European office costs continue to rise, but companies are not compromising on their demands for high-quality work environments, according to Colliers' Occupier Fit-Out Guide 2026 study.

Companies with expiring lease contracts are increasingly preferring renegotiation to move to new premises. One of the reasons is the high office fit-out costs, as the outcome of Cushman & Wakefield’s annual EMEA Fit Out Cost Guide is showing.

Demand for lounge-style offices is on the rise across the office world. Fit-out costs have also increased which forces developers and construction companies to prepare projects more thoroughly than before. Property Forum asked Dávid Havas, Development Director at Fitout Zrt. about the latest trends in creating a lovely atmosphere to retain the best employees and use design and build concepts to keep costs low.

Due to the increase in prices of electricity, utilities, services and minimum wage, as well as local taxes and fees, experts from Avison Young Poland are experiencing significant increases in operating costs in office buildings this year. In Warsaw, depending on the class of the property and the components of the operating costs, they have observed an increase ranging from 15% to as much as 30-40%. Tenants are now paying particular attention to the components of the settlement that may vary depending on the building, as well as technological solutions that allow for reducing utility consumption.

Fit-out company COS has launched the Research & Development (R&D) workspace centre Masia in northern Bucharest, following an investment of €1.6 million.  

Tenants tend to ask more from developers in terms of fit-out these days. Property Forum asked Zoltán Borély, Country Director of Atenor Hungary about the ways his company manages this at a time when costs have skyrocketed.

In the CEE region, Prague placed second in terms of the price of fitting out an office. With €1,159 being the average cost per square metre in Prague, it is just over half of what is standard in top cities in Germany or the UK, where costs often exceed €2,000. Compared with the last year, the prices have grown all over Europe due to inflation and other factors. The 10% increase in Prague means that office occupiers need to carefully consider their office usage and space needs when redesigning their offices. Sustainability and DE&I are also increasingly affecting fit-out requirements, reports Cushman & Wakefield in their latest analysis.

The average office fit-out costs in Romania rose by around 20-30% in 2022 due to a combination of supply chain pressures and higher materials’ costs, which saw companies paying an average of €820 per sqm of office space, according to real estate consultancy Cushman & Wakefield Echinox. 

The past year has brought a lot of economic turbulence, from the still-felt effects of the pandemic to the consequences of the war in Ukraine, rising commodity prices and disrupted supply chains to currency fluctuations and energy price hikes. This situation is driving the rising costs associated with building and finishing commercial real estate. At the same time, price increases are accompanied by an evolution in office design as companies increasingly opt for a hybrid work model and pay more attention to employee welfare and sustainability. Each year, Tétris takes a look at the current budget challenges associated with office fit-outs in the EMEA region, compares them with current trends, and summarizes everything in its Fit-Out Cost Guide report.

According to Cushman & Wakefield, with office fit-out costs in Warsaw averaging €1,010 per sqm, the Polish capital came third in the CEE (Central and Eastern Europe) region behind Belgrade (€1,121 per sqm) and Prague (€1,037 per sqm). London takes the top spot in EMEA with an average fit-out cost of €2,798 per sqm.