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Car park - Current construction costs
Unit size m2/car Unit cost £/m2 gifa
Surface 20-22 45-65
Surface landscaped 20-24 75-105
Grade and upper level 23-30 130-200
Multistorey flat slab 23-30 270-340
Semi-basement with natural ventilation 25-30 350-410
Industrial buildings - Current construction costs
 Complexity of services installation
 Shell with heating and lighting to office areas onlyUnit including services to production area
Unit size (gifa) £/m2 (gifa) £/m2 (gifa)
500-1,000 m2275-660500-780
1,000-2,000 m2220-580450-720
greater than 2,000 m2280-580 450-720
Warehouses and distribution centres - Current construction costs
 Complexity of services installation
up to 10,000 m10,000 m to 20,000 mover 20,000 m
 £/m (gifa) £/m2 (gifa) £/m2 (gifa)
Low bay 250-280 - -
High bay 280-410 240-350 230-350
Tenant’s mechanical handling    
and chilled store installation --400-750
Business park offices - Current construction costs (including developer’s finish)
  Unit size
Less than 2,000 m2More than 2,000 m2
£/m2 (gifa) £/m2 (gifa)
Functional – non air-conditioned 650-850 600-800
Medium quality – non air conditioned750-950 700-900
Medium quality - air conditioned 850-1,000 800-1,000
High quality - air conditioned 900-1,200 850-1,250
City-centre office buildings - Current construction costs (including developer’s finish)
Low rise Medium rise High rise
£/m2 (gifa) £/m2 (gifa) £/m2 (gifa)
Regional cities - high quality speculative offices-air conditioned 1,000-1,250 1,100-1,350 –
City and West End - high quality speculative offices -air conditioned – 1,400-2,000 1,850-2,450
City and West End - high quality owner occupied offices (including owner’s fit-out costs)air conditioned – 2,000-2,600 2,450-3,050
NB Cost of the City and West End speculative and owner-occupied offices are based on a Central London location. The Regional City office costs are based on a South-east location
Office fit-out - Current construction costs
Indicative costs for fit-out of office space from shell-and-core condition
 City/West End offices Out-of-town offices
 £/m2 (nifa) £/m2 (nifa)
Developers fit-out to general office areas325-450200-300
General office space - open plan 380-550250-400
General office space - part cellular 525-800350-550
Senior executive offices 600-900–
Conference suites 1,100-1,500–
Back of house/storage 530-650 280-400
Restaurant 1,150-1,950–
Kitchen 2,100-2,600–
NB Fit-out costs are taken from shell-and-core condition and for general scope of work without additional building requirements for IT rooms and so on. Cost of City and West End office fit-outs are based on a central London location.
The out-of-town office fit out costs are based on a South-east location. All rates are based on net internal floor area.
Leisure centre - Current construction costs
 Indicative area Unit cost
 m2 (gifa) £/m2 (gifa)
Dry leisure centre 1,000-1,500800-1,300
Wet and dry leisure centre 4,500-9,0001,500-2,100
Swimming pools 25 m long 1,800-2,5001,250-2,150
50 m long, international competition standard n/a2,500-3,100
Out of town health and fitness club (shell and fit-out, including pool) 3,200-4,200950-1,500made of long-life and short-life cycle cost components.
Shopping centres - Current construction costs
 Unit rate £/m2 (gifa)
New-build shopping centre 
Mall, comfort cooled retail shells 2,600-4,150
Anchor tenants, capped off services 550-900
Medium/small store units, capped off services 750-1,000
Centre management1,050-1,450
Enclosed surface level service yard 800-1,000
New-build factory outlet centre  
Enclosed mall2,350-3,800
Retail unit to open mall430-800
Shopping centre refurbishment 
Mall, limited scope875-1,350
Mall, comprehensive 1,250-1,900
Supermarkets - Current construction costs (including developer’s finish)
 Unit cost £/m2 (gifa)
Shell 250-400
Local store fit-out 850 – 1,300
Supermarket fit-out 650-1,200
Hypermarket fit-out 550-1,000
Costs are £/m2 gross internal floor area, which includes back of house areas. The fit-out costs include all display and refrigeration units, check outs and IT systems.
