Best Time To Search for a New Office With a 6–18 Month Timeline

Most office moves do not go wrong because the team chose a bad building. They go wrong because the business started late, so every choice became rushed. When you are under time pressure, you accept weaker terms, pay for urgency, and miss options that would have been a better fit.

The best time to search for a new office is usually earlier than people expect, even if you are taking a serviced or managed space. Early planning gives you options, and options give you leverage. It also gives your team time to make calm decisions about location, space, and how you will actually work.

If you are already browsing listings, it helps to anchor your thinking to a timeline. For example, Flexioffices guide to office space to rent in London shows how wide the market can be when you are not forced into a last-minute pick. The goal of this article is to help you work out when to begin and how to use time as a negotiating tool, not just a calendar.

Key takeaways

• The best time to search for a new office is 6-18 months out if you want real leverage
• Start earlier if you have a break clause, rapid hiring, or complex IT/security needs
• A clear brief and early shortlisting can cut wasted viewings and improve deal terms
• Heads of terms agreed early protects timelines and reduces legal back-and-forth
• Early planning helps you manage rates, dilapidations risk, and fit-out decisions

Before we get into the timeline, it is worth being clear about what early actually buys you. It is not only about having more properties to view. It is also about improving your negotiating position, reducing risk, and keeping your choices aligned with what your team needs.

That matters whether you are moving into an all-inclusive space or taking a longer lease. The mechanics change, but the core truth stays the same: the earlier you start, the more power you have.

Why timing changes your leverage, costs and terms

When you have time, you can compare like-for-like options. You can ask sharper questions, push back on hidden costs, and walk away if a deal does not stack up. When you do not have time, you stop negotiating and start accepting.

This is why timing affects the total cost more than many people realise. Rent is only one line item. Fit-out choices, IT work, removals, professional fees, overlap rent, and surprise building constraints all get more expensive when everything is urgent.

If you are unsure which office model fits your timeline, Flexioffices guide to serviced, managed & leased office models is a helpful way to frame how long each route can take. A serviced move can be fast, but you still benefit from planning because the best buildings and best suites get picked first.

The choice window vs the panic window

Think of your search in two modes. In the choice window, you are early enough to be picky. You can tour multiple areas, test commutes, and compare what is included. You can also negotiate because the landlord or operator wants you, but does not feel you are trapped.

In the panic window, the clock is loud. Your lease end date, break clause date, or headcount crunch is dictating decisions. You tend to accept the suite that is available, not the suite that is right, and you pay for speed in ways that are hard to claw back later.

The line between these two windows is often created by legal and operational reality, not by your optimism. For leased space, the RICS Code for Leasing Business Premises exists because heads of terms and negotiation quality materially affect outcomes, and rushing usually worsens both.

What early planning unlocks in negotiations

Early planning gives you time to gather facts and use them calmly. That changes the tone of negotiations. Instead of can you do anything?, you can say we are looking at three options, here is what we need to choose you.

It also gives you room to negotiate around the parts that matter most to your business. In a managed or serviced deal, that might be expansion rights, meeting room allowances, branding, or a better deposit profile. In a leased deal, it might be rent-free, a break clause, caps on service charge, or clearer repairing obligations.

Finally, starting early helps you avoid cost traps beyond rent. Business rates, for example, can be material for some leased deals. The Valuation Office Agency explains how councils use rateable value and a multiplier to calculate the bill, so checking this early can stop budget shocks later, based on VOA guidance on understanding business rates.

A practical 6-18 month office search timeline

A clean way to plan is to run one strategic track and one delivery track in parallel. The strategic track is about what you need and what you can afford. The delivery track is about touring, negotiating, signing, and moving.

You do not need a huge project team for this. You need owners, dates, and decisions. If you want a fast benchmark, Flexioffices 40-day office timeline from brief to move-in shows how compressed a move can be when you already know what you want and are choosing spaces that do not require heavy work.

The timeline below assumes you want maximum leverage, even if you might end up moving quickly. Starting early does not mean moving early. It means keeping control.

18-12 months: strategy, budget, and your non-negotiables

At this stage, your job is to remove confusion. You are not property shopping yet, you are setting the rules of the search. That includes how many people you expect in the office, how often, and what good looks like for the next 2-3 years.

You should also set the financial shape of the deal. For leased space, that means rent, rates, service charge, and fit-out. For managed or serviced space, that means the all-in desk cost, what is included, and what you will pay extra for. If you need a reality check on regional pricing, Flexioffices guide to how much office space costs in UK cities is a practical starting point.

Now is also the moment to decide whether you want a fully managed solution or a more traditional lease. If you are leaning towards an all-inclusive route, it helps to read how managed office space differs from serviced options in terms of control and setup.

Once you have the basics, write a one-page brief. Keep it short enough that a busy decision-maker will actually read it. Include headcount, preferred areas, budget, move date range, must-haves, and deal-breakers.

12-6 months: shortlist, tours, and heads of terms

This is the market phase. You are testing your assumptions against reality. You should be touring, comparing, and narrowing, but you should still be far enough from a hard deadline that you can walk away.

The practical win here is simple: you can create competition. Competition is what improves terms. If the landlord or operator believes you have real alternatives, you can negotiate from a stronger place.

