+91% capital value uplift confirmed for retrofitted properties | Part 3 of Knight Frank series

Knight Frank’s final report in their “Meeting the Commercial Property Retrofit Challenge” series details a whopping 91% uplift in capital valuations post retrofit and refurbishment.

With 80% of 2050’s buildings already built, retrofitting, refurbishing, and in some cases repurposing, is no longer optional – it’s the only viable path to sustainable, profitable real estate.

At Vantage, this report echoes exactly why we exist: to help landlords and investors respond to this challenge with clarity, speed, and return on investment.

Key Highlights from the Report

1. Timing Is Everything
By 2030, 56% of office leases rated EPC C or below will expire. This presents a unique opportunity to time upgrades with lease events for maximum impact.

2. Early-Mover Advantage
Investor appetite is shifting fast. 62% of investors are actively seeking low ESG-performing assets to reposition. In London alone, £2.8 billion was spent on value-add ESG assets in 2024.

3. Planning Constraints = Scarcity Premium
Planning approvals for office refurbishments have fallen sharply – from 500 in 2019 to just 194 in 2024. With a 7.6 million sq ft shortfall of quality office space in London, landlords who can deliver quickly will capture outsized demand.

4. The Power of Refurbishment
Upgrading low-EPC-rated offices through retrofit or refurbishment can increase capital valuations by 91% with the most substantial uplifts seen in short-term hold strategies. This reflects growing market preference for ESG-aligned assets and the discounting of non-compliant stock.

5. Skills Shortage Looms
Delivering EPC B across UK offices by 2030 could require 440,000 new skilled jobs. This skills gap could significantly delay progress for unprepared landlords.

What does this mean for Vantage clients?

This report reinforces everything we’ve built Vantage to solve.

Retrofit done the traditional way is slow, fragmented, and full of risk. Multiple consultants. Multiple contractors. Zero certainty.

At Vantage, we take a different approach:

• We align strategy and execution under one roof
• We time works with lease events to unlock optimal value
• We deliver retrofit at speed – with guaranteed outcomes, at a fixed price

Conclusion: It pays to green!

Knight Frank’s report makes one thing clear: the winners in this next cycle will be those who act early, act strategically, and act decisively.

At Vantage, we help you do exactly that – we deliver high-performance retrofit at speed, with a guaranteed outcome, for a fixed price.