An Insider's Guide to Serviced Office Space in the UK

A serviced office is a private, fully furnished office in a building run by an operator, rented on a simple monthly agreement rather than a lease. Furniture, internet, reception, cleaning, utilities and meeting rooms come in one price per desk per month, and you can usually move in within days of signing.

Rubberdesk compares every serviced office in the UK, from WeWork and IWG to the independent operators in each city, and the service is free. Tell us the size, area and budget you have in mind and we will send you a shortlist of offices that fit, arrange the viewings and negotiate the terms. Get a free shortlist or search serviced offices yourself.

• What is a serviced office?
• Serviced office, coworking, managed office or lease?
• Who uses serviced offices?
• The benefits of a serviced office
• What does a serviced office cost?
• How to choose a serviced office
• How Rubberdesk helps
• Compare the operators
• Serviced office guides and comparisons

What is a serviced office?

A serviced office is a ready-to-use private office inside a larger building that an operator runs for many tenants. You rent the room, or a whole floor, and share the reception, meeting rooms, kitchens and breakout space with the other businesses in the building. The operator looks after the building, so there is nothing to fit out, no contractors to manage and no separate bills.

What is included in a serviced office?

One monthly price per desk normally covers:

• A furnished private office with desks, chairs and storage
• High speed internet and Wi-Fi
• Staffed reception, post handling and visitor sign-in
• Cleaning, maintenance, heating, lighting and electricity
• Business rates and building insurance
• Kitchens, breakout areas and phone booths
• Meeting room credits, with more rooms bookable by the hour
• 24 hour access, security and often showers and bike storage

Phones, printing beyond an allowance and parking are usually extras. Always check what is in the quoted rate before comparing operators.

How do serviced offices work?

You sign a licence agreement rather than a lease, typically for 3 to 24 months, with 12 months the most common term and the one that gets the best rate. There is no dilapidations bill at the end and no legal fees to sign. A deposit of one or two months is normal. Because the office is already fitted out, the gap between signing and moving in is usually a week or two rather than the months a conventional fit-out takes.

Serviced office, coworking, managed office or lease?

The flexible office market has four main products. Most businesses of 2 to 50 people end up in a serviced office, but it helps to know what the alternatives offer.

Option	What you get	Term	Suits
Serviced office	A private, furnished office with shared reception, meeting rooms and kitchens, all inclusive per desk	3 to 24 months	Teams of 2 to 50 who want to move in quickly with no capital outlay
Coworking desk	A hot desk or dedicated desk in a shared, open plan space	Monthly	Freelancers, individuals and very small teams
Managed office	A whole floor or building fitted out to your spec and run by an operator, with private facilities	1 to 5 years	Teams of 20 to 200 who want their own front door without a lease
Conventional lease	Empty space you fit out, furnish and run yourself, with rates, service charge and dilapidations on top	5 to 10 years	Established businesses with a settled headcount and capital to invest

A few terms you will meet: a hot desk is any free desk in a shared area; a dedicated desk is your own desk in that shared area; a private office is a lockable room for your team alone; and a licence is the short agreement serviced offices use instead of a lease. For a fuller comparison see our guide to serviced offices versus coworking.

Who uses serviced offices?

Serviced offices began as a product for start-ups and sole traders, and they still suit them well. Today the bigger market is established businesses that want to stop tying up capital and years of commitment in property. On Rubberdesk the tenants we place include:

• Start-ups and scale-ups that expect headcount to change
• Law firms, accountants and financial services firms
• Digital and media agencies
• Construction and engineering firms that need a project office near a site or tender
• Regional offices and satellite teams of large corporates
• Charities, consultancies and professional services firms of every size

The benefits of a serviced office

One known monthly cost

Rent, rates, utilities, furniture, internet, cleaning and reception are one invoice. Under a conventional lease each of those is a separate cost, and several of them are capital you spend before you move in.

Pay for what you use

Take the desks you need now and add more as you hire. Meeting rooms are booked by the hour rather than sitting empty on your floor plan.

Move in within days

The office is fitted out, connected and staffed. For most tenants the only decision left is the desk layout.

Shorter commitments

Terms run from three months, and a 12 month agreement is still far shorter than the five year minimum typical of a lease. If the business changes direction, you can resize or move at the end of the term rather than carry space you no longer need.

