Typical UK Construction Costs of Buildings

Release date 1 October 2023

Typical Construction Costs of Buildings

This page contains a guide of indicative construction costs of various buildings per m2 of gross internal floor area (internal area of the building measured over internal walls and partitions, stairwell openings etc).

Construction costs include the following group elements:

  • Substructure
  • Superstructure
  • Finishes
  • Fittings, furnishings and equipment
  • Services
  • Main Contractor's overheads and profit
  • Preliminaries

All costs are set at current index 215 (4Q2023 - Year 2000 = 100), at UK national average (index 100) and a building works value factor of 1 (building works value of approximately £1,000,000). See the Construction Indices, the Regional Variations and the Project Value Adjustments pages for more details.

The costs below are for the building only (i.e. no external works), and are inclusive of preliminaries, and contractor's overheads and profit set at 5.5%.

All costs exclude land purchase, fees, VAT, and any fittings, furnishings and equipment supplied by the Client.

The costs given here are provided in good faith as an indicative guide only and should be used with understanding. You should also consider other sources of information. Costmodelling Limited cannot accept any liability for any work produced using these figures. You should always seek professional advice in producing costs for any construction project.

Unless stated otherwise, the costs are based on buildings constructed to a typical or mid-range specification. However, no two buildings are the same. Building size and shape, number of storeys, ground conditions, design and material specification, number and size of windows, number of lifts, local market conditions, etc. can all have a significant impact on costs.

Costs can vary from the range of guide costs given here.

The costs below should only be used to give a general indication of what a building MAY cost to construct. They do not provide a cost of what your actual project WILL cost to construct. You should always seek the advice of a professional quantity surveyor who will be able to advise an accurate budget for your project.



Typical costs per m2


We have used our Costmodelling CostAdviser Professional software to produce cost models for all the buildings detailed in the table below. A chart plotting these building costs in a distribution curve is provided below:

bldgcosts

Analysis of the building costs provides the following information:

  • The lowest cost for a building is: £490/m2
  • The 25% quartile cost of a building is: £1,850/m2
  • The median cost of a building is: £2,540/m2
  • The 75% quartile cost of a building is: £2,950/m2
  • The 90% percentile cost of a building is: £4,040/m2
  • The highest cost for a building is: £6,070/m2
  • 50% of buildings are be within the cost range: £1,850/m2 - £2,950/m2
  • 90% of buildings are within the cost range: £490/m2 - £4,040/m2

All costs are set at Tender Price index 215, a building works value factor of 1 and a UK regional factor of 100


We have also used our software to generate a cost model for a typical building comprising all elements at average design and pricing. This produces a cost model for an average cost building of £2,210/m2

Using this average cost, and through analysis of multiple cost models we have produced using differing element unit quantities and element unit rates allows us to determine the standard deviation of building costs. Our calculations determine this to be £990/m2

We can use this information to create a normal distribution of building costs, which is given in the chart below:

cpm2

All normal density curves satisfy the following property which is often referred to as the 'Empirical Rule':

  • 68% of the observations fall within 1 standard deviation of the mean
  • 95% of the observations fall within 2 standard deviations of the mean
  • 99.7% of the observations fall within 3 standard deviations of the mean

Applying the Empirical Rule to our cost data allows us the predict likely costs of buildings as follows:

  • The cost of a building comprising normal components, and average design and pricing is: £2,290/m2. In the Empirical Rule this is taken as the average or mean cost.
  • 68% of buildings will be within the cost range: £1,230/m2 - £3,230/m2
  • 95% of buildings will be within the cost range: £230/m2 - £4,230/m2
  • 99.7% of buildings will cost below £5,230/m2

All costs are set at Tender Price index 215, a building works value factor of 1 and a UK regional factor of 100



Table of costs


Important! When using the information from the table below, it is important that any costs produced are adjusted using the project value adjustment factor obtained from the project value adjustment chart.

benchmark

All the costs in the table below are set at a project value factor of 1. When you obtain a total building cost for your project by multiplying the gross internal floor area by the cost per m2, you should multiply the resultant total cost by the factor obtained from the chart that corresponds to your total. This will help ensure that your project costs reflect the economies of scale appropriate to your project size.

