Office location is a talent strategy. For fast growth teams, Old Street and Shoreditch offer London reach at a discount and the chance to sharpen hiring, productivity, and culture.
Pick the wrong street and you compound friction. Pick the right one and you accelerate output and retention.
Why does this decision carry outsized talent and productivity risk?
Old Street and Shoreditch sit in London’s most affordable premium tech zone. Grade A averages £75 to £82.50 per sq ft and Grade B sits at £55 to £70 per sq ft, which is 40 to 50% below the West End at £120 to £160, according to the Oktra insights team 2025 report.
That saving frees budget to invest in people and tools.
Within that same price band, micro location still matters. Positioning near key transport, the feel of the streetscape, and access to the tech and creative ecosystem can raise or lower your hiring hit rate and daily performance.
McKinsey’s people and organizational performance team reports that a median S and P 500 company loses about $480 million each year to productivity gaps and that top performers in critical roles deliver up to 800% more output than average colleagues.
What should fast growth teams weigh right now?
As teams scale quickly, the office becomes more than a cost line. It acts as a growth lever that helps attract talent, shape culture, and drive daily performance. Recent research highlights a few factors that matter most for high-growth companies rethinking their workplace strategy in 2025:
- Ability to attract high impact talent who value brand cues, commute ease, and a credible tech hub address
- Day one productivity from hybrid ready buildings with collaborative zones and smart meeting rooms which Oktra’s authors identify as baseline requirements in 2025
- Culture and engagement effects that close the will gap through high quality space and neighbourhood energy as evidenced by McKinsey’s authors linking environment to motivation
- Decision speed and reduced time waste through layouts and tech that cut low value meetings which McKinsey’s authors highlight as core to performance
- Long term value creation versus headline rent since real estate savings can be eclipsed by the cost of missed hires and slower execution
The upshot is simple. Old Street and Shoreditch deliver cost efficiency and ecosystem access, yet the precise address you choose will shape who you can hire, how fast they move, and whether they stay.
Next we look at why the real differentiator is not cost per desk but the quality of space that drives talent ROI.
Why does space quality drive talent ROI?
The cost per desk is not the lever that moves performance. The quality of space is. Grade A Old Street and Shoreditch buildings help close the skill gap through better collaboration settings.
They lift the will gap through energising design and brand cues. They compress the time gap through layouts and tech that cut low value meetings. That is how rent differentials are dwarfed by talent returns.
The market is voting with its feet. Over 70% of recent London office take up involves new or comprehensively refurbished space according to the Oktra insights team 2025 report.
The authors note the gap between Grade A and Grade B is widening not only in rent and occupancy but also in tenant retention and leasing velocity. The same report shows occupiers consolidating into smaller footprints in better buildings which is the smarter use of budget for hybrid teams.
TMT demand is concentrating in creative hubs such as Shoreditch and Old Street with lettings focused on refurbished assets that offer strong connectivity collaborative zones and employee centric design. That is where culture scales faster.
For fast growth teams the implication is clear. A smaller Grade A floorplate in the right Old Street or Shoreditch building can lift hiring hit rates accelerate decisions and reduce churn in ways a larger Grade B space cannot.
Oktra’s authors list flexible seating collaborative zones and smart meeting rooms as baseline needs. In short space quality compounds talent roi and makes the neighbourhood work harder for you.
This is why timing and regulatory readiness now enter the equation as supply tightens and energy rules raise the cost of picking older stock.
Is timing and compliance the hidden price of waiting?
Energy rules are now a real lease variable. With most London offices still short of the 2030 EPC B target and a C threshold ahead in 2027, older stock carries upgrade and disruption risk.
Tenants can face forced moves or unplanned service charge uplifts. Recent refurbishments in Old Street or Shoreditch lower this risk and stabilise energy costs.
Supply is tightening while demand concentrates. Most new availability is arriving through refurbishment and the pipeline remains thin, with less than half of space under construction actually available. Grade A options are being pre committed and rents edge up as choice shrinks. Waiting reduces leverage and narrows cultural fit.
Here’s what should fast growth teams do now:
- Request EPC certificates, landlord upgrade plans, and recent energy intensity data
- Prioritise buildings refurbished in the last two years with credible ratings such as BREEAM or NABERS
- Secure short options and break rights and consider 12 month flexible terms to preserve the IFRS 16 advantage
- Run parallel negotiations in both submarkets to keep choice and be ready to pre commit for the right fit
- Model total cost that includes retrofit risk, move disruption, and energy savings
The smartest move blends speed with clarity on culture fit, growth flexibility, and compliance readiness, which sets you up to pick the location that compounds talent returns without storing up future risk.
From postcode to performance: How ADAPT unlocks talent ROI in Old Street & Shoreditch
Fast-growth teams risk hiring friction, sluggish decisions, and churn if they pick the wrong micro-location or compromise on space quality-especially as EPC deadlines and shrinking Grade A supply raise the hidden cost of waiting.
ADAPT exists to turn this high-stakes choice into an advantage: a flexible, tailored, 360° office solution that aligns address, space quality, and timing to your talent strategy.
Here’s how we solve it:
- Quality-first shortlists, fast: Our AI captures your brief and delivers a curated Top 10 of Grade A and best-in-class refurbished spaces in Old Street and Shoreditch-hybrid-ready, with collaborative zones and smart meeting rooms as standard.
- Micro-location fit: We focus on transport, streetscape, and ecosystem adjacency so your brand cues attract high-impact talent and day-one productivity follows.
- Compliance and timing: We surface EPC certificates, landlord upgrade plans, and credible ratings (BREEAM/NABERS), then help you pre-commit the right options before supply tightens further.
- Deal design for flexibility: Parallel negotiations, short options and break rights, and 12-month flexible terms to preserve the IFRS 16 advantage-while modelling total cost (retrofit risk, disruption, energy).
With 20+ years of market experience and off-market access, ADAPT consistently helps teams secure smaller, higher-quality floorplates that lift hiring hit rates, accelerate decisions, and and reduce churn-so rent is dwarfed by talent ROI.
Space isn’t a cost line. It’s a talent system. Our job is to translate your hiring and productivity goals into a shortlist you can sign with confidence-before the best stock is gone.
Chris Meredith, ADAPT CEO & Founder
What can you do to get ahead of the Old Street & Shoreditch opportunity?
If you’re planning a move into these hubs, scaling your team, or tied to a legacy Grade B lease facing EPC upgrades, this is the time to act. Hybrid-ready Grade A space doesn’t just perform better. It also helps your brand show up stronger.
ADAPT helps growth-focused teams find flexible, future-proof offices in the right micro-locations. It’s how we make every move a strategic one.
Partner with ADAPT to make your next real estate decision a strategic advantage.
