Shoreditch produces some of the most demanding dilapidations work in London, and for a very specific reason: this is where tenants fit out hardest. Two decades as the capital’s tech and creative heartland — from the Old Street roundabout up through Hoxton and across to the warehouses of Curtain Road and Great Eastern Street — mean EC2 offices are packed with bespoke joinery, mezzanines, exposed and re-routed services, feature staircases, AV and branded fit-out that all has to come out at lease end. Combine that with converted warehouse buildings, a conservation-area streetscape and a busy night-time economy on the doorstep, and reinstatement here is rarely a simple strip-and-go. London Dilaps Ltd is a specialist dilapidations contractor — not a general builder taking lease-end work on the side — and Shoreditch is an area we work constantly, handling exactly this kind of high-density, character-building reinstatement under one fixed-price contract with a single point of contact.
The EC2 office market runs from the White Collar Factory and The Bower at the Old Street roundabout, through the converted warehouse stock around Curtain Road, Rivington Street and Great Eastern Street, and out to schemes like The Stage, Principal Place on the City fringe and Derwent London’s Tea Building in the heart of Shoreditch. It is dominated by technology, fintech, media, design and creative-agency occupiers — the sort of businesses that invest heavily in workspace, take flexible or shorter leases, and cycle through space faster than most of central London. Landlords active across the area, Derwent London and Helical among them, expect space handed back to a genuine base-build standard. For a departing tenant that combination — heavy original fit-out, a demanding landlord standard and a fast-moving market — is exactly why the reinstatement scope needs a contractor who knows Shoreditch, not one learning it on your project.
Shoreditch offices are among the most intensively fitted in London, and that drives the dilapidations liability up. Creative and tech tenants routinely add mezzanine decks, feature staircases, exposed and re-routed M&E, acoustic treatments, branded joinery, high-spec kitchens and breakout spaces, specialist lighting and dense structured cabling — all of which typically has to be removed and the space returned to base-build at lease end. The result is that a Shoreditch schedule of dilapidations can be materially heavier than the floor area alone suggests. As a rule of thumb London dilapidations run £15–£35 per sq ft, but a heavily-fitted EC2 creative space can push toward the top of that range simply because there is so much to take out. We scope the full extent of what was installed against your lease and licences for alterations before we price — and we challenge schedule items that fall outside your contractual responsibility rather than accepting the served schedule at face value. Where the numbers work, completing the works directly is almost always cheaper than a landlord’s inflated cash settlement, and it closes your liability cleanly at handover.
Much of Shoreditch’s character stock — the former textile and furniture warehouses around Curtain Road, Rivington Street and Bethnal Green Road — sits within the South Shoreditch Conservation Area, and some buildings are listed. Reinstating these is different from a modern floor: exposed brick, original cast-iron columns, timber and warehouse features often need protecting while tenant additions come out, and base-build here isn’t a bland grid ceiling. Access adds another layer. The streets are narrow and frequently one-way, loading is tight, and Shoreditch’s bars, clubs and restaurants mean the area is busy day and night — so strip-out waste egress has to be sequenced carefully around the night-time economy and, where buildings have residential above, around noise restrictions. We plan every EC2 project around these realities: protecting character features, sequencing waste removal into workable windows, handling building inductions and permits, and coordinating with management and neighbouring tenants so the works run cleanly. Our teams cover Shoreditch and the surrounding postcodes daily, extending naturally into Old Street, Hoxton, Clerkenwell, Spitalfields, Bethnal Green and the City fringe.
Every Shoreditch project begins with a proper on-site assessment against the served schedule and the underlying lease. From there we produce a clear, itemised fixed-price proposal, build a programme around your handover or break date, and manage building induction, permits, multi-tenant liaison and surveyor sign-off directly. Because Shoreditch tenants often move fast, we mobilise quickly — assessing the space, agreeing scope without delay and programming works around whatever time you have. When you appoint a specialist contractor you keep control of specification, quality and programme rather than leaving it to the landlord’s contractor at the landlord’s price. At completion we carry out a pre-handover inspection, compile full photographic documentation and hand over a compliance pack that closes your liability, with the same point of contact you started with.
Dilapidations, strip-out and Cat A reinstatement is our entire focus, not a side service — which matters more in Shoreditch than almost anywhere, because the fit-outs are complex and the market moves quickly. We carry £5 million Public Liability and Employers’ Liability insurance as standard, provide documented handovers on every project, and price direct-to-contractor, which on like-for-like scope typically beats the landlord’s contractor by a meaningful margin. Our Shoreditch clients include tech and fintech scale-ups, creative and media agencies and the property managers and surveyors who advise them across EC2. Fixed-price proposals, experienced site teams, careful strip-out of complex fit-outs, full building and surveyor liaison, and clean documented handovers are the standard on every job — from a single warehouse floor off Curtain Road to a full reinstatement in one of the Old Street towers.