An example of how to use the information to create a construction works budget is provided at the end of this page.


Building entities £/m2
Administrative, commercial and protective service entities
Offices, non air-conditioned: 1-2 storey 2,050 - 2,270
Offices, non air-conditioned: 3-5 storey 2,180 - 2,420
Offices, non air-conditioned: 6+ storey 2,500 - 2,780
Offices, air-conditioned: 1-2 storey 2,370 - 2,630
Offices, air-conditioned: 3-5 storey 2,550 - 2,830
Offices, air-conditioned: 6+ storey 2,900 - 3,220
Offices with shops and flats, non air-conditioned: 1-2 storey 2,020 - 2,240
Offices with shops and flats, non air-conditioned: 3-5 storey 2,090 - 2,310
Offices with shops and flats, non air-conditioned: 6+ storey 2,250 - 2,490
Embassies 3,440 - 3,820
County, City and Town halls 2,730 - 3,030
Local admin buildings 2,560 - 2,840
Record offices, archives, patent offices 2,610 - 2,890
Vehicle repair and maintenance buildings 1,750 - 1,950
Wholesale trading building/auction rooms 1,330 - 1,470
Department stores 2,760 - 3,060
Banks and building society branches 3,040 - 3,360
Bank head offices 3,760 - 4,160
Market building providing accommodation for stalls, etc 1,080 - 1,200
Vehicle showrooms 1,750 - 1,950
Vehicle showrooms with workshops 1,630 - 1,810
Shops: shell only 1,060 - 1,180
Shops, simple stores: shell and fitting out 1,520 - 1,700
Shops, designer stores: shell and fitting out 1,920 - 2,140
Shops with domestic or office accommodation 2,470 - 2,730
Mixed commercial developments 1,360 - 1,520
Retail warehouses: shell only 760 - 840
Retail warehouses: shell and fitting out 1,120 - 1,240
Supermarkets: shell only 930 - 1,030
Supermarkets: shell and fitting out 2,460 - 2,720
Hypermarkets: shell only 930 - 1,030
Hypermarkets: shell and fitting out 2,020 - 2,240
Shopping centres: simple 1,780 - 1,980
Shopping centres: comprehensive 2,730 - 3,030
Branch post offices 1,750 - 1,950
Postal sorting and delivery offices 1,750 - 1,950
Air Force facilities, operations building 2,100 - 2,340
Territorial Army centres 1,910 - 2,130
Military buildings 2,100 - 2,340
Camps, depots, bases, ranges, etc 2,110 - 2,350
Police stations 2,470 - 2,750
Police admin/control buildings 2,540 - 2,820
County courts 4,190 - 4,650
Magistrates courts 2,270 - 2,510
Prisons 3,290 - 3,650
Reformatories and secure residential units for children 3,390 - 3,750
Ambulance stations 1,540 - 1,720
Ambulance control centres 2,550 - 2,830
Fire stations 2,630 - 2,910
Fire service admin/control buildings 2,550 - 2,830
Fire training buildings 2,200 - 2,440
Mountain and cave rescue centres 1,780 - 1,980
Cultural, educational, scientific and information entities
Nursery schools 2,510 - 2,790
Primary/junior schools 2,420 - 2,680
Secondary/middle schools 2,540 - 2,820
Sixth form colleges 2,390 - 2,650
Special schools 2,470 - 2,730
Schools for those with learning disabilities 2,390 - 2,650
Schools for the physically disabled 2,040 - 2,260
Training colleges 2,100 - 2,340
Management training centres 2,230 - 2,470
Universities and colleges 2,340 - 2,600
Learning resource centres 2,550 - 2,830
Adult education facilities 2,410 - 2,670
Art and drama centres 2,190 - 2,430
Lecture theatres 4,350 - 4,810
Research facilities 2,840 - 3,140
Laboratories 3,630 - 4,030
Artists' studios 1,640 - 1,820
Art galleries, facilities for special displays 3,840 - 4,260
Museums, planetaria 5,340 - 5,920
Exhibition centres 3,510 - 3,890
Conference centres 2,950 - 3,270
Libraries 4,090 - 4,530
Churches, chapels, etc. 2,740 - 3,040
Temples, mosques, synagogues, etc 3,160 - 3,500
