Quote · Office · commercial
Q-1153
LostLovell Partners, office refurbishment in Bristol: 111 m² floor. £26,600 ex VAT at 21.0% margin. Lost Thu 27 Aug: went with a cheaper quote.
- DraftedSun 9 AugBy Neil Barton, hours from the rule of thumb
- SentMon 10 AugTo Peter Hurst, by email and in the portal
- Followed up15 Aug1 reminder, by email
- LostThu 27 AugWent with a cheaper quote
How the price is built
Hours from the old rule of thumb, then materials, subcontract and margin
£26,600
ex VAT
Labour £2,720Materials £10,550Subcontract £7,750Margin £5,580
Labour£2,720
111m² floor×0.9h per m² of floor=100 h
100 h×£27.24an hour=£2,720to the nearest £10
0.9 h per m² of floor is the old rule of thumb. The 7 offices finished this year really took 0.95.
Materials£10,550
| Partitions, board and ceilings Avonmere Builders Merchants | £3,800 |
| Joinery timber and sheet Kestle Timber | £1,900 |
| Lighting and electrical Voltmere Electrical Wholesale | £2,320 |
| Flooring Cotsmoor Flooring Trade | £2,530 |
Subcontract£7,750
| Electrics and data Andy Rees Electrical, electrician | £4,650 |
| Plastering Mark Dent Plastering, plasterer | £1,940 |
| Floor laying Nick Weller Flooring, floor layer | £1,160 |
Cost£21,020
Price at a 21% margin, to the nearest £50£26,600
Margin£5,580, 21.0%
VAT 20%£5,320
Price inc VAT£31,920
On the true rate, it would have been
Same 111 m² floor, same materials and subcontract
Old ruleTrue rate
Hours per m² of floor0.90.95
Labour hours100 h105.5 h
Labour cost£2,720£2,870
Price ex VAT£26,600£26,800
Margin if it takes the true hours20.4%21.0%
This went out on the old rule and was lost: went with a cheaper quote. Priced on what offices really take, it would have been £26,800.
Where the hours come from
Every office job finished this year: hours from the timesheets, per m² of floor
3995Gulliver Partners, 85 m² floor9 Jul1.04 h88 h vs 77 h3991Orchard Gate Solicitors, 121 m² floor26 Jun0.86 h104 h vs 109 h3986Fenwick Lane Recruitment, 182 m² floor12 Jun0.92 h168 h vs 163 h3982Merriman Surveyors, 238 m² floor27 May, imported0.94 h224 h vs 215 h3967Brightwater Insurance Brokers, 216 m² floor1 Apr, imported0.96 h208 h vs 195 h3962Kestrel Point Software, 199 m² floor13 Mar, imported0.96 h192 h vs 178.5 h3956Harlow Vance Consulting, 194 m² floor27 Feb, imported0.99 h192 h vs 174.5 h
Estimates on these jobs ran 7% over on hours before go-live (4 jobs), 3% since (3). 4 of them were imported from paper job sheets.
Client
Lovell Partners53 Park Street, Bristol
ContactPeter Hurst
Phone0117 496 0918
First in touch31 Jul 2026