A 1,180m² B8 storage industrial unit refurbishment between leases on Trafford Park, Manchester — existing single-storey steel-portal warehouse stripped, assessed and refurbished for an incoming third-party logistics tenant. Existing slab assessed and patch-repaired to racking-ready spec, new 220m² mezzanine floor inserted on the existing slab for office and welfare facilities, full LED lighting upgrade with daylight-sensor dimming, repainted external Plastisol cladding, replacement roller-shutter loading doors, refreshed welfare and WCs, repainted internal walls. Six-week site programme delivered between outgoing-tenant dilapidations completion and incoming-tenant occupation.
A regional commercial property landlord with a portfolio of around 40 industrial units across the North West commissioned the refurbishment of a 1,180m² B8 storage warehouse on Trafford Park, one of Manchester's largest established industrial estates. The unit had been let to a single tenant for nine years on a now-expired lease. The outgoing tenant had completed dilapidations work to lease standard but the unit was visibly tired: faded external Plastisol cladding, original incandescent high-bay lighting, two roller-shutter doors at end-of-life, scuffed internal walls, dated welfare facilities, and a slab with localised surface degradation in the main load-bearing aisles where the previous tenant's racking and forklift wheel paths had been concentrated.
The landlord had pre-let the unit to a third-party logistics tenant on a five-year lease commencing on a fixed date six weeks after dilapidations completion. The incoming tenant's intended use was racked palletised storage with a small mezzanine office and welfare zone for their team of twelve goods-in/out staff. The landlord's brief was a fast-turnaround refurbishment that took the unit from "tired but lease-ended" to "racking-ready and visibly modern" inside the gap window between outgoing tenant departure and incoming tenant lease commencement, with no rent-free days conceded against a programme overrun.
We were one of three contractors invited to tender. We won the work because our methodology document was the only one to (a) commission a full existing-asset assessment in the pre-construction week before site start (slab flatness survey, steelwork inspection, drainage check, electrical supply assessment) rather than treating asset condition as a "we'll see what we find" item, (b) cost the targeted slab patch-repair against the actual surface degradation pattern at the existing main-aisle wheel paths rather than as a contingency, and (c) sequence the mezzanine retrofit, lighting upgrade and external cladding repaint as parallel workstreams across the same six-week window rather than sequentially. Six weeks on site delivered against a fixed price; incoming tenant move-in on the contracted lease commencement date.
The brief was developed by the landlord's Asset Manager and the appointed letting agent jointly, with input from the incoming tenant's Operations Manager on the racking and welfare specification. Priorities, in their stated order:
Industrial refurbishment between leases is a six-week, fixed-cost, fixed-date project at a small commercial scale where every constraint compounds because the rent-clock starts on a calendar day that cannot move. Six interrelated challenges had to be locked down before site start.
Refurbishment projects fail when the asset's actual condition turns out worse than the tender allowed for. We commissioned a full existing-asset assessment in the pre-construction week: floor flatness and surface integrity survey by specialist concrete consultant (identified localised surface degradation in two aisle wheel paths, no structural slab compromise), steelwork visual inspection (no corrosion, no impact damage), electrical supply assessment (existing 200A three-phase supply suitable for the LED upgrade with capacity headroom for tenant use), drainage flow test (drains clear and at adequate fall). Every item priced at quote stage, no contingency held back, no probable variations.
"Racking-ready" doesn't mean FM2 superflat — it means the slab can carry the tenant's racking design and forklift traffic without surface degradation translating into racking foot deflection or wheel-path failure. Our concrete consultant identified two 12m runs of localised surface degradation in the existing main aisles. We patch-repaired both runs with proprietary high-strength epoxy mortar, ground back to a level finish flush with the surrounding slab, and skid-tested with the forklift trial pattern proposed by the incoming tenant's racking installer. Repaired surface tested at 99.1% within FM3 tolerance, no soft spots.
Inserting a 220m² mezzanine into an existing warehouse without any base-build allowance for it is an exercise in working with what's there. We worked our structural engineer's design around the existing column grid (6 mezzanine support columns landing inside existing column bays without conflict), confirmed the existing slab's bearing capacity at the chosen support positions via core-sample testing, drilled and chemically anchored each support column to the slab, and bolted up the mezzanine deck within four working days once the support frame was up. Building Control Part A inspection at week 4 signed off on existing-slab capacity calculations and chemical anchor specification.
