Commercial Fit-Out Kew
Shop, cafe, restaurant, salon and clinic fit-outs in Kew, shopfront to counter under one contract, built around your opening date.
- Rated 4.9 from 31 reviews on MyBuilder
- UK guide: £1,500 to £3,000 per m²
- Free site survey, itemised quote
Commercial fit-out in Kew means customer-facing units on a small scale: a cafe or shop refit, a clinic or salon in a former shop, a restaurant kitchen renewed. The Kew Gardens local centre around the station is one of the seven local centres in Richmond's Local Plan, and that centre, with any shop, cafe or pub outside it, is where this work arises. We strip out, build counters and service areas, fit extraction and drainage, and finish the frontage, working around the homes above.
For Kew, published UK guides put refurbishing a retail space at £1,500 to £3,000 per m² and a restaurant or cafe at £2,000 to £4,500 per m², and London units usually cost more (MyBuilder, 2026). GS Renovation Ltd, a building contractor based in Potters Bar, does the work in Kew: our own trades do the strip-out, back of house, counter fitting and finishes, and we coordinate the shopfront, extraction, electrical and fire specialists the unit needs.
Price guide
| Work | Indicative range |
|---|---|
| Retail space refurbishment | £1,500 to £3,000 per m² |
| Restaurant or cafe refurbishment | £2,000 to £4,500 per m² |
| Shop fitting only: counters, display and fixtures, 2024 guide | £60 to £140 per sq ft |
| Aluminium shopfront, single bay up to about 4m wide | £2,000 to £5,000 |
| Cafe kitchen extraction with basic odour control | £5,000 to £12,000 |
Indicative ranges from published cost guides (MyBuilder, Checkatrade, Urban Shopfronts and Fan Rescue, 2026), not a quotation. Most are UK-wide figures and London work usually costs more; a row marked London is a London figure. Prices checked September 2026.
Quick estimate from UK guide figures
Guide range: choose above
Refitting a shop or cafe in the Kew Gardens local centre
A fit-out in the Kew Gardens local centre is often a single shop unit, possibly with a flat above, a narrow frontage and a yard or back door for deliveries. The first question is the use: shop, cafe, clinic, salon and gym studio all sit inside Class E, but a hot food takeaway, pub or bar is sui generis and changing to one needs planning permission. The second is what services the unit already has, such as extract routes, a grease trap or accessible toilets.
A cafe that cooks needs extract ducting run to a point where it will not bother the flats above, and a new external flue usually needs planning permission. It also needs a hand wash basin and a floor that can be cleaned, while a retail unit needs lighting, display and a secure till point. We survey the existing supply, drainage and ventilation before pricing, because in older units an inadequate electrical supply or a failed floor can be found behind the old fit-out, and those drive the programme.
Shopfronts and shutters on a Kew parade
Richmond resists solid and perforated roller shutters on shopfronts throughout the borough, and fitting a shutter to the outside of a shopfront needs planning permission. Its Shopfronts SPD, adopted in March 2010, says permission is unlikely for external roller shuttering in most cases. On a Kew unit that means security is usually handled from inside, with laminated glass, an internal lattice grille or an alarm. We plan the door and glazing detail around that from the start.
Signs are a separate matter again: the SPD says advertisement consent is a separate procedure from planning for advertisements on shopfronts. A new fascia with an illuminated sign may need both. A specialist joiner makes the shopfront to the approved drawings the owner or their designer obtains, and we fit it with the glazing and fascia, programming the work so the frontage is boarded for as short a time as possible. Inside the Kew Green Conservation Area, materials and detailing on a frontage get closer scrutiny, and a listed building needs listed building consent for works inside as well as out.
Access, escape and drainage in a Kew customer unit
A unit that serves the public in Kew has to let customers in and get them out safely. Part M of the building regulations covers the entrance and any customer WC, so a stepped Victorian shop door may need a level threshold or a ramp inside the line of the frontage. Part B covers the escape route from the sales floor and kitchen, and the fire separation between a cafe and the flat above, which in an older parade often means a new ceiling.
Food brings drainage with it. A kitchen sink and dishwasher in a Kew cafe or restaurant need a grease trap or separator before the drain, sized to the kitchen and reachable for emptying. Richmond's 2026 building control charges list non-domestic work in a separate Table 2, and Richmond asks for 2 days notice before works commence. A shop falls under the Fire Safety Order, so the application is full plans rather than a building notice. We give the start notice, leave the drainage and fire stopping open for inspection, and pass the certificates to the owner.
