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What is a Cat B Refurbishment?
A Cat B refurbishment is the renovation or upgrade of the tenant-specific layer of a commercial office space. It covers everything a tenant installs beyond the landlord’s basic shell, including partitions, meeting rooms, kitchen and reception areas, floor finishes, lighting, joinery, furniture, branding, and AV and technology infrastructure.
Cat A vs Cat B: What’s the Difference?
Commercial office space is handed over by landlords in one of two states:
Cat A is the landlord’s base build. It includes raised floors, suspended ceilings, core mechanical and electrical services, and a blank, leasable shell. There is no furniture, no partitioning, and no fit-out. It is a starting point, not a working office.
Cat B is everything the tenant adds. Partitions and meeting rooms. Reception desks and kitchen units. Flooring, lighting, and decorative finishes. Workstations, seating, and storage. Cabling, AV systems, and access control. Cat B is the layer that turns a blank shell into a functioning workplace — and it is entirely the tenant’s responsibility to specify, fund, and maintain.
A Cat B refurbishment is therefore distinct from a new Cat B fit-out. Rather than starting from an empty Cat A shell, it works within an existing occupied or recently vacated space, stripping back, reconfiguring, and renewing the tenant layer that is already there.
When Does a Cat B Refurbishment Make Sense?
A Cat B refurbishment is usually the right call when the building still works for you but the office inside it no longer does. Common triggers include a lease renewal or lease re-gear, a change in headcount, a shift to hybrid working that has left desks empty and meeting rooms oversubscribed, or a brand and culture that the current space no longer reflects.
Staying put and refurbishing also avoids many of the costs and risks of relocating, such as dual rent, dilapidations on the old space and the disruption of a physical move. For many occupiers, reinvesting that budget into the space they already have delivers a better workplace for less.
How a Cat B Refurbishment Works: Step by Step
- Brief and workplace review – Start by understanding how the space is actually used today. Occupancy data, staff surveys and stakeholder workshops show which areas are working, which are underused and what the business needs next.
- Lease and landlord checks – Review the lease for alteration clauses, reinstatement obligations and any landlord consents needed. Early engagement with the landlord and building management avoids delays later.
- Design and space planning – Develop layouts, finishes, furniture and technology options against the brief and budget, then agree a final design and specification.
- Cost plan and programme – Fix the budget and build a programme around lease dates, business-critical periods and how much of the office needs to stay operational.
- Approvals and compliance – Secure landlord licences, building control sign-off where required, and health and safety documentation under the CDM Regulations.
- Strip-out and construction – Carry out the works, often in phases or out of hours in an occupied building, so your team can keep working with minimal disruption.
- Furniture, AV and technology – Install workstations, meeting room technology, cabling and access control, and test everything before people move back in.
- Handover and aftercare – Complete snagging, hand over operating and maintenance manuals, and review how the space performs once the team has settled in.
What Affects the Cost and Timeline?
No two Cat B refurbishments are the same. The biggest factors are the size of the space, how much of the existing layout is being changed, the level of finish, the amount of mechanical and electrical work involved, and whether the office needs to stay occupied during the works. Reusing existing furniture, partitions and finishes where they are still in good condition can reduce both cost and embodied carbon.
Working with a single design and build partner gives you one point of contact, fixed costs and a defined timeline from brief to handover, rather than coordinating separate designers, contractors and furniture suppliers yourself.