Commercial Fit-Out Romford
Shop, cafe, restaurant, salon and clinic fit-outs in Romford, 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 Romford is shop, cafe, salon and clinic work in Havering's largest town centre. Romford is identified as a metropolitan centre in the London Plan and has Romford Market and the Liberty shopping centre among its landmarks. The units we fit out here are customer-facing: a new shopfront, a counter and display area, a treatment room or a small food unit, built so the business can open on the date it has planned.
For Romford, 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 Romford: 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
The kinds of trading unit Romford town centre has
Romford sits at the top of a clear hierarchy. Havering's town centre network is Romford Metropolitan Centre, district centres at Collier Row, Elm Park, Harold Hill, Hornchurch, Rainham and Upminster, and 75 local centres. In practice that gives you three kinds of unit: a mall unit inside the Liberty shopping centre with the centre's own fit-out rules, a street unit on or near the Market Place, and a parade shop further out with flats above.
Each one changes the job. A mall unit usually comes with a landlord's design guide, a set delivery window and a named sprinkler or alarm contractor we have to work alongside. A street unit brings its own shopfront, so glazing, fascia and security are part of the scope. A parade shop tends to be older, with shared drainage and residents above, which sets working hours and how the extraction is routed. We read the lease and the landlord's rules before pricing.
Shopfronts, signage and security grilles on a Romford frontage
Havering wants shopfronts that keep the street lively. Its Policy 13 supports town centre proposals with high quality shop front design and signage and active ground floor frontages. For a Romford trader that means a glazed front with the display visible, a fascia in proportion with the building, and signage that does not bury the window. Where the frontage or signs change, the owner or their designer seeks planning and advertisement consent, and we build to the approved drawings.
Security is the part people get wrong. Havering's Local Plan prefers laminated glass and internal security grills to external shutters in shop front design. So the money that would go on an external roller box goes instead on heavier glazing and an internal grille behind the display. We size the frame, stallriser and transom for both at the start, and bring the glazier and grille supplier together so nothing is cut in afterwards.
Planning use classes, food units and the Masterplan in Romford
Check the use class before you sign. Class E covers shops, cafes, restaurants, clinics, gyms and offices, so moving between those uses inside a unit normally needs no change of use. Hot food takeaways, pubs and bars sit outside Class E, and a change to one of them needs planning permission. The owner or their agent handles that application. We plan the build around the answer, because a takeaway brings extraction, odour control and grease drainage.
Romford also has its own plan for the centre. Havering has adopted a Romford Town Centre Masterplan SPD 2025 as a current Supplementary Planning Document. A like for like refit inside an existing shop rarely engages it. A new shopfront, a change of use or a unit combining two frontages should be designed with it open on the table. Your designer reads it, and we build what is approved, including the extract duct route and any external plant.
Fit-outs on the Romford Market Place and in its conservation area
Units on the Market Place need more care over the building itself. Romford Conservation Area was designated in 1968 to protect the Market Place and the group of old buildings at the western end of Market Place. Where one of them is listed, listed building consent covers the shopfront and the interior as well. Inside those older buildings you meet timber floors, lime plaster and walls that are not square, so counters, display runs and service routes are scribed to the fabric and fixed so they can come out again without damage.
Agree the strip-out line in writing before work starts. Conservation area consent no longer exists as a separate consent, and total or substantial demolition of a building of 115 cubic metres or more in a conservation area now needs planning permission instead. Clearing out shelving, ceilings and old partitions is not that. Removing a rear wing can be, and a new shopfront there needs planning permission in any case. On market days we also keep deliveries and skips clear of the trading pitches and the flats above.
- Shop and retail unit fit-outs from strip-out to opening day
- Step-free entrances and accessible customer WCs to Approved Document M
- Commercial kitchen builds around the extraction specialist's canopy
VOA Council Tax stock of properties, March 2025, for all 5 statistical areas in Romford. Counts rounded by the VOA.
