Commercial Electrical Services for Central London Workspaces

AVC is a design-led consultancy that also delivers and commissions systems on selected projects. Many clients appoint us for electrical design, specification and coordination only, with installation tendered to electrical contractors against our information; the drawings and schedules are written to be priced and built accurately either way. Where delivery is included, it is agreed explicitly in the appointment, with the same design discipline carried through installation, testing and handover. What we never do is design around a product we want to sell: the design serves the project, not a supply chain.

Very often, yes, much of our commercial work is planned around occupied offices, trading restaurants and operating hotels. The design and programme are built for it from the start: works phased area by area, surveys and disruptive tasks placed out of hours, temporary supplies where continuity matters, board changeovers sequenced for nights or weekends, and escape routes and emergency lighting protected throughout. What is achievable depends on the building, access and landlord requirements, so we set out the phasing honestly before anyone commits to a programme.

New and altered fixed wiring in the UK is designed, installed and tested against BS 7671, the national wiring regulations standard, and the installation should be handed over with the corresponding electrical certification, emergency-lighting documentation, record drawings and operation and maintenance information. That paperwork has real commercial value: landlords ask for it when consenting to and closing out works, insurers and facilities teams rely on it, and it protects the occupier at dilapidations. We define the required documentation in the tender information and review it before close-out, or produce it ourselves where delivery is part of our appointment.

Yes. We review existing electrical designs against the interior scheme, the landlord's requirements, available supply capacity, compliance and buildability, identifying gaps, spatial conflicts and unclear tender information, and issue comments and mark-ups the team can act on. Where a design has stalled or the original designer is no longer involved, we can take the information forward to construction detail, coordinated with the other services and the fit-out programme.

Earlier than most programmes allow for. Distribution equipment can carry long lead times, incoming-supply questions take time to resolve, landlord consent has its own timescale, and containment routes must be fixed before ceilings and risers close. Starting the electrical design alongside the space plan, rather than after it, means capacity, routes and board positions are settled on drawings, where change costs little, instead of on site, where it costs programme. Late electrical information is one of the most common causes of fit-out delay, and one of the most avoidable.

We prepare the technical information landlords and their building managers typically ask for: drawings, specifications, load information and the interfaces with base-building systems, and respond to comments from their reviewing engineers. The consent itself always sits with the building owner and their advisers, and timescales vary from building to building, so we flag the approval route early and build it into the programme rather than treating it as an afterthought.

That assessment is one of the most valuable early tasks. We review the existing installation and incoming capacity against the proposed demand: catering kitchens, comfort cooling, IT and equipment loads, and realistic diversity across them, so the project knows early whether the existing supply will serve. Where additional capacity is genuinely needed, identifying it at feasibility matters, because applications to the network operator and landlord negotiations both take time that a fit-out programme rarely has to spare.

Yes, and it is where a great deal of fit-out friction disappears. Structured cabling, audiovisual systems, meeting-room technology, access control, CCTV and building controls all need power, containment and equipment space, and each specialist tends to plan those in isolation. We coordinate the power supplies, cable routes, segregation and room provisions for the low-voltage systems in one drawing set, so the specialists install into prepared infrastructure rather than competing for the same ceiling void on site.

Yes. Emergency lighting is designed alongside the general lighting rather than bolted on afterwards: escape routes, open areas and high-risk task locations covered, test facilities provided, and the certification and log-book requirements defined for handover. In premium interiors the fittings themselves matter: we favour discreet, integrated emergency luminaires that satisfy the life-safety requirement without breaking the ceiling design, and we coordinate their positions with the lighting scheme, grilles and joinery so compliance does not come at the interior's expense.

Often, yes. Refurbishment work starts with an honest review of what exists: the condition and capacity of boards and circuits, the quality of previous alterations, and what records survive. From there the design can prioritise replacement where risk and capacity demand it, retain what is genuinely serviceable, and document the result properly, phased so the premises keeps operating. In older Central London buildings undocumented wiring is common; we plan investigation and circuit tracing into the programme instead of letting it surface as a surprise.

Whatever exists: floor plans, interior-design information, landlord documents, existing electrical certificates or record drawings, or simply photographs and a description of the premises and the plan. Early-stage enquiries without complete information are welcome; part of our role is helping define the scope. The enquiry form on this page accepts secure uploads of PDF, DWG, RVT, IFC and common document formats.

By scope, not by formula. After reviewing your information: and an optional discovery call: we prepare a written proposal describing the recommended scope, deliverables, assumptions and professional fees, so you can see exactly what the appointment covers before committing. Design-only, design with delivery, and review-only appointments are all normal; the proposal reflects what the project actually needs.