Opening a London Office: A Guide for US Companies (2026)
What a US company pays for a London office in pounds and dollars (median £475, about $630 per desk a month), the contracts, timing, VAT and entity questions, step by step.
A serviced office in London costs a median of £475 per desk a month in November 2026, from about £240 at the cheapest tenth to £675 at the upper quarter, with furniture, internet, business rates and service charge included. That is across 872 London centres that publish an asking price, out of 2,325 on SquareFoot, from the operators’ own published rates. You sign a licence of one to twelve months, pay a deposit of one to two months and can usually move in within a week of viewing.
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What a serviced office is
A furnished private office inside a building an operator runs: Fora, Regus, Spaces, WeWork, Argyll, Workspace and several hundred smaller operators and landlord brands. You get a lockable room for your team and share reception, kitchens, meeting rooms and phone booths. The contract is a licence, not a lease, so there is no fit-out, no dilapidations and no long commitment, and the security of tenure of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 does not apply.
What the monthly price includes
Included: the furnished office, rent, business rates, service charge, utilities, cleaning, internet, reception and a meeting-room allowance. Usually extra: VAT at 20%, meeting-room hours beyond the allowance, printing, phone lines, out-of-hours access at some operators, and a set-up fee at some.
Why per desk: the operator sets the layout, so the price is per person the room seats, not per square foot. To compare with a lease quote, see what London office space costs per square foot.
What serviced offices cost in London (November 2026)
| Measure | Per desk per month |
|---|---|
| Cheapest tenth starts at | £240 |
| Lower quarter | £331 |
| Median | £475 |
| Upper quarter | £675 |
| Priced centres / centres listed | 872 / 2,325 |
By the largest office a centre lets (median per desk): up to 10 desks £450 (88 priced) | 11-20 £495 (140 priced) | 21-50 £550 (258 priced) | 51+ £570 (140 priced). Bigger suites tend to be in newer, central buildings, so the rate card does not fall with size; the discount comes from the term.
What a team pays at the median: 2 people £950 | 5 people £2,375 | 10 people £4,750 | 20 people £9,500 a month.
By district (median per desk, districts with ten or more priced offices, cheapest first): Putney £284, Islington £350, Park Royal £350, Fulham £375, Camden £400, Hammersmith £428, Aldgate £450, Kensington £500, Shoreditch £500, London Bridge £500, Southwark £540, Waterloo £550, Old Street £550, Farringdon £550, Holborn £550, Victoria £600, City £600, Covent Garden £600, Bank £600, Clerkenwell £600, Liverpool Street £630, Fitzrovia £650, Monument £650, Marylebone £680, Soho £778, Kings Cross £800, Mayfair £850.
Serviced, coworking, managed or leased?
| Serviced office | Coworking desk | Managed office | Conventional lease | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What you get | Private furnished room | A seat in a shared room | Your own fitted floor | Empty space |
| Contract | Licence, 1-12 months | Membership, monthly | Agreement, 1-3 years | Lease, 5-10 years |
| Ready | Days | Same day | 4-12 weeks | 3-6 months |
| Price basis | Per desk, all-in | Per seat | Per desk or floor, all-in | Per sq ft plus rates, service charge, fit-out |
| Best for | 1-50 people, uncertain headcount | 1-3 people | 20-150 people, own identity | Stable team, long horizon |
CBRE put the average London flex deal at 2,100 sq ft and 19 months in Q1 2026; JLL (8 July 2026) says managed space is a quarter of London flex transactions.
The operators
Centres in London by operator on SquareFoot: WorkPad 69, Fora 57, Workspace 53, Regus 43, WeWork 35, Argyll 29, Elementa Workspace 25, Spaces 23, The Boutique Workplace Company 20, Canvas 18, Langham Estates 18, The Sandbox Workspace 17. Landlords increasingly run their own serviced floors too (Flex by Grosvenor, The Crown Estate, Great Portland Estates, Derwent London, British Land’s Storey).
How to compare serviced offices
- Price the same headcount and term at each: ask for the all-in monthly figure including VAT.
- Check what the meeting-room allowance really covers for your team.
- Ask for the twelve-month rate as well as the rolling rate.
- Check the notice period (one to three months is normal) and whether you can move to a bigger room without a new contract.
- Visit at 10am on a Tuesday: that is when the building is busiest.
How SquareFoot helps
SquareFoot lists every London serviced office it can find with the operator’s own price, and our local team in London confirms availability, books viewings and negotiates terms. The operator pays the introduction fee; the tenant pays nothing and the price is the same as going direct.
Counts and prices are from SquareFoot’s live London listings as of November 2026: 2,325 centres, 872 with a published asking price per desk per month, collected from the operators’ own pages. Derived and conventional-lease prices are listed but never counted in a median. Written by SquareFoot; reviewed November 2026.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a serviced office cost in London?
A median of £475 per desk a month in November 2026 across 872 priced centres; the middle half of the market runs £331 to £675. A ten-person office at the median is about £4,750 a month, all-in, plus VAT.
What is included in a serviced office?
The furnished office, rent, business rates, service charge, utilities, cleaning, internet, reception and a meeting-room allowance. VAT, extra meeting hours and printing are usually charged on top.
How long is a serviced office contract in London?
One to twelve months on a licence, rolling monthly after that with one to three months’ notice. Longer terms usually earn a lower rate.
Is a serviced office cheaper than leasing in London?
For most teams under about 50 people, or with an uncertain headcount, yes over the first two or three years, because the serviced price includes fit-out, furniture, business rates and service charge. A lease usually wins for a stable team staying five years or more.
What is the difference between a serviced and a managed office?
A serviced office is a room in an operator’s shared building on a short licence; a managed office is a whole floor fitted out for you on a one-to-three-year agreement, with your own entrance.
Where are the least expensive serviced offices in central London?
Among central districts with ten or more priced offices: Aldgate (£450 a desk), Shoreditch (£500) and London Bridge (£500).
Related: Every London office with prices · London office space prices by district · How much an office costs in London (per desk and per sq ft) · Office space for 20 to 50 people in London · Office space for 50+ people in London · Managed vs serviced offices for teams of 20+ · Do you need an office broker in London? · Opening a London office: a guide for US companies
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