● Flatpay UK
May 2026
London office
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A scaling business, a defined budget, and one building that fits the brief.
Six chapters
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FTE Forecast
Total & in-office FTE
25-month view · end state ~700 total / ~500 in-office
Total FTE
In-office FTE
- The headcount is driven by the BDR-to-Sales-Manager ratio — at 1.3×, the highest of any Flatpay market.
- That ratio is high because of lower gross conversion in the MCC channel: more BDRs are needed per signed deal.
- At the end state this is roughly 200 Sales Managers and, on that ratio, roughly 250 BDRs.
Location & Market Dynamics
| Area | Grade A headline rent · £/sq ft |
|---|---|
| Mayfair, St James's | £110 – £250 |
| Marylebone | £80 – £150 |
| Victoria, Westminster | £80 – £150 |
| Knightsbridge | £80 – £150 |
| Fitzrovia | £85 – £135 |
| Prime City | £80 – £130 |
| Soho, Regent Street | £80 – £125 |
| King's Cross | £85 – £115 |
| Clerkenwell, Farringdon | £75 – £120 |
| Paddington | £70 – £110 |
| Covent Garden | £70 – £105 |
| Waterloo, Southwark, London Bridge | £60 – £100 |
| Holborn | £65 – £95 |
| Bloomsbury | £65 – £95 |
| Shoreditch | £60 – £95 |
| Vauxhall, Battersea | £65 – £85 |
| Hammersmith, White City, Olympia | £50 – £75 |
| Docklands Prime — Canary Wharf | £50 – £70 |
| Stratford & Dalston | £45 – £55 |
| Heathrow — Stockley Park | £40 – £50 |
◆ Hammersmith, our focus area, is among the lowest-cost Grade A submarkets in inner London — while keeping a central-west location.
The Ark · Hammersmith
Available floors & units
| Floor / Unit | Size | Desks | Density | Condition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8th floor (B-C) | 8,759 sq ft | 102 | 86 sqft/desk | CAT B |
| 7th floor (B-C) | 9,193 sq ft | 102 | 90 sqft/desk | CAT B |
| 6th floor (entire) | 21,539 sq ft | 250 | 86 sqft/desk | CAT A |
| 5th floor (entire, or broken up in units) | 22,536 sq ft | 262 | 86 sqft/desk | CAT A |
| 1st floor — Units 1A / 1B temporary option | Units 1A + 1B | ~95–120 | fit-out / build-out | CAT A |
The 5th floor can be taken whole or split into separate units — a 145-desk part and a 116-desk part. The permanent options below combine the 6th, 5th and 7th floors; the 8th floor (B-C) feeds the temporary bridge space from August 2026.
Four options · cost breakdown (all £/sqft figures per annum)
| Option | Floors | Sq ft | Desks | Headline rent £/sqft PA |
Anticipated rent £/sqft PA |
All-in rent £/sqft PA |
Est. rent-free months · 5-yr |
Discounted all-in £/sqft PA · RF applied |
Effective cost PA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 7th (B-C) + 6th floor | 30,732 | 352 | £47.50 | £45.00 | £81.85 | 10 | £74.35 | £2.28m |
| B | 6th floor only | 21,539 | 250 | £47.50 | £44.00 | £80.85 | 10 | £73.52 | £1.58m |
| C | 6th + 5th floor (entire) | 44,075 | 512 | £47.50 | £42.50 | £79.35 | 10 | £72.27 | £3.19m |
| D | 6th floor + part 5th floor | 34,031 | 395 | £47.50 | £42.50 | £79.35 | 10 | £72.27 | £2.46m |
Remark · Option D over the full 10-year term
The figures above amortise rent-free across the 5-year break point. Committing to the full 10-year term unlocks a larger rent-free incentive — we expect to negotiate 20–22 months — which would bring Option D's effective all-in down further.
All £/sqft figures are per annum. All-in rent = anticipated rent + business rates (£22.00/sqft) + service charge (£14.85/sqft). Discounted all-in applies the rent-free period across the 5-year break point — all options modelled at 10 months' rent-free over the first 60 months — with rates and service charge payable in full from day one. The landlord's £65/sqft fit-out contribution is separate — a contribution the landlord funds, shown as a benefit on the next page, not netted against rent-free. Option D — the 6th floor plus the 145-desk part of the 5th — is the recommended take, with a right of first refusal over the remaining 5th floor (116 desks).
Move-in timeline
Space
5th floor
option
option
OPTION
Trigger remaining 5th floor — +116 desks
Exercisable at any point as headcount needs it · ~3-month fit-out from exercise · takes total capacity to 511 desks
Desks:
have vs. need
have vs. need
245
300
281
350
316
350
343
350
371
400
392
400
▲ trigger 5th floor
422
511
431
511
446
511
Aug '26
Sep '26
Oct '26
Nov '26
Dec '26
Jan '27
Feb '27
Mar '27
Apr '27
Dotted outline = desks available that month · solid bar = desks the forecast requires, with the figure shown inside. Capacity stays ahead throughout: ~300 desks in August, ~350 from September, ~400 with the permanent move in December, and 511 once the remaining 5th floor is triggered.