Working With GS Renovation in Romford
A Romford shop, cafe or clinic earns nothing while it is shut, so the fit-out has to hit the opening date. We run the shopfront, counters, floors, lighting, drainage and the electrical and mechanical trades as one package with one contact. Our founder has more than three decades of hands-on building experience. You get a written quotation after a survey and a programme that sets out when the unit can trade, including partial opening where the layout allows it.
- Step-free entrance and accessible WC planned from the first drawing
- One point of contact on the phone, not a call centre
- Till, fridge and coffee machine circuits certified by a registered electrician
Excellent service. George's knowledge and skills are the best in the market. He knows what he is doing, does really high quality work, gives good…
My husband and I are extremely pleased with the work. The standard of the work is outstanding and Saiid has a great eye for detail and will not leave…
George was very friendly and helpful from start to finish. He worked really hard to ensure our kitchen was installed to a high standard and was…
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions about Commercial Fit-Out Romford
What should I budget to fit out a unit in Romford?
Start from the UK guide of £1,500 to £3,000 per square metre for a retail refurbishment, or £2,000 to £4,500 for a restaurant or cafe (MyBuilder, 2026), and add for London prices. Consent fees, the landlord's costs and equipment such as ovens and tills sit outside the building work. A Romford quote follows a survey of the unit and your layout.
Does Havering accept external roller shutters on a Romford shopfront?
Not as its first choice. Havering's Local Plan prefers laminated glass and internal security grills to external shutters in shop front design. Plan for heavier glazing and an internal grille from the outset, because the frame and stallriser have to be sized for both. We coordinate the glazier and grille supplier so the two fit first time.
Can a Romford shop become a cafe or clinic without planning permission?
Usually yes, because Class E covers shops, cafes, restaurants, clinics, gyms and offices, so moving between them inside the class is not a change of use. A hot food takeaway, pub or bar is outside Class E and needs planning permission. The owner or agent confirms the lawful use before the fit-out is priced.
What does a new shopfront in Romford town centre need to look like?
It should keep the ground floor active. Havering Policy 13 supports town centre proposals with high quality shop front design and signage and active ground floor frontages. A glazed display, a fascia in proportion with the upper floors and restrained signs are the starting point. The owner or designer handles consent for the shopfront and adverts, and we build to the approved drawings.
Does the Romford Town Centre Masterplan affect a shop fit-out?
Only when the scheme needs planning. Havering has adopted a Romford Town Centre Masterplan SPD 2025, which guides new shopfronts, changes of use and schemes that join units. An internal refit of an existing shop rarely touches it. Your designer or agent reads it before drawing, and we build to whatever is approved.
What extra work does a food unit in Romford need?
Extraction, odour control and drainage are the big items. A cooking unit needs a kitchen extract with a duct route to the approved discharge point, a grease trap or separator where food is prepared, and wipe-clean floors and walls. Part B fire separation from any flats above also needs checking. We plan the duct route with the landlord first, because it often decides the layout.
Can you fit out a unit in Romford Conservation Area on the Market Place?
Yes, with care over the old fabric. Romford Conservation Area was designated in 1968 to protect the Market Place and the group of old buildings at its western end. We scribe counters and display runs to uneven walls, fix services so they can be removed later, and agree the strip-out line in writing before starting.
Does a Romford shop need an accessible entrance and WC after a fit-out?
Part M of the Building Regulations covers access to non-domestic buildings, so a fit-out that alters the entrance or adds WCs has to consider level access, door widths and an accessible toilet. Existing constraints in an older Market Place building can limit what is possible, and the designer records how access is dealt with for building control.
Can a Romford shop keep trading while the fit-out goes on?
Sometimes, if the unit can be split. We hoard off the works area, keep the escape route and the trading area separate, and time noisy work before opening or after closing. In the Liberty shopping centre the landlord's rules set delivery windows, so the programme follows those.
Every Service, One Team
More GS Renovation Services in Romford
One team for every GS Renovation service in Romford:
Same Service, Nearby Areas
Commercial Fit-Out Near Romford
We carry out commercial fit-out across Romford and the surrounding areas. Explore a nearby location:
Ready to Start Your Romford Project?
Free, no-obligation quote for commercial fit-out in Romford.