The existing electrical supply was sized for the original incandescent high-bay specification. LED upgrade was a like-for-like replacement at higher lumen output for lower power consumption, well inside the existing supply capacity. We replaced the existing 36 high-bay luminaires with 24 LED equivalents (LEDs at higher per-unit output meaning fewer fittings needed for the same illuminance), reused the existing wiring runs where compliant, and added daylight-sensor and motion-sensor dimming controls on perimeter and central circuits. Lighting design tested at 320 lux floor-level mean illuminance against a 300 lux target.
External Plastisol cladding repaint is a weather-dependent workstream — pressure wash, surface preparation, two coats of cladding-grade industrial paint, no application below 8°C or above 30°C, no application during rain. We scheduled the external repaint for weeks 2-4 with a forecast review at the end of each week. A wet weekend in week 3 cost two days; we extended into the Saturday of week 4 to recover the time, building manager approval on file. Final repaint complete and signed off on the Wednesday of week 5 with full weather coverage.
The incoming tenant's lease commencement was a fixed calendar date set by the landlord-tenant agreement six weeks after outgoing-tenant dilapidations completion. No rent-free days were available to absorb programme slip. Liquidated damages of one day's rent per day of overrun applied above the contracted handover date. We sequenced the programme backwards from the lease commencement date and held it: handover Friday of week 6 at 4pm, incoming tenant's racking installer on site the following Monday, incoming tenant operations live the Monday after that.
Industrial refurbishment between leases sits at the intersection of asset management, lettings and construction. It succeeds or fails on four things: existing-asset condition assessed honestly at quote stage, parallel workstreams sequenced to a hard handover date, the right-spec finish for the incoming tenant's actual operating use, and the landlord's lettings calendar treated as the master programme. Our approach was structured around exactly those four.
Existing-asset assessment costed in. Two competing tenders treated existing-asset condition as a "we'll see what we find" item with a contingency line for slab repair and unspecified electrical works. Ours included the full existing-asset assessment in the contract sum at pre-construction stage, with the slab patch repair, the steelwork inspection, the drainage check and the electrical supply assessment all costed against actual site conditions before contract signing. The Asset Manager's later summary: "you priced the unit you saw rather than the unit we hoped we had."
Parallel workstreams in a 6-week window. Slab patch-repair, mezzanine install, LED upgrade, cladding repaint, roller-shutter replacement and welfare refurbishment all running across the same 6-week site window with separate trade leads owning each workstream and a single project manager owning the conflict-resolution interface. Daily 7.30am stand-ups across all trades on site that day. The two competing methodologies proposed sequencing the same scope across 9-10 weeks; ours delivered in 6.
Right-spec for actual use. "Racking-ready" was specified honestly at quote stage to the incoming tenant's racking design, not over-specified to a hypothetical FM2 standard the tenant had no use for. The 24 LED high-bay fittings were sized to deliver 300 lux at floor level for the tenant's racked palletised storage, not at the racking-aisle illuminance levels that would apply to a VNA operation the tenant wasn't running. Right specification kept the cost inside the landlord's brief; over-specification would have inflated the price by approximately 18% with no additional value to the tenant.
Lettings calendar as master programme. The landlord's letting agent attended weekly construction meetings from week 2 onwards; the incoming tenant's Operations Manager attended a single design-stage meeting in pre-construction and a single pre-handover walkthrough in week 6. By the Friday of week 6 at 4pm, the unit was ready for the racking installer the following Monday, the tenant's IT contractor the following Wednesday, and incoming-tenant operations live the Monday of week 8 from contract signing.
Thirty working days on site, preceded by 1 week of pre-construction (existing-asset condition assessment, mezzanine structural design, building control plans submission). Site programme sequenced against a Friday-of-week-6 handover and a contracted Monday-of-week-8 lease commencement.
Existing-asset condition assessment commissioned by specialist concrete consultant: slab flatness and surface integrity survey, steelwork visual inspection, electrical supply assessment, drainage flow test. Mezzanine structural design completed by structural engineer to land on existing slab without modification. Building Control plans submitted (Part A mezzanine structural, Part B fire compartmentation, Part K stair, Part L LED energy, Part G/H welfare). Order placed for 2 replacement electric roller-shutter doors (3-week lead time).
