Most London occupiers are paying for prestige they do not need. The city is awash with solid space that works for teams and budgets. The savings are real. The functionality is comparable.
Is London mis-pricing most of its offices?
Research from BNP Paribas Real Estate finds that three quarters of available stock is Grade B, with rents sitting 10% to 20% below pre-pandemic levels according to Lambert Smith Hampton. Meanwhile, demand is fixated on new and refurbished space.
Knight Frank Research reports that 71.1% of Q4 leasing focused on that top tier. The result is a perception gap that creates real pricing arbitrage.
The rent spread proves it. Knight Frank places West End Core prime rents at 160 pounds per square foot, while vacancy for new space sits at a mere 0.3%. In the City Core, it is 0.6%.
With bidding wars following, the rational choice becomes secondary markets with solid buildings. In contrast, Vauxhall and Battersea are at 60 pounds, Aldgate and Whitechapel are at 57.50 pounds, and Stratford is at 48.50 pounds.
That is a 50% to 67% discount to the headline core.
This is not about settling for less. Many Grade B floors have good bones, delivering reliable lifts, power, light, and floorplates that support hybrid work.
DeVono puts the average Grade B at 487 pounds per desk per month, which buys modern fit-outs in emerging clusters already drawing financial, tech, and media names.
For smart operators, this is the chance to buy 700-pound quality for 300-pound pricing. The next step is location arbitrage, where connectivity and the Elizabeth line reset the value equation.
How does location arbitrage reset London office value?
The rent gap reads like a quality delta, but it is not. It is a perception premium created by scarce new space in core markets. Connectivity removes the old postcode penalty.
The Elizabeth line has collapsed cross-city travel times, according to Transport for London. Stratford to Tottenham Court Road is about 14 minutes, and Canada Water to Bank is about 12 minutes on standard routes.
For teams, this makes the fringe feel like core. Client meetings are still within one or two stops, and colleagues swap zones without friction.
If the commute is tolerable for the same talent pool, then the office is functionally equivalent. Rent is the only variable that changes.
That is why companies that trade prestige for pragmatism unlock real savings. Knight Frank Research puts Stratford at 48.50 pounds per sq ft with 22.7% vacancy for new or refurbished space across ten buildings that are open to deals.
White City sits at 57.50 pounds with 17% vacancy across seven buildings. South London options in Vauxhall and Battersea sit at 60 pounds.
The mechanism is simple: same access to talent at a different price point. This is why the next edge comes from timing and local knowledge that can separate the Grade B winners from the rest.
How do timing and local insight turn grade B into grade A outcomes?
Grade B supply is tightening as attention clusters on top-tier space. BNP Paribas Real Estate reports Grade A accounted for about 80% of take-up in Q2 2025, while Cushman and Wakefield notes Grade B availability fell 17% to 5.76 million sq ft in the same quarter.
Negotiating power and choice both fade as this imbalance closes.
Selection is the edge. Not all Grade B is equal. Fringe corridors linked by the Elizabeth line are drawing rising demand and upgrade capital, which lifts the best secondary stock.
Target buildings with good bones that already function well, then use fit-out and incentives to elevate experience without heavy capital works.
Key checks during a search include the following:
- Strong natural light with sensible floorplate depth
- Reliable power, cooling, and dual fibre
- Sound structure with modern lifts and compliant fire systems
- EPC B or a credible plan to reach it
- Eight-minute walk or less to a high-frequency station
- Transparent service charge and clear planned works
- Flexible leases with options to expand or exit
- Landlords with a track record of delivery
Avoid assets that need full MEP replacement or facade remediation unless you have refurbishment expertise. Early movers can still secure rent-free periods and specification upgrades in these submarkets.
Yet those terms compress quickly once absorption accelerates. The final question is how to lock in these gains and scale the playbook across a portfolio.
How ADAPT helps you capture London’s Grade B and location arbitrage
London’s market is mispricing usable space. Scarce, shiny stock is triggering bidding wars while Grade B with good bones stays negotiable-especially in Elizabeth line-linked districts.
But as attention concentrates on prime, the secondary window is narrowing. ADAPT’s 360° service exists for this moment: we help fast-growing teams secure flexible, affordable, culture-fit offices without overpaying or compromising.
Here’s how we turn the article’s problem into a solution:
- Precision search: Our AI surfaces a curated Top 10 in minutes, then our team vets options against the critical checks (light, power/cooling, dual fibre, lift/fire compliance, EPC pathway, walk-time to high-frequency stations, transparent service charge).
- Location arbitrage, de-risked: We model workforce commute overlap to ensure fringe feels like core-preserving access to talent while shifting to smarter price points.
- Negotiation that matters: We target buildings with strong fundamentals and use timing to secure rent-free, spec upgrades, and flexible leases with expansion/exit options.
- Fit-out without heavy capex: We elevate experience through layout, meeting rooms, branding, and amenities-avoiding assets that need full MEP or facade replacements.
- Off-market and transparent economics: Exclusive options plus a fixed, fair fee replace old-school broker games.
The result: ADAPT Workspace analysis shows typical occupiers cut headline rent by 20-30% while preserving around 90% workforce overlap-turning Grade B and fringe locations into Grade A outcomes that teams love and CFOs endorse.
London isn’t short of good space-it’s short of clarity. Our job is to separate substance from shine, then use timing and connectivity to lock in prime experiences at secondary prices.
Chris Meredith, ADAPT CEO & Founder
What can you do to get ahead of London’s office value reset?
If your lease is rolling, if you’re priced out of core, or if hybrid has changed how your team actually uses space-now is the time to act. Location and Grade B arbitrage won’t last forever.
ADAPT makes that move simpler, helping you secure space that reflects who you are and where you’re going.
