Articles / Market research
Fitted vs shell-and-core offices in Malta
Compare upfront works, recurring costs and time to occupation for fitted and shell-and-core offices.
Edition
Compare equivalent handover scopes
List the works needed for occupation: partitions, furniture, cabling, cooling, lighting and any building approvals. Get dated contractor quotes with VAT treatment and lead times specified. Check which works the landlord will deliver and who carries the risk of delays.
Worked cost comparison
In an illustrative 36-month comparison, a fitted office at €9,000 per month with €20,000 in setup costs totals €344,000. A shell office at €7,500 with €85,000 of works totals €355,000. Both examples exclude VAT, running costs and any rent overlap. Replace the assumptions with quotes for your premises.
Define the handover condition
Ask for a written schedule of what the landlord will deliver. Photographs can show the current condition, while the schedule describes what should exist at handover. Compare partitions, ceilings, power, lighting, cooling, toilets and data points. Identify work planned after the viewing and agree who verifies completion. For a fitted unit, ask which furniture stays. For a shell unit, establish what must be installed before staff can occupy the premises.
Price both options against one brief
Use the same workstation count, meeting-room needs and access requirements for both options. Ask each contractor to list inclusions, exclusions, professional fees and the basis for any contingency. Make a separate line for furniture and IT to avoid double counting. If you have only an allowance for a major item, mark it provisional. The most helpful comparison shows where the two quotes differ and which assumptions you can check before negotiating.
Plan around access and lead times
Work back from the first day the office must be usable. Identify when contractors can enter, whether they can work outside normal hours, and which equipment or materials require an order in advance. Ask what the building manager needs before approving contractors. A space can be handed over before the team is ready to use it if installation or testing is still underway. Put the start of rent and the expected occupation date on the same timeline.
Check what can be reused
In a fitted office, measure the existing workstations and meeting rooms against the proposed team plan. Check cabling, cooling and storage for the intended occupancy. Reuse can save cost and time when the layout fits. If partitions must move or services need upgrading, include those works alongside any repair and reinstatement costs. Ask for a clear furniture inventory so you can distinguish equipment that is included from items that will be removed.
Compare total cost over the intended term
Start with base rent over the period, then add works, furniture, overlap and running costs on consistent assumptions. Record landlord contributions separately and note the payment dates. A longer occupation spreads one-off costs over more months, while a shorter commitment makes upfront works more significant. Test the comparison again with a later handover or higher works cost. Identify the few estimates that would reverse the decision and get firmer quotes for those first.
Agree what happens at the end
Ask who owns improvements and what the tenant must remove or reinstate before leaving. Have the agreed condition and scope recorded in the lease documents. This matters when a shell fit-out is tailored to your team or a fitted office comes with specialist furniture. Capture the condition at handover so future disagreements can be resolved against a dated record. Add expected exit costs to the comparison if they differ materially between the shortlisted offices.
Make a viewing checklist for the building
Bring the proposed layout and verify the delivery route, lift access, available power and locations of the main services. Ask which areas can be altered and when contractors can work. Note any decisions that require landlord approval. Take dated notes and send the same list to contractors who are quoting. A comparable written scope makes it easier to understand whether a cheaper price reflects more efficient works or simply fewer items included.
Compare lease commencement and occupation
Put two dates in each proposal: when the tenant starts paying rent and when the office can support normal work. Ask about early access and whether any incentive covers part of the installation period. If the dates are far apart, show the cost of an existing office or temporary workspace in your budget. Agree who is responsible for each handover dependency and record the evidence needed before calling a space ready.
Model a handover delay before committing
Ask each contractor which work must finish before another trade can begin. If the schedule depends on the landlord finishing its own work first, put that milestone at the start of the programme. Model an illustrative four-week delay and show how it would affect duplicate rent, temporary offices and installation bookings. Decide who will approve changes to the scope and how quickly they can respond. Where the quote includes a contingency, record what it covers so that it can be compared fairly with the other proposal.