Mission halls, meeting houses, etc. 3,080 - 3,420
Convents 2,590 - 2,870
Industrial entities
Advance factories: generally 1,100 - 1,220
Advance factories/offices: mixed facilities 1,520 - 1,700
Factories: generally 1,180 - 1,320
Purpose-built factories 1,210 - 1,350
Purpose-built factories/offices: mixed facilities 1,480 - 1,640
Factories for food and drink 2,500 - 2,780
Factories for chemical and allied industries 2,290 - 2,550
Factories for metals 1,650 - 1,830
Factories for mechanical and electrical engineering 1,540 - 1,720
Factories for electronics, computers and the like 2,530 - 2,810
Factories for paper, printing and publishing 1,520 - 1,680
Advance warehouses/stores 1,060 - 1,180
Warehouses/stores: generally 1,070 - 1,190
Purpose-built warehouses/stores: generally 1,100 - 1,220
Builders yards and maintenance depots 1,050 - 1,170
Distribution centre/warehouse 10m to 15m high (10000m2 footprint) 520 - 580
Distribution centre/warehouse 16m to 24m high (10000m2 footprint) 570 - 650
Cold stores/refrigerated stores 1,280 - 1,420
Livestock buildings 460 - 520
Stud farms, stables, etc 1,480 - 1,640
Refuse depots 1,540 - 1,720
Medical, health, welfare and sanitary entities
Day hospitals 2,660 - 2,940
Community hospitals 3,760 - 4,160
General hospitals 4,110 - 4,550
Mental, psychiatric hospital facilities 3,430 - 3,810
Psychiatric units 3,940 - 4,360
Psychiatric units for the elderly 3,560 - 3,940
Learning disability units 3,660 - 4,060
Ear, nose and throat units 2,520 - 2,800
Cardiac units 3,300 - 3,660
Hospital facilities for the treatment of parts of the body 2,570 - 2,850
Maternity, gynaecological hospital facilities 3,520 - 3,900
Genito-urinary facilities 2,640 - 2,920
Paediatric, geriatric hospital facilities 2,650 - 2,930
Paediatric units, children's hospitals 2,570 - 2,850
Surgery including operating theatres 4,410 - 4,890
Hospital laboratories 3,420 - 3,800
Pathology laboratories 3,420 - 3,800
Occupational therapy, physiotherapy, hydrotherapy units 2,940 - 3,260
Pharmacies 3,290 - 3,650
Hospital mixed specialist facilities 4,260 - 4,720
Diagnostic units excluding radiography 2,730 - 3,030
Radiography (x-ray) units 5,520 - 6,120
Chemotherapy units 4,270 - 4,730
Radiotherapy units 4,450 - 4,930
Specialised facilities 4,400 - 4,880
Outpatients/casualty units 2,740 - 3,040
Ward blocks 3,960 - 4,380
Intensive care/acute wards 3,930 - 4,350
Sterile stores/serialisation units 3,410 - 3,770
Medical research facilities 3,420 - 3,780
Observation and assessment centres 2,590 - 2,870
Blood transfusion facilities 3,010 - 3,330
Hospital teaching centres 2,470 - 2,730
Health centres, clinics, group practice surgeries 2,450 - 2,710
Welfare consultation centres 2,440 - 2,700
Day centres 2,690 - 2,990
Nursing homes 2,050 - 2,270
Homes for the elderly 2,320 - 2,580
Homes for the mentally ill 1,900 - 2,100
Childrens homes 2,490 - 2,770
Homes for children with special needs 3,330 - 3,690
Hospices 2,450 - 2,710
Mortuaries 4,510 - 4,990
Crematoria 3,030 - 3,350
Public conveniences 3,180 - 3,520
Utility blocks: washing and toilet facilities 3,790 - 4,190
Animal rearing and living facilities 2,570 - 2,850
Kennels and catteries 2,230 - 2,470
Veterinary hospitals 2,470 - 2,750
Animal clinics 2,130 - 2,370
Recreational entities
Public houses, licensed premises 2,550 - 2,830
Restaurants 3,930 - 4,350
Canteens, refectories, cafes, etc 2,340 - 2,600
Arts and drama centres 2,910 - 3,230
Theatres: less than 500 seats 3,840 - 4,260
Theatres: over 500 seats 5,760 - 6,380
Concert halls 4,640 - 5,140
Cinemas 3,260 - 3,620
