Moving an office is not the same as moving a house. You have staff to keep working, IT and phone lines that cannot go dark, clients who need to reach you, and a building manager at each end with their own access rules. This is the checklist we work through with business clients on our , laid out so you can plan your own move and brief your team. Work through it in order and the move day itself becomes the easy part.
Plan the Timeline
Most office moves need eight to twelve weeks of lead time. Larger sites with a server room or specialist equipment need more.
- Eight to twelve weeks out: confirm the new lease and the handover dates on both buildings. Check the notice period and any make-good (dilapidations) obligations on the old site. Start getting quotes from removal companies.
- Six weeks out: book the goods lift at both buildings and apply for any parking suspension or loading bay booking with the local council. In central areas this can take weeks, so do it early.
- Four weeks out: confirm the mover, agree the move date and any out-of-hours window, and order new crates and labels. Brief department heads so they can plan their own areas.
- Two weeks out: finalise the floor plan for the new office, confirm IT cutover dates with your provider, and send the first staff and client notifications.
- Move week: confirm access times, security sign-in, and the named coordinator on both sides.
Build a Full Inventory and Labelling System
A move runs on knowing what you have and where it is going.
- Create an asset register of furniture, IT equipment, and anything leased or under warranty, so nothing is lost and you can prove what moved.
- Draw a floor plan of the new office with every desk, room, and zone numbered. The crew places crates by that plan, not by guesswork.
- Use a colour or zone code: each department gets a colour, each crate and item gets a label showing its destination zone. Staff label their own desk contents into personal crates.
- Photograph cable setups behind desks and in the comms room before anything is unplugged. It saves hours at the other end.
Plan the IT and Server Move
This is the part that causes the most downtime if it goes wrong, so plan it as its own project.
- Back up everything before the move date, and verify the backup restores. Do not move hardware until the backup is confirmed.
- Agree a power-down and reconnection order with your IT team or provider, and name who is responsible for each step.
- Order new broadband, leased lines, and phone connections at the new site early. Business line installs can take several weeks, and the office is not usable without them.
- Treat the server and comms room as a specialist move: agree who decommissions, transports, and recommissions it, and schedule it so it is back online before staff arrive.
- Test the network, phones, printers, and key software at the new site before the first working day, not on it.
Communicate with Stakeholders
People need to know before, not after.
- Staff: share the move date, the new address, travel and parking information, and what each person is responsible for packing.
- Clients and suppliers: give notice of the new address and any short window where response times may be slower.
- Building management: confirm access, lift booking, and security procedures at both ends.
- Address updates: update Companies House, your bank, HMRC, insurers, the website, email footers, Google Business Profile, printed stationery, and set up Royal Mail business redirection.
Consider an Out-of-Hours or Weekend Move
Many London office moves run in the evening or over a weekend so the business loses as little working time as possible. We offer evening and weekend moves for exactly this reason. If you go this route, confirm the building’s out-of-hours access window, security cover, and lift booking in advance, since these are often more restricted outside office hours. Central locations such as the City and usually have tight access and parking, so an out-of-hours slot can be the difference between a one-night move and a disrupted working week.
Move Day Checklist
- A named coordinator is on site at both buildings.
- Access, security sign-in, lift booking, and parking suspension are all confirmed and in place.
- Every crate and item is sealed and labelled to its destination zone.
- IT is backed up, powered down, and packed in the agreed order.
- The crew has the numbered floor plan for the new office.
- A final sweep of the old site checks desks, drawers, storage rooms, and the comms room.
- Someone signs off the old building handover and meter readings.
Post-Move Setup
The move is not finished when the van is unloaded.
- Reconnect and test IT, phones, and printers, and confirm staff can log in and access files.
- Place crates by zone so each team unpacks its own area, and reassemble desks and storage.
- Walk the new site for snagging: damaged items, missing equipment, anything not working.
- Confirm all address updates have gone live across your website, listings, and accounts.
- Hand back the old site in the condition the lease requires, and arrange any clearance or waste removal.
- Gather quick feedback from department heads so anything outstanding is caught in the first week.
Planning an office move in London? Our team handles the lifting, the logistics, and the out-of-hours scheduling so your business keeps running. Tell us about your move and we will book a survey and send a written fixed-price quote. or read more about our .
FAQ’s
For most office moves, book eight to twelve weeks ahead. That gives time to secure the goods lift at both buildings, apply for any parking suspension, and line up your IT and phone-line cutover. Larger sites with a server room or specialist equipment need longer.
We plan the move around your working hours and offer evening and weekend moves so most of the work happens while the office is closed. With the IT cutover scheduled to finish before staff arrive, many businesses lose little or no working time.
Yes. We treat the server and comms room as a specialist part of the move, with an agreed power-down and reconnection order. We recommend your belongings are backed up and the backup verified before move day, and that new broadband and phone lines are ordered early, since business line installs can take several weeks.
Yes. Out-of-hours moves are common for London offices, especially in central areas like the City and Holborn where access and parking are tight. We confirm the building’s out-of-hours access window, security cover, and lift booking in advance.
After a free survey we send a written fixed-price quote covering the crew, the vehicles, the journey, loading and unloading, and any agreed packing, storage, or out-of-hours scheduling. The price you sign off is the price you pay.