted in a dozen different ways, per desk, per square foot, per month, per annum, inclusive, exclusive. That makes genuine comparison hard, and it is exactly why so many businesses overpay.

This guide sets out what office space actually costs across the UK in 2026, and what should and should not be included in the number you are quoted.

Typical serviced office rates by city

In central London, private serviced offices generally run between £550 and £900 per desk per month, with prime West End and City addresses pushing well past that. Shoreditch and Southwark tend to sit a little below core City pricing.

Outside London, Manchester, Birmingham and Edinburgh typically land between £250 and £450 per desk per month. Leeds, Bristol, Glasgow and Liverpool are usually £200 to £400. Smaller regional towns often come in under £250.

Coworking desks are cheaper across the board, roughly £150 to £400 in London and £90 to £250 in the regions, depending on whether you want a dedicated desk or hot desking.

What should be included

On a serviced deal, the monthly rate should normally cover rent, business rates, service charge, utilities, cleaning, building insurance, reception and basic internet. If any of those are quoted separately, treat them as part of the real cost when comparing.

Managed and leased space works differently. There you are looking at rent plus rates plus service charge plus utilities plus your own fit out and furniture, which is why a headline square foot rate always looks cheaper than it is.

The extras that catch people out

Meeting room hire beyond your included credits, printing, additional parking, out of hours air conditioning, dilapidations at the end of a lease, and upgraded internet packages are the most common surprises.

Ask for a full schedule of chargeable extras in writing before you sign. A cheap desk rate with expensive meeting rooms can cost more than a slightly higher all in package.

Work out your own number first

Before you view anything, run your team size and preferred city through our free cost calculator. It uses live regional price bands to estimate a realistic monthly range, so you walk into viewings knowing what good looks like.

Then let us do the searching. OfficeZen compares the whole market for you and negotiates the final number, and the operator pays our fee, so the service is completely free to you.