What is a ‘Grade A’ office?
Hotels are graded by a rigid star system with set rules. Offices are not. ‘Grade A’ is a market label with no fixed test and no examiner, so how is a building judged?
Grade A is the best office in its market: new or fully refurbished, in a prime district, built to the top specification and let at the highest rent. It is a market convention, not a legal grade, and not age alone. This one page sets out the eleven criteria that separate Grade A from Grade B, from location, floor plates and lifts to sustainability certificates, parking, connectivity, amenities and management. It then shows why a grade is not for life: a tower built to a high specification holds Grade A for longer, a refurbishment can bring services and finishes back, but location, ceiling height, floor plate and structure are fixed for life, so check those first.
Reading alongside: the live numbers on our Insights hub and the off-plan project finder, which matches your brief against every live launch.
The numbers
- Criteria compared11
- GradesA and B
- Pages1
- Sources4
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Questions this report answers
Is Grade A a legal classification?
No. Hotels have a star system with set rules; offices do not. Grade A is a market label used by agents and occupiers for the best buildings in a market, judged on location, specification, performance and the occupier experience.
Can a building lose its Grade A status?
Yes. A grade is not for life. A tower built to a high specification holds Grade A for longer, but one built to the minimum slips to Grade B sooner as the market moves ahead of it.
Can a Grade B building be refurbished back to Grade A?
Partly. Lifts, services, finishes, the lobby and amenities can be brought back. Location, ceiling height, floor plate and structure cannot be refurbished in, so check those first.
What does Grade A cost compared with Grade B?
Grade A carries the highest rent in the market and the least space to choose from. Grade B is cheaper on the advertised rent; compare it after incentives and service charges.
More like this on the Market Reports page, or ask Danny directly for the numbers behind your own shortlist.