Shortlist · for comparison
| Building | Area | Sq ft | Desks | All-in £/sqft PA | Annual £ | Monthly £ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 The Square, Stockley Park | Heathrow | 18.3k | ~213 | £63.50 | £1.16m | £97k |
| Ealing Cross, 85 Uxbridge Rd | Ealing | 18.4k | ~214 | £75.56 | £1.46m | £116k |
| The Fold, 20A Stanwick Rd | Kensington | 16.9k | ~197 | £76.00 | £1.35m | £107k |
| DThe Ark — 6th + part 5th | Hammersmith | 34.0k | 395 | £79.35 | £2.70m | £225k |
| CThe Ark — 6th + 5th (entire) | Hammersmith | 44.1k | 512 | £79.35 | £3.50m | £291k |
| BThe Ark — 6th floor only | Hammersmith | 21.5k | 250 | £80.85 | £1.74m | £145k |
| AThe Ark — 7th (B-C) + 6th | Hammersmith | 30.7k | 352 | £81.85 | £2.52m | £210k |
| St. Vincent House | Covent Garden | 14.6k | ~170 | £82.26 | £1.26m | £100k |
| 3 Shortlands | Hammersmith | 16.2k | ~188 | £84.45 | £1.43m | £114k |
| Building 11, Chiswick Park | Chiswick | 17.5k | ~203 | £86.09 | £1.57m | £126k |
| The Aircraft Factory | Hammersmith | 13.2k | ~153 | £89.56 | £1.25m | £98k |
| 245 Hammersmith Rd | Hammersmith | 15.0k | ~174 | £91.00 | £1.43m | £114k |
All buildings — including the four Ark options — are ranked by all-in £/sqft, lowest first. The annual figure is the headline all-in rent × floor area — before the rent-free discount, on a like-for-like basis with the other buildings; the discounted effective cost is shown in the options table above. Desks for the non-Ark buildings are estimated at ~86 sq ft per desk, the same density assumption used for the Ark options.
Building Type
01
Project management fees
£25–45k
PM manages the fit-out — keeps contractors on budget, on time, and scrutinises each line item to minimise costs.
02
Agency fees
£10k
Landlord covers the majority of Tally's fee; the remainder is linked to savings achieved.
03
Legal fees
£8–14k
A commercial property solicitor will be instructed to draft the lease.
04
SDLT
£300–330k
UK Stamp Duty Land Tax, payable to HMRC at lease completion. This transaction size pushes into the highest bracket — roughly a 10× step up from sub-15k sqft deals.
05
Deposit
£700k
Covers the landlord's exposure and Flatpay's covenant. Refundable at lease end.
06
Fit-out
£1.3m
Cost to fit out the space. Capped at £65/sqft — the landlord pays this, up to the cap; any spend above falls to Flatpay.
∑
Subtotal — before contribution
~£2.4m
One-off costs including the fit-out, before the landlord's contribution.
−
Fit-out contribution
−£1.3m
The landlord funds the fit-out (capped at £65/sqft) — removed here as it is not a Flatpay cost.
∑
Net one-off cost
~£1.1m
Upfront cash to Flatpay — SDLT, deposit, PM, agency and legal fees.
Dilapidations — end of lease
£200k – £450k
A "diminution of value" assessment at lease end, £15–20/sqft worst case. Highly negotiable — we are arguing for zero, since the landlord retains ownership of the fit-out. Excluded from the cost figures above; treat as a contingent, contested item that falls due, if at all, only at the end of the lease.
Total annual cost of occupation · Option C
| Cost line | Basis | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| Occupancy cost — excl. one-off | Effective all-in £72.27/sqft PA × 44,075 sqft | £3.19m |
| One-off costs — amortised | £371k (PM, agency, legal, SDLT) ÷ 5 years | £74k |
| C Total annual cost — Option C | Occupancy + amortised one-off | £3.26m |
Total annual cost of occupation · Option D
| Cost line | Basis | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| Occupancy cost — excl. one-off | Effective all-in £72.27/sqft PA × 34,031 sqft | £2.46m |
| One-off costs — amortised | £371k (PM, agency, legal, SDLT) ÷ 5 years | £74k |
| D Total annual cost — Option D | Occupancy + amortised one-off | £2.53m |
If the business does not outgrow the space
Option D — the 6th floor plus the 145-desk part of the 5th — is the lower-cost position at £2.53m/yr. If headcount does not require the remaining 5th-floor units, the right of first refusal lapses unused and the £3.26m Option C cost is never incurred.
Effective rate — £72.27/sqft
Anticipated rent (£42.50) discounted by 10 months' rent-free across the 5-year break, plus business rates and service charge in full — these are payable from day one and are not discounted. The fit-out is funded by the landlord and is not netted into this figure.
Excluded from the annual cost
The £700k deposit is refundable at lease end. Dilapidations (£200–450k, contested) fall due, if at all, only at lease end. Upfront cash at completion is ~£1.07m.
Commute
◆ The Ark averages 41 minutes at £2,388/yr per employee, with six of seven options inside a 36–43 minute band — broadly comparable on commute. Stockley Park is the clear outlier: 65 minutes and £4,788/yr — roughly £2,400 more per employee each year, or about £440k across 183 staff.
Door-to-door commute modelled from Personio home postcodes (public transport, no car); cost is a TfL annual Zone 1–office travelcard, plus a bus leg for Stockley Park. 70 Field Sales staff excluded as non-commuters. Figures are estimates.
Door-to-door commute modelled from Personio home postcodes (public transport, no car); cost is a TfL annual Zone 1–office travelcard, plus a bus leg for Stockley Park. 70 Field Sales staff excluded as non-commuters. Figures are estimates.