Multiplex cinemas 4,380 - 4,860
Community centres 2,300 - 2,560
General purpose halls 2,090 - 2,330
Youth clubs 2,570 - 2,850
Visitors centres 3,510 - 3,890
Mixed recreations buildings, holiday camps, caravan site buildings, etc 2,650 - 2,930
Sport and activity entities
Squash courts 1,710 - 1,890
Indoor bowls halls 1,220 - 1,360
Indoor tennis courts 740 - 820
Table tennis centres 1,220 - 1,360
Indoor cricket centres 1,380 - 1,540
Indoor bowling greens 890 - 990
Indoor athletic training centres 1,530 - 1,710
Indoor sports arena 2,290 - 2,550
Health and fitness clubs 2,390 - 2,650
Sports centres, recreational centres 2,300 - 2,560
Sports centres, recreational centres including swimming pools 3,480 - 3,860
Gymnasium/sports halls 1,800 - 2,000
Sports pavilions, club houses and changing rooms 1,940 - 2,160
Sports changing rooms 2,410 - 2,670
Sports pavilions and club houses 2,250 - 2,490
Club houses 1,970 - 2,190
Golf club houses 2,050 - 2,270
Bowls pavilions 1,520 - 1,700
Rifle ranges 1,480 - 1,640
Golf driving ranges 1,960 - 2,180
Riding schools 680 - 760
Boat houses 2,840 - 3,140
Leisure centres: dry 2,550 - 2,830
Leisure centres: wet and dry 3,880 - 4,300
Swimming pools: small 3,400 - 3,760
Swimming pools: 25m 2,810 - 3,110
Swimming pools: 50m 3,790 - 4,190
Leisure pools 4,520 - 5,000
Covered ice rinks 2,190 - 2,430
Residential entities
Estate housing: generally 1,520 - 1,680
Estate housing: single storey 1,640 - 1,820
Estate housing: 2 storey 1,490 - 1,650
Estate housing: 3 storey 1,510 - 1,670
Estate housing: detached, generally 1,710 - 1,890
Estate housing: detached, single storey 1,670 - 1,850
Estate housing: detached, 2 storey 1,630 - 1,810
Estate housing: detached, 3 storey 1,690 - 1,870
Estate housing: semi-detached, generally 1,520 - 1,680
Estate housing: semi-detached, single storey 1,640 - 1,820
Estate housing: semi-detached, 2 storey 1,510 - 1,670
Estate housing: semi-detached, 3 storey 1,530 - 1,710
Estate housing: terraced, generally 1,430 - 1,590
Estate housing: terraced, single storey 1,560 - 1,740
Estate housing: terraced: 2 storey 1,370 - 1,530
Estate housing: terraced: 3 storey 1,400 - 1,560
Small - medium scale housing developments: generally 1,890 - 2,090
Small - medium scale housing developments: single storey 1,920 - 2,140
Small - medium scale housing developments: 2 storey 1,850 - 2,050
Small - medium scale housing developments: 3 storey 1,890 - 2,090
Small - medium scale housing developments: detached, generally 1,970 - 2,190
Small - medium scale housing developments: detached, single storey 1,930 - 2,150
Small - medium scale housing developments: detached, 2 storey 1,970 - 2,190
Small - medium scale housing developments: detached, 3 storey 2,030 - 2,250
Small - medium scale housing developments: semi-detached, generally 1,860 - 2,060
Small - medium scale housing developments: semi-detached, single storey 1,920 - 2,140
Small - medium scale housing developments: semi-detached, 2 storey 1,820 - 2,020
Small - medium scale housing developments: semi-detached, 3 storey 1,840 - 2,040
Small - medium scale housing developments: terraced, generally 1,820 - 2,020
Small - medium scale housing developments: terraced, single storey 1,920 - 2,140
Small - medium scale housing developments: terraced: 2 storey 1,760 - 1,960
Small - medium scale housing developments: terraced: 3 storey 1,780 - 1,980
One-off housing: generally 2,320 - 2,580
One-off detached housing: generally 2,400 - 2,660
One-off detached housing: single storey 2,190 - 2,430
One-off detached housing: 2 storey 2,300 - 2,560
