What the London office market is telling us about commercial relocation in 2026

Something has shifted in how London businesses are approaching office moves today - and it is not subtle.

For years, a relocation was largely a logistical exercise. Get the people, the furniture and the IT from one building to another with minimal disruption. The better the planning, the smoother the outcome becomes. That principle has not changed, but the context around it has over the years.

Director and Co Founder, Charlie Russell, who has been delivering commercial relocations in London since 1998, puts it simply:

"Relocations in London have shifted from being logistical exercises to strategic projects, because the space itself has become more valuable, more competitive and far less forgiving of mistakes."

The market has changed the stakes

Supply of high-quality office space in London has tightened considerably in recent years too, according to Savills. Prime office rents rose 6.8% in 2025. And 77% of space currently being taken is in new or refurbished buildings, which is a clear sign that businesses are moving fewer times but moving better.

Paul Fewins,  Director and co-founder of Russell Fewins, has seen this shift play out on the ground:

"We're seeing more phased and complex moves rather than single large relocations. Clients are holding onto space, reconfiguring internally, or moving in stages because availability is tighter -so coordination and flexibility have become much more important."

When a business secures a prime London space in a market this competitive, the pressure to get the relocation right first time is considerably higher than it was five years ago.

The planning has to start earlier

This is not a new principle for Russell Fewins, early involvement has always been central to how they work. But the market is now making it essential rather than simply best practice.

As Charlie explains:

"Most of the risk, cost and disruption in a relocation is determined long before a single item is moved. When we're involved early, we can design a controlled outcome. When we're brought in late, we're often managing decisions that have already created risk."

With clients increasingly securing space further in advance, some firms are committing years ahead, the window for proper planning is there. The organisations that use it well are the ones whose moves land without incident - and that is what we always work towards,

Where the industry gets it wrong

The commercial relocation sector is not short of providers. But Paul is open about where the gaps are:

"A lot of providers focus on getting items from A to B. But what matters is how those items are handled - especially IT and anything leaving site. If it's not packed, moved and documented properly, that's where issues arise. That's the part we never cut corners on."

Charlie adds a wider observation about how the industry prices its services:

"The industry often prices the visible part of the move, not the responsibility behind it. Compliance, audit trails, waste handling, insurance conditions - those are the areas where risk actually sits. We build our service around those responsibilities first and then price the move."

In a market where the cost of getting it wrong - financially and reputationally - has never been higher, that distinction matters.

What this means for organisations planning a move in 2026

The businesses that navigate a London relocation well this year will be the ones that treat it as a strategic project from the start and that means involving an experienced relocation partner early, understanding the full scope of what the move involves - not just the transportation - and choosing a partner whose service is built around responsibility as much as logistics.

Here at Russell Fewins, we have been delivering commercial relocations across London and nationwide since 1998. If you are planning a move and want to talk it through with people who understand this market, we would love to talk to you.

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Russell Fewins