As a rule of thumb, London office dilapidations run roughly £15–£35 per sq ft. Shoreditch offices often sit toward the upper end for a specific reason: creative and tech tenants tend to fit out heavily — mezzanines, bespoke joinery, exposed services, AV and dense cabling — so there’s simply more to remove and reinstate than the floor area alone suggests. We give you a fixed, itemised price after reviewing your lease, licences for alterations and the served schedule, rather than a per-foot estimate.
Typically everything the tenant added that isn’t base-build: partitions, mezzanine decks and feature staircases, branded joinery and feature walls, acoustic treatments, kitchens and breakout fit-outs, specialist lighting, AV and the structured cabling behind it, plus any re-routed or added M&E. We map all of it against your lease and any schedule of condition so you only reinstate what you’re actually obliged to — and we challenge anything on the schedule that falls outside your responsibility.
Yes — they’re a Shoreditch speciality. Converted warehouses around Curtain Road, Rivington Street and Great Eastern Street have exposed brick, cast-iron columns and timber features that need protecting while tenant additions come out, and their base-build standard is different from a modern floor. We plan the strip-out to protect original features and return the space to the correct base-build condition for that building.
Much of Shoreditch’s character stock sits within the South Shoreditch Conservation Area and some buildings are listed, which can affect what can be altered or removed and how. We work within those constraints, protect the features that need protecting, and coordinate with building management and, where relevant, the freeholder’s requirements so your reinstatement stays compliant.
In most cases, doing the works directly is cheaper than settling — and in Shoreditch, where fit-outs are heavy, the gap can be significant. Cash settlements are usually padded with contingency, supervisor fees and lost-rent allowances, and a settlement can be reopened later if further damage is alleged. Completing the works to the schedule closes your liability cleanly at handover. We’ll model both routes for your EC2 space before you decide.
Carefully, and by planning ahead. The streets are narrow and often one-way, loading is tight, and the area is busy with bars, clubs and restaurants day and night. We sequence deliveries and strip-out waste egress into workable windows, arrange loading and skip permits where needed, and where there’s residential above we plan around noise restrictions — so the works run without falling foul of access or neighbour issues.
Usually within a few days of you sending the schedule and lease over. Shoreditch tenants often move fast, so we’re set up to mobilise quickly — rapid assessment, a prompt fixed-price proposal and a programme built around your handover or break date. If you’re up against a tight deadline, tell us and we’ll prioritise it.
As well as Shoreditch and the Old Street corridor, we cover Hoxton, Clerkenwell, Farringdon, Spitalfields, Bethnal Green, Hackney and the City fringe — seamless coverage across the EC1, EC2 and N1 commercial corridor, which helps if you’re managing more than one lease exit.
Our specialist office dilapidations service manages the complete lease-end repair and compliance programme for commercial tenants across Shoreditch and the Old Street corridor. We review your lease obligations, agree scope with your surveyor and deliver all required works — repairs, redecoration, removal of tenant alterations and full schedule of condition compliance — under a single fixed-price contract. Whether your Shoreditch office requires a straightforward make-good package or a complex multi-trade reinstatement programme, we manage everything from initial assessment through to final landlord handover.
We deliver complete CAT A reinstatement programmes for commercial offices across Shoreditch and the EC1/EC2 corridor, restoring spaces to base-build condition in line with landlord specification. Our service covers suspended ceilings, perimeter lighting, raised access flooring, power distribution, fresh decorations and all make-good works — delivered under a single managed contract. Trusted by Shoreditch landlords, property managers and surveyors for clean, compliant spaces that pass inspection and keep lease exits on programme.
For Shoreditch tenants with lighter lease obligations, our small works service covers minor repairs, redecoration, carpet or flooring replacement, compliance checks and final cleaning — everything needed for a tidy, compliant handover at a fair fixed price. We assess your space honestly against your lease terms and deliver only what’s genuinely required. A practical, cost-effective solution for smaller Shoreditch offices or tenants with limited lease-end liability who need a fast, professional exit.
Get a free, no-obligation dilapidations assessment for your Shoreditch office — especially worthwhile if the space is heavily fitted. We’ll review your lease and the served schedule and come back within 24 hours with clear, practical advice and a fixed price