One-off detached housing: 3 storey 2,360 - 2,620
One-off semi-detached housing: generally 2,200 - 2,440
One-off semi-detached housing: single storey 2,210 - 2,450
One-off semi-detached housing: 2 storey 2,120 - 2,360
One-off semi-detached housing: 3 storey 2,130 - 2,370
One-off terraced housing: generally 2,240 - 2,480
One-off terraced housing: single storey 2,280 - 2,520
One-off terraced housing: 2 storey 2,160 - 2,400
One-off terraced housing: 3 storey 2,160 - 2,400
Flats/apartments without lifts: generally 1,800 - 2,000
Flats/apartments without lifts: single storey 1,880 - 2,080
Flats/apartments without lifts: 2 storey 1,640 - 1,820
Flats/apartments without lifts: 3-5 storey 1,940 - 2,160
Flats/apartments without lifts: 6+ storey 1,980 - 2,200
Flats/apartments with lifts: generally 2,390 - 2,650
Flats/apartments with lifts: 2 storey 1,810 - 2,010
Flats/apartments with lifts: 3-5 storey 1,970 - 2,190
Flats/apartments with lifts: 6+ storey 2,060 - 2,280
'One-off' custom-built apartments/flats: standard quality, 3-5 storeys 2,930 - 3,250
'One-off' custom-built apartments/flats: high quality in residential tower 3,900 - 4,320
Sheltered housing: generally 1,660 - 1,840
Sheltered housing: single storey 1,900 - 2,100
Sheltered housing: 2 storey 1,670 - 1,850
Sheltered housing: 3 storey 1,530 - 1,710
Sheltered housing: 4 storey 1,710 - 1,890
Student residences: large budget schemes with ensuite accommodation 2,270 - 2,510
Student residences: smaller schemes (40-100 units) mid-range specification 2,000 - 2,220
Student residences: smaller high quality courtyard schemes college style 2,250 - 2,490
Nurses residences 1,840 - 2,040
Staff residential accommodation 2,080 - 2,300
Hotels: budget roadside excluding dining facilities 2,110 - 2,350
Hotels: budget city centre with dining and bar facilities 2,600 - 2,880
Hotels: mid range with conference and leisure facilities 2,710 - 3,010
Hotels: business city centre with conference and leisure facilities 3,810 - 4,230
Hotels: luxury city centre with conference and leisure facilities 5,200 - 5,760
Barracks, mess accommodation, section houses etc 3,230 - 3,570
Youth hostels 2,500 - 2,780
Short-stay hostels for the homeless, etc 2,240 - 2,480
Electrical power generation and distribution entities
Electricity substations 2,730 - 3,030
Generator houses, power stations, etc 2,170 - 2,410
Communications, security, safety and protection entities
TV, radio and video studios 3,630 - 4,030
Computer buildings/Data centres 3,280 - 3,640
Telephone exchanges 1,900 - 2,100
Telephone engineering centres 1,300 - 1,440
Transport entities
Airport hangers 2,010 - 2,230
Airport terminals 4,570 - 5,070
Airport piers or satellites 5,340 - 5,920
Airport cargo handling bases 1,280 - 1,420
Airport distribution centres 710 - 790
Bus and coach stations 3,670 - 4,070
Bus garages 1,380 - 1,540
Residential detached garage (traditional construction) 1,100 - 1,220
Multi-storey car parks 790 - 890
Underground car parks with mechanical ventilation 1,250 - 1,390
Railway stations 5,100 - 5,640
Railway lineside buildings 2,470 - 2,750
Railway relay buildings/substation 1,910 - 2,130
Rail vehicle storage/repair buildings 2,840 - 3,140
Port and harbour terminals/buildings 4,450 - 4,930
Boat control buildings 2,770 - 3,070
Circulation and storage entities
Bulk goods storage facilities 1,010 - 1,130
Agricultural storage buildings 930 - 1,030
Vehicle storage buildings 780 - 880
Links, corridors, etc 2,760 - 3,060
Boiler houses excluding boiler plant 2,510 - 2,790
Boiler houses including boiler plant 5,430 - 6,010