After your first round of tours, refine your brief. This is where you often find the real priorities. A team might think they care most about design, then realise commute and amenities drive attendance. Or they might think they need fewer desks, then realise peak days will create friction.

If you are leaning towards plug-and-play, it is worth understanding exactly what is included in serviced office space so you can compare offers properly.

At the end of this phase, aim to have heads of terms agreed, even if legal work is still to come. The earlier you lock the commercial deal, the less likely it is that the timeline slips. This is also where using a broker or adviser can help, because they can keep momentum while you focus on internal decisions.

6-0 months: legal, fit-out, IT and move-in

This is where many moves slow down. It is not because people are lazy, but it is because the work becomes detailed and interdependent. Legal work impacts fit-out rights. Fit-out impacts IT plans. IT plans impact move sequencing. It is easy to lose weeks without noticing.

If you are moving into a space that needs little work, you can still use a delivery plan so nothing is missed. Flexioffices guide to moving offices is a useful checklist-style reference for the items teams often forget until the last moment.

For leased space, this is also the moment to be very clear about exit obligations at your current office. Dilapidations can become expensive if you leave planning too late. RICS publishes a professional standard on dilapidations to guide how claims and responses should be handled, and it is a good signal of how formal this can get, as covered in the RICS dilapidations guidance.

If sustainability or energy performance is part of your decision, start those conversations early too. UKGBC's work on net zero retrofitting office buildings is a reminder that building performance choices can connect to both cost and long-term risk.

The signals that you should start earlier than you think

Some businesses can genuinely wait, especially if they are taking a small serviced suite and their move date is flexible. But many teams only discover they should have started earlier when it is too late to fix.

The point of recognising signals is not to panic. It is to move yourself back into the choice window. Even adding four to six weeks can change the quality of options you can secure.

If you want a simple rule, treat anything that adds uncertainty as a reason to start earlier. Uncertainty is what causes delays, and delays are what drain leverage.

Lease events and building issues that can trap you

If you have a break clause, a rent review, or a lease end date inside the next 12-18 months, you should be planning now. Admin work alone can take longer than expected, and you do not want to be negotiating while rushing the move.

Another common trap is building constraints. If your current building has limits on working hours, lift bookings, loading, or IT works, that can slow move-out and increase costs. These are boring details, but they are exactly the details that cause expensive surprises.

You should also keep an eye on the business rates timing. The VOA has confirmed that updated rateable values will take effect from 1 April 2026 in England and Wales, so if you are comparing leased options, it is smart to sense-check how future bills might shift, using UK government information on the 2026 revaluation.

People signals: hiring, attendance, retention and commute

Headcount growth is the obvious signal, but it is not the only one. If your team is attending less than you hoped, it might be a workspace issue, not a culture issue. Location, amenities, and layout affect how people feel about coming in.

Retention also matters. A good workspace can support wellbeing, focus, and collaboration, but only if it fits how your team works. This is where good advisers earn their keep, because they can translate people's needs into property requirements.

Flexioffices marketing strategy also highlights how different decision-makers prioritise different outcomes, from cost control to productivity to security. Keeping those stakeholders aligned early tends to reduce late-stage objections and rework.

How to run the search so you actually get better deal terms

Even if you start early, you can still waste time if the search is messy. The aim is not to view the most offices. The aim is to make a confident decision with enough alternatives to negotiate firmly.

That requires structure. A light structure is fine, but you do need a shared brief, a shortlist process, and decision dates. Without that, early planning turns into slow planning.

If you want the simplest operating model, treat your search like a series of gates: brief, shortlist, tours, heads of terms, legal, and move.

The one-page brief that keeps landlords honest

A strong brief is short and specific. It clarifies pricing and prevents unsuitable options from entering the process. It also makes it easier to compare proposals because you have asked for the same information each time.

After you write it, use it. Send it before viewings, not after. If an operator or landlord will not answer basic questions, that is useful information in itself.

When you have a good brief and a wide view of the market, you can also push for better terms with confidence. Flexioffices positions itself around problem-solving and going above and beyond, but the bigger point is universal: a well-run process usually produces a better deal.

What to ask for, even in a tight market

You do not need to be aggressive to negotiate well. You need to be clear, consistent, and willing to walk away. If you are in the choice window, you can ask for what matters without derailing the deal.

Here are examples of reasonable asks that often improve outcomes when you start early enough:

• A longer rent-free period, or a stepped rent to smooth cash flow
• A break clause that matches your growth uncertainty
• Caps or clearer rules on service charge items in leased deals
• Expansion rights, right of first refusal, or pre-agreed swing space
• Clear move-in works responsibilities, including IT handover and access

The key is to match the ask to your real risk. If headcount is uncertain, flexibility matters. If cash flow is tight, incentives matter. If compliance is critical, security and access terms matter.

After negotiations, document what was agreed and keep it visible. This reduces last-minute confusion, which is one of the biggest causes of timeline slips.

Conclusion

The best time to search for a new office is the moment you realise the next 12 months could contain change, whether that is headcount, a lease event, or a shift in how your team works. Starting early does not lock you into moving early. It keeps you in control.

A 6-18 month planning window gives you the ability to compare properly, negotiate with confidence, and avoid expensive surprises around legal work, rates, and exit obligations. Even if you end up moving quickly, the early work is what makes fast feel calm instead of chaotic.

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