Working next to trading shops and flats in Kew
A parade in Kew usually keeps trading while one unit is fitted out, and the flats above stay occupied. Richmond normally limits noisy construction to weekday daytime hours and Saturday mornings, with none on Sundays and Bank Holidays, so breaking out and cutting are booked for weekday mornings. Deliveries come to the back door where there is one, or on a suspended bay booked with Richmond, and dust screens let the neighbouring shop keep trading.
The landlord's consent for alterations comes before strip out, and the landlord will want the extract route, shopfront and signage drawings. A business commissioning the work is also a client under the CDM Regulations, with duties of its own. Where more than one contractor is involved, it appoints a principal designer and a principal contractor, and we take the principal contractor role. A business in Kew near the Gardens may want to open before a busy visitor season, so we order counters, extract equipment and shopfront joinery as soon as the layout is fixed.
- Back-of-house stores, wash-up areas and staff rooms
- Cafe, restaurant and bakery fit-outs around the kitchen
- Working around neighbouring shops' trading hours
VOA Council Tax stock of properties, March 2025, for Kew Gardens. Counts rounded by the VOA.
Working With GS Renovation in Kew
A small business in Kew usually needs the unit closed for as short a time as possible. We set the programme around the opening date, order long lead items such as shopfront joinery and extract equipment early, and run strip out, services and finishes as one team with one point of contact. We give the programme and method statement to the owner, landlord and designer, and build to the consents they obtain. The quote is fixed after a site visit to the unit.
- Step-free entrance and accessible WC planned from the first drawing
- A single point of contact for your landlord, the residents above and your shop staff
- Straight advice on what is and is not worth spending money on
George always kept to commitments and arrived on time. He offered helpful suggestions during his initial visit and promptly provided a reasonably…
It's the second time I have hired George and he has been absolutely professional and the work he did resembles perfectly what I had in mind. Being an…
Saiid did a complete refurbishment of our small bathroom. This involved ripping out the existing bath/shower, basin, toilet, pipework, and tiles and…
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions about Commercial Fit-Out Kew
Why do shop fit-out quotes in Kew differ?
They rarely price the same scope. One includes the extract route, the grease trap, an accessible WC and making good to the landlord's specification; another leaves them out. The published UK guide of £1,500 to £3,000 per square metre for a retail refurbishment (MyBuilder, 2026) is a starting point, not a Kew price. Compare quotes against one written scope.
Can a shop in Kew fit an external roller shutter?
Only with planning permission, and Richmond resists solid and perforated roller shutters throughout the borough. Its Shopfronts SPD says permission is unlikely for external roller shuttering in most cases. Internal grilles, laminated glass and alarms are the usual answer, and we fit those inside the glazing line so the Kew frontage stays visible.
Does a new sign on a Kew shopfront need separate consent?
It can. Richmond's Shopfronts SPD says advertisement consent is a separate procedure from planning for advertisements on shopfronts. An illuminated or larger fascia sign is where it usually applies. The owner or their sign designer obtains it, and we fix the fascia to suit the approved sign.
Can a Kew cafe start selling takeaway hot food without planning?
A cafe or restaurant sits in Class E, but a hot food takeaway is sui generis, so changing to one needs planning permission. Adding a small takeaway side to a sit down cafe is a grey area the owner should check with Richmond before we build a counter or new extraction for it.
Where are the shops and cafes in Kew?
In the Kew Gardens local centre, named in Richmond's Local Plan, plus any shops, cafes and pubs outside it. Kew is largely residential, so a fit-out here is usually a single unit with homes above or beside it, not a shopping centre, and the work is planned around those neighbours from the first visit.
Does a customer toilet need to be accessible in a shop fit-out?
Where a new customer WC is provided, Part M of the building regulations expects it to be accessible where the space allows. The entrance is looked at too: a step at the door may need a level threshold. Building control confirms what is reasonable in an existing small unit.
Does a cafe kitchen in Kew need a grease trap?
A kitchen that washes greasy pans and plates should have a grease trap or separator before the drain, so fats do not block the sewer. We size it to the kitchen, fit it where it can be emptied, and show it to building control with the rest of the drainage before floors are finished.
How long does a small cafe fit-out in Kew take?
The long lead items set the opening date more than the building work does. A like for like refit of an existing cafe unit is a matter of weeks on site. Extract ducting, new drainage or a new shopfront lengthen it, mostly through their lead times, so we order extract equipment and joinery as soon as the layout is fixed.
Can fit-out work continue while neighbouring shops trade?
Yes, with careful sequencing. We keep deliveries off the busiest trading hours, screen the frontage, control dust inside the unit and do the loudest work early in the week. The flats above get notice of noisy days, and the pavement outside the parade is kept clear and swept throughout the job.
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