Building classifications are based on Uniclass Building En Entities - October 2022 - v1.26


If you wish to create a detailed cost model yourself, download our app. It's simple, easy to use, quick and a fully-operational trial version available completely free of charge for 30-days! Go to our download section and use our wizard to create your cost model from scratch.



Example of putting a budget together


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.

If you don't know any better, we would typically add a further 10 - 20% of the building cost to cover the costs of external works depending on how extensive these works are. External works include site preparation works, roads, paths and pavings, planting, fencing, railings and walls, site/street furniture and equipment, external drainage and external services.

We would typically add a figure of 10 - 15% to cover risk.

Professional fees can be anything from 5% to 15% depending on the size of the project - generally the larger the project the smaller fee percentage.

Important! When using the information above it is important that any costs produced are adjusted for building works value. As stated, all the costs per m2 on this page are based on a building works value factor of 1 (building works value of approximately £1,000,000).

The cost per m2 given for a detached house for example is for a project in which the house is costing some £1,000,000 (i.e. a building works value factor of 1). If your house is only costing £250,000 the project value adjustment must be applied to produce the cost per m2 appropriate for your building value (in this example, the building works value factor would be 1.07 i.e. cost per m2 needs to be 7% more than the cost per m2 given in the table above).

Making this adjustment will help produce costs that are relevant to your project size and value.

This example is for a proposed new office block in York, 4000m2 gross floor area, with a proposed construction start date of October 2024.

Proposed 4-storey air-conditioned office block, York
Gross floor area: 4000m2
Location: York
Proposed construction start date: October 2024
Construction period: 52 weeks
Base cost from cost per m2 table
Offices, air-conditioned: 3-5 storey:
 
£2,690/m2
Budget calculation
Building works cost (at bwv factor of 1.00) 4000m2 x £2,690/m2 10,760,000
Adjustment for building works value
(Factor for £10,760,000 is 0.89)
 
0.89
9,576,000
Adjustment for location (York = 97) 0.97
9,289,000
Adjustment for tender inflation
Current tender price index October 2023 215
Forecasted tender price index October 2024 221
Adjustment (221 - 215) / 215 2.79% 259,000
9,548,000
Adjustment for construction inflation
Current building cost index October 2024 232
Forecasted building cost index October 2025 239
Adjustment ((239 - 232) / 232) x 50% * 1.51% 144,000
9,692,000
Allowance for external works say 15% 1,432,000
11,124,000
Allowance for risk say 12% 1,335,000
12,459,000
Indicative total construction works cost £12,500,000

Estimate base date: 1 October 2023.

Cost excludes land purchase, fees, VAT, fittings and furnishings supplied by the Client.


* Because on larger value contracts the contractor is usually paid in monthly instalments, the normal method of calculating construction inflation is that half the construction inflation rate applies to the whole of the construction works cost. If the contractor is not paid until after completion of the works, then the calculation should be the full construction inflation rate applied to the whole of the construction works cost.