What is Cat A Plus fit out?

When looking for a new office space, tenants truly have more choice than ever before; from simple co-working spaces and serviced offices through to a full Cat B Fit Out. Read on to explore a more recent type of fit out and office space option: Cat A Plus.

What is a Cat A Plus fit out?

A midpoint between the traditional bounds of Cat A and Cat B fit outs, Cat A plus is essentially a plug-and-play office setup provided by landlords. This means that all a prospective tenant needs to move in, is their staff, coffee beans and IT equipment.

While Cat B fit outs are heavily tailored to the tenant’s culture, brand and working style, Cat A Plus fit outs are provided by the landlord, meaning they are often a stylish blank canvas that can work for a broad range of tenants, regardless of industry. They still provide a base of amenities and furniture that tenants may need; from workstations and desks, to furnished breakout spaces and even tea points, kitchens and increasingly often, coffee machines.

With the recent advent of co-working spaces and serviced offices, more tenants are looking for office space that is ready to occupy and move into. This often suits smaller companies that are looking to avoid a longer term investment in a customised Cat B fit out.

Keen to know more? Read our in-depth comparison of Cat A, Cat A Plus and Cat B fit outs »

Fewer upfront costs

Since tenants can just move into their new workplace with minimal adjustments and investment. This means that spaces that may have been financially out-of-reach for smaller companies are now viable options with fewer upfront costs and fixed overheads.

More flexible lease terms

Since tenants will be moving into the space provided by a landlord, there’s no need for a ‘make good’ clause at the end of the lease whereby the tenant needs to return the space to its original Cat A condition.

A seamless occupant experience

When landlords provide a Cat A Plus fit out, they can go a step further and ensure that the facilities in individual tenant spaces are complemented by other shared communal areas; creating a campus-style workplace for their occupants.

More shared spaces

Depending on the size of development and landlord, Cat A Plus spaces are often complemented by an increase in communal spaces for tenants to utilise; providing a mix of personal office space and communal co-working or breakout areas.

Sustainability

Since the tenant will be using the Cat A plus facilities provided by the landlord, there’s no risk of superfluous M&E that is stripped out and replaced in the tenant’s Cat B fit out. This also encourages landlords to invest in quality M&E, insulation and flooring; knowing that they will be used for the long term.

Cat A plus is just as flexible for landlords as it is for tenants, as landlords can target different tenants with a range of lease terms for the different spaces in their development. We recently worked closely with Legal & General Asset Management to refurbish one of their assets with stunning Cat A and Cat A Plus fit outs.

We undertook a ‘traditional’ Cat A fit out on their larger floorplates so they could accommodate a long-term tenant looking to make their mark. However, on the smaller floorplates, we undertook a Cat A Plus fit out, providing ready-to-go offices.

Complete with furniture, workspaces, base IT and even a coffee machine, these spaces would be attractive to smaller companies looking to move out of shared or serviced offices, and into their own premium workplace – all without the overheads of investing in their own customised Cat B fit out.