Site established Monday. Existing 36 high-bay incandescent luminaires removed. Existing welfare facility stripped to substrate. Two end-of-life roller-shutter doors lifted off (replacements in fabrication for week 4 install, temporary weatherproof tarpaulin doors fitted across both openings until then). Slab patch-repair commenced on the two identified main-aisle wheel-path runs: surface ground back, primer applied, high-strength epoxy mortar laid in lifts. LED first-fix: containment for the new circuits installed across the warehouse roof structure.
Mezzanine support columns drilled and chemically anchored to the existing slab at the engineer-specified positions. Mezzanine main beams craned into position (small mobile crane on site for two days), secondary purlins bolted up, decking ready for week 3 install. External Plastisol cladding pressure-washed across all four elevations, inspected for surface defects, abrasion-prepared for repaint. Welfare facility first-fix: new sanitaryware positions roughed in, new water heater first-fix, new LED lighting first-fix, new floor substrate prepped.
Mezzanine composite floor deck laid Tuesday, fire-rated soffit fitted Wednesday-Thursday for Part B compartmentation between mezzanine and warehouse void below. Stair (Part K-compliant) fabricated off-site delivered and installed Wednesday. External cladding first coat applied across the eastern and southern elevations Monday-Tuesday in dry weather; western and northern elevations applied Wednesday. Light rain on Friday delayed the final two elevations' first coat to the following Monday. Slab patch-repair cured to spec by end of week, ready for week 5 grinding.
Two replacement electric roller-shutter doors delivered Monday morning, installed Tuesday-Wednesday with photoelectric safety beams and wireless remote control commissioning. Mezzanine internal partitions framed for office, mess hall, drying room, locker room, disabled WC. Plasterboard fitted, primed for paint. Welfare facility second-fix: new sanitaryware, new vinyl floor, new LED fittings commissioned. 24 LED high-bay luminaires installed across the warehouse floor with daylight-sensor and motion-sensor dimming controls; lighting test shows 320 lux mean floor illuminance against a 300 lux target.
External cladding second coat applied across all four elevations Monday-Wednesday in dry weather. Cladding repaint complete and signed off Wednesday afternoon. Slab patch-repair ground flush with surrounding slab and skid-tested with the forklift trial pattern proposed by the incoming tenant's racking installer; passed at 99.1% within FM3 tolerance. Internal warehouse walls repainted in light grey reflective finish. Mezzanine internal decoration: two coats of paint in office, mess hall, drying room and locker room.
Final snag round Tuesday: 14 items identified, 11 cleared by Wednesday, the remaining 3 cleared Thursday. Final Building Control completion inspection Thursday morning across mezzanine (Part A/B/K), LED lighting (Part L), welfare (Part G/H); certificate issued Friday. External yard line-marking refreshed Wednesday-Thursday: bay marking for HGV/rigid wagon, pedestrian routes, fire exit routes, designated forklift charging zone. Replaced gutters and downpipes commissioned. Friday afternoon: keys, project file, O&M manuals, Building Control completion certificate, slab repair test report, lighting illuminance test report, mezzanine structural sign-off all handed over. Incoming tenant's racking installer on site the following Monday morning.
The technical detail behind a fast-turnaround between-tenants industrial refurbishment delivered to lease commencement on the contracted date.
Pre-construction full asset condition assessment by specialist concrete consultant: slab flatness and surface integrity survey, steelwork visual inspection, electrical supply assessment, drainage flow test. Findings priced at quote stage. No contingency held back. No probable variations carried forward.
Two 12m runs of localised surface degradation in existing main aisles patch-repaired with high-strength epoxy mortar, ground flush, skid-tested. Tested at 99.1% within FM3 tolerance, no soft spots. Validated for incoming tenant's racking design (3.6m adjustable pallet racking, 1.5m forklift aisle).
Steel mezzanine on 6 chemically-anchored support columns landing inside existing column bays. Composite floor deck. Fire-rated soffit for Part B compartmentation. Part K-compliant single staircase access. Internal partitions for office, mess hall, drying room, locker room, disabled WC for 12-strong tenant team.
