London Projects · Commercial Fit-Out · RICS Accredited

Freelance Quantity Surveyor &
Estimator in London.

Freelance QS and estimating support for construction contractors working across London. From office fit-outs in the City to residential refurbishments in South East London — RICS accredited, fixed fee.

City of London · CAT A/B Fit-Out · RICS Accredited · Fixed Fee · Fast Turnaround

London construction experience

Projects across London — from the City to South East

London construction is a different scale and pace to regional work — higher project values, more complex procurement chains, more main contractors operating under rigorous tender processes, and clients who expect their numbers to hold up under scrutiny from a professional team on the other side. The projects we work on across London reflect that: commercial fit-outs in the City, residential refurbishments in South East London, healthcare and retail fit-outs in East London. Each one has brought a full measured take-off, a detailed priced submission, and in most cases a successful outcome for the contractor.

A recent Category B office fit-out in the City of London — 4,500 sqft, partitioning, suspended ceilings, raised access flooring, bespoke joinery and FF&E — was tendered at a contract value of £648,000. The work involved full measured take-off from architectural and engineering drawings, subcontractor enquiries issued to specialist partition, ceiling, flooring and joinery firms, and returns analysed and compared on a like-for-like basis before a final tender total was compiled. That level of rigour is what the City requires: a contractor submitting to a sophisticated client in a competitive field cannot afford to win on an under-priced bid or lose because the number wasn't credible.

Outside the commercial core, a full internal residential refurbishment in South East London — kitchen, bathrooms, complete redecoration, new M&E throughout, structural alterations — was priced at £288,000 and won on a competitive tender. And a high street dentist internal refurbishment in East London came in at £167,000, covering the specialist clinical fit-out requirements alongside the standard strip-out, structural and builder's work. These projects sit across very different sectors but share the same common requirement: a precise, defensible number produced under pressure and to a tight deadline.

Commercial Fit-Out
Category B Office Fit-Out
City of London — 4,500 sqft
£648,000 contract value
Residential Refurbishment
Full Internal Refurbishment
South East London
£288,000 contract value
Healthcare Fit-Out
High Street Dentist Refurbishment
East London
£167,000 contract value

What makes London different

London project types and the estimating challenges they carry

London estimating is not simply regional estimating at a higher price point. The procurement processes are more structured, the tender documents more complex, the client-side scrutiny more rigorous. A Category B office fit-out in the City of London involves a specification detail — glazed partition systems, bespoke joinery to designer's drawings, raised access flooring with varied pedestal heights across zones, acoustic ceiling solutions — that simply does not appear in most regional commercial work. Getting the take-off right requires reading the specification in full, understanding where the designer's intent diverges from the contractor's pricing expectations, and identifying the ambiguities before they become programme problems on site.

Residential refurbishment in London brings its own complications. Party wall considerations, basement conversions, working in conservation areas, navigating restricted access in tight Victorian terraces — all of these affect how the work is priced and sequenced. The contractor who can demonstrate a well-structured, programme-aware tender is at a meaningful advantage over one who has simply applied rates without considering the logistics.

CAT A / CAT B Office Fit-Out

Full measured take-off for commercial office fit-outs across the City and Greater London. Partitions, ceilings, raised flooring, joinery, MEP allowances — priced accurately to subcontract tender standard.

Residential Refurbishment

Full internal refurbishments, basement conversions and structural alterations across London. Realistic pricing that accounts for access restrictions, phased occupation and the real cost of working in London's residential stock.

Retail & Healthcare

High-street retail fit-outs and specialist healthcare environments — dentists, clinics, pharmacies — where the clinical and regulatory requirements affect both the specification and the sequencing of the work.

Commercial Management

Post-contract commercial support for London projects — interim valuations, variation management, subcontractor account control and final account negotiation through to agreed settlement.

Services for London contractors

QS and estimating services for London projects

Every instruction is fixed fee, agreed before the work starts. No retainer, no open-ended billing, no surprises.

Why London contractors choose Hobday QS

Chartered rigour, London project experience, fixed fee

London contractors need a QS or estimator who understands the pace and the standard. Tenders have to be accurate — an underpriced win is worse than a miss — and they have to be produced fast. I bring RICS chartered-level quality to every instruction with a same-day response, a fixed fee agreed upfront, and a track record of delivering on London commercial and residential projects.

  • Real London project experience — City of London, South East, East London
  • CAT A and CAT B fit-out expertise — office, retail, healthcare
  • RICS accredited — chartered-level quality on every instruction
  • Fixed fee agreed upfront — no open-ended billing under programme pressure
  • Same-day response — available for tight tender deadlines and short programmes
  • Pre-contract and post-contract — tender through to final account
Get a fixed-fee quote
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City of LondonCAT B office fit-out experience — partitioning, ceilings, raised flooring, joinery, FF&E. £648,000 project delivered
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Residential RefurbFull internal refurbishments across South East London and beyond — £288,000 priced and won
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Specialist Fit-OutHealthcare and retail — specialist clinical environments including dentist refurbishments priced at £167,000
RICS CharteredIndependently verified professional standard — not just a job title. Documents that hold up to scrutiny

Get in touch

Need a QS or Estimator for a London project?

Whether it's a CAT B office fit-out in the City, a residential refurbishment in South East London or a healthcare fit-out in East London — tell me what you need and I'll come back to you the same day with a clear, fixed fee.