Release date 1 July 2020
Below is a guide to typical construction costs of various buildings per m2 of gross internal floor area (internal area measured over internal walls and partitions, stairwell openings etc). The costs are typical guide costs for a building of the size stated, constructed to a typical or mid-range specification. Building size and shape, number of storeys, ground conditions, design and material specification can all have a significant impact on costs. It is quite possible for costs to vary from the guide costs given here, perhaps by +20% or more and even this higher figure is not absolute but a guide only.
Costs are set at current index 190 - 3Q2020 (Year 2000 = 100), at UK national average (index 100). See the Construction Indices, the Regional Variations and the Project Value Adjustments pages for more details. The costs are for the building only, inclusive of preliminaries and contractor's overheads and profit. The costs are exclusive of furnishings, external works, allowances for risk (contingencies), fees and VAT.
If you don't know any better, we would typically add a further 20% of the costs below to cover the possible costs of external works (hard pavings, landscaping, external fences and walls, etc., foul and surface water drainage, and external services) and to the new sub-total figure a further 15% to cover risk (contingencies). This is only very much a rough guide and depends very much on the size of the site associated with the building and the level of specification and complexity of the external works. Professional fees can be anything from 5% to 10% depending on the size of the project - generally the larger the project the smaller fee percentage.
Building prices can be influenced significantly by local conditions, local market conditions, size and specification. The prices given here are intended only as an indicative guide and should be used with caution as prices outside these ranges can be encountered in meeting local conditions and specific client requirements.
An example of how a construction works budget may be put together is given at the end of this page.
| Industrial buildings | |||
| Factory, light industrial, including office accommodation (4.5m high) | 5000m2 | £970 | |
| Warehouse including office accommodation (7.3m high) | 5000m2 | £1020 | |
| High bay warehouse including office accommodation (excludes racking), (21.0m high) | 10000m2 | £1280 | |
| Distribution centre including office accommodation (15.0m high) | 71750m2 | £670 | |
| Small start-up units (5.0m high) | 900m2 | £1140 | |
| Administrative buildings | |||
| Office, low rise, non-air conditioned, basic specification | 3000m2 | £1830 | |
| Office, low rise, non-air conditioned, higher specification | 3000m2 | £2140 | |
| Office, low rise, air conditioned, basic specification | 3000m2 | £2030 | |
| Office, low rise, air conditioned, higher specification | 3000m2 | £2370 | |
| Office, high rise, non-air conditioned, basic specification | 10000m2 | £1670 | |
| Office, high rise, non-air conditioned, higher specification | 10000m2 | £1950 | |
| Office, high rise, air conditioned, basic specification | 10000m2 | £1840 | |
| Office, high rise, air conditioned, higher specification | 10000m2 | £2150 | |
| Shop unit (block of three small units) | 500m2 | £1850 | |
| Shop unit with flats above | 1500m2 | £1580 | |
| Shop unit with offices above | 1000m2 | £1730 | |
| Retail warehouse | 5000m2 | £1020 | |
| Health and welfare buildings | |||
| General hospital | 10000m2 | £2810 | |
| Psychiatric ward | 1500m2 | £2970 | |
| Pathology lab | 1200m2 | £3070 | |
| Health centre | 2000m2 | £2290 | |
| Hospice | 3000m2 | £2060 | |
| Nursing home | 2000m2 | £2310 | |
| Home for the elderly | 2000m2 | £2300 | |
| Home for the mentally ill | 5000m2 | £2480 | |
| Refreshment, entertainment and recreation buildings | |||
| Restaurant | 700m2 | £2180 | |
| Community centre | 500m2 | £2440 | |
| Leisure centre with swimming pool | 6000m2 | £2750 | |
| Sports hall with swimming pool | 9000m2 | £2820 | |
| Sports changing pavilion | 200m2 | £1920 | |
| Library | 700m2 | £2090 | |
| Youth club | 800m2 | £2020 | |
| Educational, cultural and scientific buildings | |||
| Nursery school | 250m2 | £2900 | |
| Primary school | 2000m2 | £2200 | |
| Secondary school | 4000m2 | £1990 | |
| College, non-air conditioned | 5000m2 | £1840 | |
| College, air conditioned | 5000m2 | £2040 | |
| Residential buildings | |||
| Estate housing | 800m2 | £1260 | |
| Detached house | 200m2 | £1680 | |
| Apartment block | 7000m2 | £2000 | |
| Hall of residence | 1500m2 | £2350 | |
| Student residence | 8000m2 | £1950 | |
| Sheltered housing | 3000m2 | £2180 | |
| Hotel, air conditioned | 5000m2 | £2620 |
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The following is an example of how an early cost advice budget may be put together when all that is know about the project is building size (gross floor area), location and an indicative start of construction date.
This example is for a proposed new office block in York, 2000m2 gross floor area, with a proposed construction start date of July 2021.
| Base cost from cost per m2 table above | ||
| Office, low rise, air conditioned | 2000m2 x £2,030 | 4,060,000 |
| Adjustment for location (York = 96) | 0.96 | |
| 3,898,000 | ||
| Adjustment for project value | ||
| Base cost factor (3000m2 x £2,030 = £6,090,000) | 0.91 | |
| Cost factor for this project (base value £3,898,000) | 0.93 | |
| Adjustment (0.93 - 0.91) / 0.91 | 2.20% | 86,000 |
| 3,984,000 | ||
| Adjustment for construction start date | ||
| Current tender price index July 2020 | 190 | |
| Forecasted tender price index July 2021 | 193 | |
| Adjustment (193 - 190) / 190 | 1.58% | 63,000 |
| 4,047,000 | ||
| Allowance for external works | say 20% | 809,000 |
| 4,856,000 | ||
| Allowance for risk | say 15% | 728,000 |
| 5,584,000 | ||
| Indicative total building works cost | £5,600,000 |
Estimate base date: 1 July 2020.
Cost excludes land purchase, fees and VAT.