Grow or shrink without moving

Most operators will move you to a bigger or smaller office in the same building on a new agreement, so your address, phone number and commute stay the same.

Further reading: the top 10 benefits of a serviced office.

What does a serviced office cost?

Serviced offices are priced per desk per month, so a six person office at £600 a desk is £3,600 a month plus VAT. The figures below come from live listings on Rubberdesk and update weekly.

• Across the UK the median private office is £399 per desk per month, and a coworking desk £270
• In Greater London the median is £517 per desk, rising to £683 in Central London
• Manchester runs at £389 a desk, Birmingham £375 and Leeds £331
• Office size matters: a 1 to 4 person office across the UK is £360 a desk, while floors for 50 or more run at £551

Prices as at October 2026. On a 12 month agreement one to three months rent free, or 10 to 15 percent off the listed rate, is common, so treat the advertised price as the one to negotiate from.

For a city by city breakdown see our price guides:

• UK price guide
• Central London price guide
• City of London price guide
• Manchester price guide
• Birmingham price guide
• Leeds price guide
• Scotland price guide

How to choose a serviced office

Start with the commute: an office that is easy for the whole team to reach gets used. Then work through the points below, and view at least two or three buildings before you decide. Natural light, noise and the state of the shared areas tell you more in ten minutes than any brochure.

• Location and transport: walking time from the station, parking and cycle storage
• Size and growth: enough desks for the next 12 months, and the option to expand in the building
• Layout: internal or external office, natural light, and whether you need a meeting room of your own
• Facilities: meeting room allowance, kitchens, phone booths, showers and event space
• Internet and IT: dedicated bandwidth, private network options and what support is on site
• Term and exit: minimum term, notice period, deposit and whether the rate rises on renewal
• Access: 24 hour access, security and visitor handling
• Community: who else is in the building, and whether events and introductions matter to you
• Total cost: what is in the rate, what is extra and what the same office costs on a longer term

Not sure where to start? Tell us what you need and we will narrow the market down to a shortlist worth viewing.

How Rubberdesk helps

Rubberdesk is a flexible office marketplace and advisory service. Every serviced office, coworking space and managed office in the UK is listed on the platform with live availability and pricing, so you can compare the whole market in one place rather than operator by operator.

1. Tell us what you need. Headcount, areas you would consider, budget and move date. A phone call or the form on this page is enough.
2. We send a shortlist. Our team knows the buildings and the operators, and comes back with the offices that fit, usually within a day.
3. We arrange viewings and negotiate. We book the tours, chase the paperwork and negotiate the rate and terms on your behalf.

The service is free to you and we are impartial: operators pay us when you move in, and we recommend the right office rather than the one that pays most. Call us on 0800 699 0655 or get started online.

Compare the operators

Hundreds of operators run serviced offices in the UK, from the global networks of WeWork and IWG (Regus and Spaces) to London specialists such as Fora, Mindspace, LABS and Huckletree, and regional groups like Bruntwood, Orega and Clockwise. The operator directory lists every one with their current offices. Our head to head comparisons:

• WeWork vs Regus
• WeWork vs Landmark
• Mindspace vs The Office Group (Fora)
• LABS vs Orega
• Clockwise vs Landmark

Serviced office guides and comparisons

Frequently asked questions

What is a serviced office?

A serviced office is a private, furnished office in a building run by an operator, rented on a monthly licence rather than a lease. Internet, reception, cleaning, utilities, business rates and meeting rooms are included in one price per desk per month.

What is included in a serviced office?

Furniture, high speed internet, a staffed reception, cleaning, maintenance, heating, lighting, electricity, business rates, kitchens, breakout space, meeting room credits and 24 hour access. Phones, extra printing and parking are usually charged separately.

How much does a serviced office cost in the UK?

The median private office across the UK is £399 per desk per month on live Rubberdesk listings, and £517 in Greater London. A coworking desk is £270. Prices as at October 2026.

How long is a serviced office agreement?

Typically 3 to 24 months on a licence agreement, with 12 months the most common term and the one that gets the best rate. A deposit of one or two months is normal and there is no dilapidations bill at the end.

How do I find a serviced office?

Rubberdesk lists every serviced office in the UK with live availability and pricing, and the service is free. Tell us your headcount, area, budget and move date and we send a shortlist of offices that fit, arrange the viewings and negotiate the terms.

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