Pre-fitted floors: the asset managers’ re-letting weapon
Headline rent gap: 15 to 25% between shell-and-core and ready-to-occupy floor
A pre-fitted floor re-lets 4 to 6 months faster than a shell-and-core, but below 600 sq m of usable space the vacancy/rent ROI never recovers: the design study share weighs too heavily on the works budget. In a Greater Paris office market marked by prolonged vacancy in the inner suburbs, the pre-fitted floor shortens the signing cycle and secures the headline rent. Since 2006, Kytom has been industrialising a reproducible standard, with ratios calibrated on a minimum of 10 sq m per employee in a private office, 11 sq m in a shared office and 15 sq m in open space, with BMS and an auditable as-built file, on areas from 800 to 2,500 sq m, delivered in 14 to 18 weeks, for property companies and institutional asset managers. A bare shell ties up the asset. B2B users generally make decisions within a few weeks and refuse to carry a fit-out project themselves. The pre-fitted floor shifts that risk to the asset manager, who turns it into a value-creation lever at disposal.
Finishes target a reproducible standard: high-density carpet tiles, class A acoustic suspended ceilings, LED lighting controlled by BMS. Standalone CO2 and lux sensors document compliance with the tertiary decree, required by tenants attuned to their own CSRD reporting.
ERP (public-access building), accessibility and high-rise compliance: an auditable floor lets, an approximate floor is renovated twice
A fitted floor that does not meet the regulatory requirements applicable to workplaces (articles R4211 to R4217), accessibility routes or fire safety will not be marketed within the targeted timeframe. The leasing due diligence stalls, lease reservations pile up, the tenant demands additional works at the landlord’s expense. Kytom integrates the building’s structural constraints from the sketch stage.
For the property company’s CFO: 17 days of lease reservations = 8,000 to 25,000 EUR of rent lost per floor. On files where leasing due diligence stumbles on undocumented compliance points, the gap between signing and effective date mechanically lengthens. An auditable file delivered at signing means cash coming in on the planned schedule, not an amendment negotiated downward to settle the reservations. The as-built file is not a site deliverable: it is a financial document.
Compliance points locked in during the design study phase:
- Smoke extraction ratios compliant with the standards in force and the high-rise regulation if the building is classified
- 1.40 m accessibility routes, accessible sanitary facilities, signage compliant with RGAA for the digital part
- Fire-cut compartmentation lobbies, EI 30 or EI 60 doors depending on zoning and CNPP standards
- Documented BMS, archiving of material environmental declarations, complete as-built file delivered in usable format
The future tenant receives an auditable file. Leasing due diligence speeds up, lease reservations drop, the time between signing and effective date is compressed. Carbon traceability, compliant with RE2020 on new components and documented reuse, enhances the asset’s value at disposal and anticipates European taxonomy requirements.
A limit to acknowledge. On a high-rise building classified GHW2 requiring overhaul of mechanical smoke extraction or recompartmentation, the speculative pre-fitted floor is no longer the right tool as long as the base building compliance works are not delivered. Starting the fit-out before asbestos removal, overhaul of vertical technical risers or rework of the fire safety system leads to redoing a significant share of the finishing works. Kytom’s internal rule: no ready-to-occupy floor before an up-to-date fire safety acceptance report and the lifting of the safety commission’s requirements.
14 to 18 weeks of design studies and works for 800 to 2,500 sq m: the schedule decides the exit
On a floor of 800 to 2,500 sq m, the full design study plus works cycle generally fits within 14 to 18 weeks when the programme is framed as soon as the lease is released. Kytom locks in the schedule by technical lots, with weekly validation milestones shared with the property manager and the asset manager.
| Phase | Typical duration | Deliverable |
|---|---|---|
| Programme and preliminary design | 2 to 3 weeks | Validated specification brief |
| Detailed design and contracts | 3 to 4 weeks | Tender file, locked-in lot schedule |
| Works across all trades | 8 to 10 weeks | Lot-by-lot acceptance |
| Lifting of reservations and as-built file | 1 week | Marketable floor |
For the asset manager preparing an exit: the as-built file accounts for 1 to 2% of the sale price. Faced with a core investor who values technical clarity, a documented fitted floor file (material environmental declarations, reuse traceability, usable BMS, up-to-date fire safety acceptance report) shortens the acquirer’s due diligence by 4 to 6 weeks and avoids price retentions negotiated on technical uncertainties. Contrary to the widespread practice of outsourcing document management to the property manager after delivery, Kytom locks in the as-built file from the detailed design phase and keeps it up to date until disposal. The as-built file becomes a marketing asset at the time of sale.
Kytom leverages its local agencies to mobilise trades within an 80 km radius of the site, with a dedicated site manager and a formalised weekly review with the asset manager.
Frequently asked questions
From what area does the pre-fitted floor become profitable for an asset manager?
The pivot threshold sits at 600 sq m of usable space. Below this threshold, the design study and technical lots share weighs too heavily on the works budget and the vacancy/rent ROI does not recover over a standard re-letting cycle. Above 800 sq m, the 15 to 25% headline rent gap capitalised at 5.5% generates significant created asset value on a 1,500 sq m floor, with a fast return on investment if vacancy is avoided.
What timeframe should be planned between release of the outgoing lease and a marketable floor?
For a floor of 800 to 2,500 sq m, allow generally 14 to 18 weeks between release of the outgoing lease and marketing: 2 to 3 weeks of programme and preliminary design, 3 to 4 weeks of detailed design and contractor consultation, 8 to 10 weeks of works across all trades, then lifting of reservations and handover of the as-built file. This schedule assumes the programme is framed as soon as the lease is released and the absence of base building compliance works.
How does a fitted floor’s as-built file impact the sale price at disposal?
The as-built file accounts for 1 to 2% of the sale price faced with a core investor. A documented file (material environmental declarations, reuse traceability compliant with the environmental framework in force, usable BMS, up-to-date fire safety acceptance report, energy declaration) shortens the acquirer’s due diligence by 4 to 6 weeks and avoids price retentions negotiated on technical uncertainties. Kytom locks in the as-built file from the detailed design phase and keeps it up to date until disposal, where industry practice outsources it to the property manager after delivery.
In which cases does Kytom advise against the pre-fitted floor?
Three cases where the service is not the relevant tool: an asset already 95% let or intended for disposal within 12 months with no intermediate re-letting, for which a refresh remains more profitable; an area below 600 sq m of usable space, where the vacancy/rent ROI does not recover; a high-rise building classified GHW2 requiring overhaul of mechanical smoke extraction, recompartmentation or rework of the fire safety system before fit-out, because the preliminary works absorb the finishing budget and make the service irrelevant.
What specification ratios keep a speculative floor neutral?
8 to 10 sq m per workstation with an absorption margin of plus or minus 15%, an open space mix adjustable between 40 and 70% without reopening the site, 100 mm demountable partitions, acoustic glazing of 38 dB minimum, HVAC and electrical circuits zoned per 200 sq m segment. Reproducible standard finishes: high-density carpet tiles, acoustic suspended ceilings of absorption class A, LED lighting controlled by BMS, standalone CO2 and lux sensors for compliance with the energy consumption reduction obligations for the tertiary stock.
