When Edgewater Markets needed to expand their London footprint, they came to us with a clear brief: 20 desks, a meeting room, and four executive offices and a tight window to make decisions. With leadership flying in from the US for a short period, we needed to move quickly while helping the team navigate the realities of the London office market.
Client requirements
- Capacity: 20 desks
- Spaces: 1 meeting room + 4 executive offices
- Preferred location: Move from the City to the West End
- Budget: £18–20k per month
- Timing: Fast decision-making while key stakeholders were in London
The Challenge
Edgewater were keen to relocate to the West End, but the combination of their space requirements and £18–20k/month budget didn’t align with West End pricing. On top of that, the decision-makers, based in the US, were understandably comparing options to the US market, where pricing, floorplates, and fit-out flexibility can look very different.
A big part of the project became education and expectation management, including:
- What £20k/month realistically delivers in different parts of central London
- The impact of listed buildings and planning constraints, which can limit changes to layout and design
- The trade-offs required between location, budget, and specification
Our Approach
We ran a structured search and advisory process designed to keep momentum high while ensuring the business made a confident, informed decision.
1) Market education + clear trade-offs:
We guided Edgewater through a practical view of the London market and helped them define their “must-haves” vs. “nice-to-haves”. This enabled faster, more decisive conversations in a compressed timeframe.
2) A value-check on their current building:
Because moving would have pushed back their start date, we assessed their existing setup for viable expansion options. This created a realistic Plan A that protected their timeline.
3) Partnering with the workspace provider:
We worked closely with Industrious to explore expansion within the building and align both parties on commercial terms and delivery.
The Solution
Ultimately, Edgewater concluded that what they needed in the West End didn’t exist at their original budget—and that the City remained the best fit for their team. They chose to compromise strategically:
- Increased budget to £30–35k per month
- Reduced the executive office requirement
We then secured the outcome that met their priorities without delaying occupancy:
- Expanded within their existing building
- Doubled their space
- Delivered executive offices
- Negotiated a payment plan that worked for both Edgewater and the provider
- Aligned stakeholders through a collaborative space utilisation process, involving both client and provider to make sure the final layout supported the way the team actually worked
The Result
Edgewater secured the right solution within the required timeframe, avoided delays associated with relocating, and expanded into a workspace that matched both leadership needs and team dynamics.
We handled the end-to-end process, including:
- Search strategy and feasibility guidance
- Space utilisation planning
- Commercial negotiation
- Contract review and deal management
Takeaway
By partnering with us, Edgewater avoided a costly, time-consuming search that wouldn’t have delivered against their brief. Instead, they achieved a practical, scalable solution at the right price, on the right timeline, with the right terms.