24 LED high-bay luminaires replacing existing 36 incandescent fittings (LED higher per-unit output). Daylight-sensor dimming on perimeter circuits. Motion-sensor dimming on central aisles. Floor-level mean illuminance 320 lux against 300 lux target. Existing 200A three-phase supply retained with capacity headroom for tenant fit-out.
External Plastisol cladding repainted across all four elevations: pressure wash, abrasion preparation, two coats of cladding-grade industrial paint in landlord standard mid-grey. Refreshed corner trims. Replaced gutters and downpipes throughout. Weather window managed across weeks 2-5 with documented forecast review.
Two replacement electric high-speed roll-up roller-shutter loading doors at the existing opening positions. Photoelectric safety beams to current edge protection standard. Wireless remote control. Commissioned and tested for full open-close cycle prior to handover. Original openings retained — no structural alteration.
Existing rear welfare facility refurbished: replaced sanitaryware throughout (WCs, basins, urinals), replaced vinyl floor, repainted walls, new LED lighting, new water heater. Disabled-access WC retained at the mezzanine first-floor level for tenant team. Part G/H Building Control inspection passed.
Yard line-marking refreshed: HGV bay marking for tenant's articulated and rigid wagon flow, pedestrian routes, fire exit routes from external doors, designated forklift charging zone in north-eastern corner of yard with cabling pulled to position for tenant-specified chargers.
A 1,180m² B8 storage industrial unit refurbishment delivered against a 6-week fixed-price contract with no variation orders, the existing slab patch-repaired and tested at 99.1% within FM3 tolerance for the incoming tenant's racking design, the new 220m² mezzanine inserted on the existing slab and signed off on Part A/B/K Building Control inspections, the LED high-bay lighting upgrade tested at 320 lux against a 300 lux target, the external cladding repainted across all four elevations to landlord standard, the welfare facility refreshed and Part G/H certified, and the unit handed over Friday of week 6 at 4pm with the incoming tenant's racking installer on site the following Monday morning. The lease commenced on the contracted date with zero rent-free days conceded against programme slip.
The landlord's Asset Manager's framing, three months from incoming tenant move-in: "We had three contractors quote on this refurbishment and we chose Building Group because their methodology document was the only one to commission a full existing-asset assessment in the pre-construction week and price the slab patch repair against actual site conditions. The two competing bids would both have hit us with variations against the slab condition within the first week of site, by their own admission when we asked. Six weeks later we handed the unit over to a tenant who had no complaints, on a lease that commenced on the contracted date with no rent-free days. We've subsequently engaged Building Group on three further refurbishment projects across the same portfolio: a smaller B2 unit in Stockport, a B8 unit on Salford Quays, and a multi-tenant trade counter pair on Trafford Park itself." Twelve months from incoming-tenant occupation, the landlord reports zero post-handover defect claims against the refurbishment scope, the slab patch-repair holding up under live racking loads, and the LED lighting performing at the commissioned illuminance with no fitting failures.
We had three contractors quote on this between-tenants refurbishment. Two of the three treated existing-asset condition as a we'll-see-what-we-find item with a contingency line for slab repair. Building Group commissioned a full existing-asset assessment in the pre-construction week and priced the slab patch repair against actual site conditions before they signed the contract. The two competing bids both proposed sequencing the slab repair, mezzanine, LED upgrade, cladding repaint and welfare refurbishment across nine to ten weeks; Building Group came in at six. They priced the unit we showed them rather than the unit we hoped we had. Six weeks later they handed the unit over to our incoming tenant on the contracted date with no rent-free days conceded against programme slip. We have since engaged them on three further refurbishment projects across our portfolio. We would recommend them to any commercial property landlord working between tenants on B2 or B8 industrial stock.
If you're a commercial property landlord working between tenants on a B2 or B8 industrial unit, a small-shed development, a multi-let trade park unit or a single-tenant warehouse, we'll come out for a free site visit, walk the existing unit with your asset manager and letting agent, and put a fixed-price methodology document on your desk — with the existing-asset condition assessment, the slab patch-repair scope, the mezzanine retrofit and the lease-commencement programme all costed in.
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