King's Road, Fulham

The brief

Return a stripped-out and neglected commercial unit to a condition where it was safe, presentable and could be shown to prospective occupiers. The owner needed the building working as an asset again rather than sitting as a liability.

The challenge

A unit that has been stripped out and left does not present a single problem, it presents a list: services to check rather than assume, safety issues to close out, and finishes stripped back far enough that there is no obvious place to start. The temptation in that situation is a full specification that spends more than the letting value justifies.

Our approach

• Inspected the unit properly and established what was actually wrong rather than pricing from assumptions.
• Separated the works into what was necessary for safety, what was necessary to present and let the unit, and what could sensibly wait for an incoming occupier.
• Priced a clear scope against that order of priority, so the owner could see what each stage bought.
• Coordinated trusted trades through the works with one point of contact for the owner throughout.

The outcome

• A safe, presentable unit that could be shown with confidence.
• Spend concentrated on the works that made the difference, not a full fit-out the letting did not require.
• A neglected building returned to being a functioning part of the owner's portfolio.

Before, during and after