LANDLORD & ASSET ENHANCEMENT.
OUR TRUSTED PARTNERS.
SPECIFIED TO LET.
NOT SPECIFIED TO IMPRESS.
A landlord fit-out has one job: move the unit. Everything else is decoration.
We design CAT A, CAT A+ and repositioning work for landlords, asset managers and developers across Manchester and London. The brief is not “make this beautiful”. It is “make this let faster, at a better rent, to the kind of tenant you actually want”. Those are different problems and they need different thinking.
Where landlord money gets wasted
Two failure modes, and we see both constantly.
Over-specification. Capital spent on finishes an incoming tenant will strip out in week one. Every pound spent above what the letting actually needs is a pound you do not get back.
Under-specification. A unit that technically complies but reads as cheap on the viewing. The agent works harder, the void runs longer, and the rent gets negotiated down. The units that let quickest sit between the two. They give an occupier an immediate mental picture of their own business in the space — a credible meeting room count, a workable tea point, daylight where people will actually sit.
What we do for landlords
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CAT A fit-out — raised floors, suspended ceilings, lighting, distributed M&E and finished common parts. The base-build specification a tenant expects to inherit.
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CAT A+ / plug-and-play — fully fitted, furnished and ready to occupy. Shortens the letting cycle and widens the tenant pool to occupiers who cannot fund their own fit-out.
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Repositioning and asset enhancement — arrival sequence, reception, lift lobbies, WCs and amenity. The parts of a building that decide a viewing in the first ninety seconds.
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Test fits and feasibility — proving the floorplate works for the tenant you are targeting, before you market it or spend on it.
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Marketing suites and show space — one floor finished properly so agents have something to sell.
Where to spend when the budget is tight
The instinct is to spread investment evenly across the asset. It is usually the wrong call.
An occupier forms a view in the first ninety seconds — arrival, reception, the lift lobby, the state of the WCs. That sequence decides whether the rest of the tour is a formality or a negotiation. Concentrating spend on the journey in, and doing it properly, typically shifts perception of the whole building further than a thin refresh applied everywhere.
What it costs
As an indicative allowance, CAT A work starts from around £45 per sq ft and CAT B from around £65 per sq ft. Those are starting points for early-stage budgeting, not quotations — the real figure depends on the building's existing services, floor-to-ceiling heights, and what you are trying to achieve commercially.
Our budget planner gives you an indicative range in under a minute.
HOW IT WORKS
01. Feasibility and test fit
What the floorplate can support, and whether it suits your target tenant.
02. Specification strategy
What to include, what to leave, and why, against the letting strategy.
03. Design
Layouts, finishes, lighting and common parts developed to the agreed spec.
04. Technical design
Drawings and specifications resolved so contractors price accurately rather than pricing risk.
05. Delivery support
Site support through to practical completion where appointed.
LANDLORDS AND DEVELOPERS WE WORK WITH
We work with Landsec, Bruntwood SciTech and MediaCity, alongside private landlords and developers across the North West and London.
EVOLVE at MediaCity · Landsec
Salford / 16,000 sq ft / workplace concept. A concept developed to support Landsec's leasing strategy, showing prospective occupiers how a floor could accommodate work, collaboration, social use and events.
Blue Tower, MediaCity · MediaCity and Landsec
Salford Quays / 8,200 sq ft / 12th floor. A dated office floor reimagined as flexible workplace with a clearer leasing proposition — giving agents something occupiers could picture themselves in.
Old Burlington Street · Mayfair
London W1 / landlord feasibility study. Reception, workspace and amenity improvements explored as one coordinated direction, giving the landlord a basis for deciding which interventions to progress.
14 King Street · Bruntwood SciTech
Leeds / multi-tenanted building. Reception, circulation, WCs, kitchens and end-of-trip facilities renewed as a single refurbishment approach across the landlord's shared spaces.
Talk to us about your asset
If you have a void unit, a building that is not performing, or a floorplate you are unsure about, we can tell you quickly whether it works and what it will realistically cost.
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If you have a void unit, a building that is not performing, or a floorplate you are unsure about, we can tell you quickly whether it works and what it will realistically cost.
Call: 0161 758 0035
Email: info@zerogravitydesign.co.uk
Manchester
Colony, 76 King St, Manchester M2 4NH
London
Fora, Scott House, London SE1 7LY