Stadiums and grandstands - Current construction costs
 Unit cost £/seat
Stadiums and grandstands  
Basic stand; WCs and concession areas only 350-700
Medium quality stand/stadium; WCs, concession areas and limited hospitality 700–1,500
High quality stand/stadium; changing facilities, offices, retail hospitality areas and conference facilities 1,500-2,900
National stadium; full facilities including retail, hospitality and conferencing; allowances at the upper end of the scale include retractable roof and pitch2,900-5,000
Indoor arenas  
Indoor arena with permanent ice pad and demountable running track, with 50% retractable seating. (Unit costs based on higher seating capacity achieved in ice rink configuration.)4,000–5,000
Note: Estimating the construction costs of stadiums, grandstands and arenas should be based on a clear understanding of the cost drivers of a specific scheme. There are many development variables that may not directly be affected by the number of seats. These include: tier arrangement, roof structure, sightlines, building footprint and provision of additional space for hospitality/community use etc. Estimates prepared on a cost per seat basis without taking into account these variables could be inaccurate.
Schools and Further Education Colleges - Current construction costs
 Unit cost £/m2 (gifa)
Classroom blocks650-1,150
Laboratories 800-1,200
Craft design and technology 750-1,200
Music800-1,650
Sixth Form750-1,250
Libraries and Learning Resource Centres - Current construction costs
 Unit cost £/m2 (gifa)
Learning resource centres 
Economical850-1,100
High quality1,150-1,600
University and Collegiate libraries (including fittings) 2,050-2,600
Public libraries 1,300-1,750
Primary healthcare - Current construction costs
 Unit cost £/m2 (gifa)
Doctor’s surgery – basic850-1,150
Doctor’s surgery/medical centre1,100-1,400
Hospitals - Current construction costs
 Unit cost £/m2 (gifa)
Diagnostic and treatment centres1,900-2,200
Acute services hospitals 1,450-1,700
Radiotherapy and oncology units1,650-1,900
Community hospitals1,350-1,550
Social housing - Current construction costs
 Unit size m2 Unit cost £/m2 (gifa)
Terrace, two bed 65450-740
Semi-detached, three bed 90570-770
Low-rise flats, two bed 62650-900
Medium-rise flats, two bed 62760-1,100
Private housing - Current construction costs
 Unit cost £/m2 (gifa)
Three to four-storey apartment building – Inner London 
Load bearing construction, limited finishes, LPHW central heating installation 950-1,200
High quality multistorey apartments – Inner London 
Framed construction, cladding and curtain walling, multiple core layout, high quality interior with limited floor finishes, partial comfort cooling, all-electric heating installation 1,600-1,800
Prestige quality multistorey apartments – Inner London 
Framed construction, high quality stone and glass curtain walling, multiple core layout, top specification finishes, comfort cooling throughout, LPHW central heating.2,200-2,400
Note: All costs in this table are based on an Inner London location
Hotels - Current construction costs
 Average gross floor area per room m2 gifa Unit cost £/m2 gifa £000s/ bedroom
Luxury city centre hotel Multistorey, conference and wet leisure facilities 70-1301,800-2,300150-230
Business town centre/provincial hotel 4-6 storeys, conference and wet leisure facilities 70-1001,500-2,100100-140
Mid-range provincial hotel 2 to 3 storeys, conference and leisure facilities 55-651,250-1,70060-95
2 to 3 storeys, bedroom extension 35-451,100-1,50040-60
City-centre apartment hotel 4 to 7 storey apartments with self-catering facilities 50-65950-1,30050-85
Budget city centre hotel (new build) 4 to 6 storeys, dining and bar facilities 35-501,000-1,20035-60
Budget city centre hotel (office conversion) 4 to 6 storeys, excluding dining facilities 32-38800-1,25025-50
Budget roadside hotel 2 to 3 storey lodge, excluding dining facilities 28-35850-1,15028-40
NB Costings include all furniture, fixtures and fittings
Regional variations
The costs are, unless otherwise noted in the text, appropriate for projects in the South-east and should be adjusted by the following location factors for schemes in other regions.
Inner London1.12
Outer London1.05
South-west0.94
East Midlands0.93
West Midlands0.92
East Anglia0.94
Yorkshire & Humberside 0.88
North-west0.91
North0.91
Scotland0.89
Wales0.89
Northern Ireland0.77