Offices in transition: what is still financeable

The order of review

The bank looks at weighted average unexpired lease term first. Below four years most houses get difficult; below three you need a very good reason. Tenant credit comes next, and only then the building itself.

Energy rating is no longer a side topic. It decides not just green loan terms but increasingly whether an offer comes at all, because institutional buyers apply exclusion criteria and the bank underwrites the exit.

What a refurbishment realistically costs

For an energy retrofit with façade, building services and reconfigured floorplates, expect a mid to high three-figure sum per square metre depending on condition. The question is never feasibility but whether the achievable rent carries the investment.

Include rental loss during construction. It is routinely forgotten and, over an eighteen-month programme, it is the largest single item after the build.

Where we currently advise against

Secondary-location stock without a refurbishment concept and with leases running off. These assets find neither financing nor buyers. Waiting is the most expensive option in this segment.