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Soho is unlike anywhere else in London’s office market. Around a square mile within Oxford Street, Charing Cross Road, Shaftesbury Avenue and Regent Street, it’s been a home to creative, media and entertainment businesses for decades. That history has shaped the buildings and streets, not to mention the kind of organisations that choose to be here.
The area has always attracted businesses that value culture and environment as much as specification. Think advertising agencies, production companies, music labels, film businesses and technology firms with a creative edge. They’ve clustered here since the 1980s, drawn by a neighbourhood that offers something no other London office market can replicate. We’re talking about the density of restaurants, bars, independent shops and street life that makes Soho one of the most genuinely vivid working environments in the city.
Now, that character coexists with some of the West End’s most significant recent office development. 1 Soho Place on Oxford Street and 1 Newman Street on the eastern edge of the area represent a new generation of buildings. They’ve brought institutional-grade space to a submarket associated mainly with smaller, characterful offices. The result? A market that spans from boutique suites in Georgian townhouses to major new-build towers, and almost everything in between.
This guide covers what you need to know about office space in Soho. We’ll cover the streets, the transport, the building types and what makes this market different from the options around it.
Table of contents:
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Working in Soho
Soho rewards businesses that want their working environment to do something for their culture and their brand. The streets are dense and varied. Old Compton Street, Wardour Street, Berwick Street and Dean Street each have a distinct character. So, arriving at work in Soho feels different to arriving at a tower on Bishopsgate or an office park in Victoria. If character matters to your business, there’s nowhere quite like it.
The working day in Soho reflects the neighbourhood. Lunch options are exceptional and genuinely varied, from long-established Italian restaurants to Japanese izakayas, Vietnamese canteens and some of the best independent coffee in central London. In short, the density of good venues nearby is unmatched by any other London office submarket. That makes Soho particularly well suited if your business regularly hosts clients or you have a team culture that revolves around after-work socialising.
The flip side is that Soho’s character comes with noise and foot traffic that some businesses find distracting. The streets around Shaftesbury Avenue and the southern part of the submarket get busy in the evenings and at weekends. And the area’s popularity means that rents reflect both the address and the amenity. Businesses that need large, efficient floorplates at scale may find the building stock limiting. But for the right kind of organisation, the trade-off is entirely worthwhile.
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Location, transport and key streets
Soho covers the W1D postcode, with Oxford Street to the north and Shaftesbury Avenue to the south. It runs broadly from Regent Street to Charing Cross. However, the office market is concentrated in the northern and central parts of the area. You’ll find the densest cluster of buildings around Soho Square, Wardour Street, Dean Street and the streets immediately south of Oxford Street.
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Key streets and clusters include:
- Wardour Street runs north-south through the heart of Soho and has historically been the address of choice for post-production, music and media businesses. It remains one of the more distinctive creative addresses in the submarket.
- Dean Street and Frith Street form the social and cultural core of Soho. A mix of office buildings above ground-floor restaurants and bars gives occupiers immediate access to some of the area’s best venues.
- Soho Square is the geographic centre of the submarket and one of the few places in this part of London with genuine open space. Buildings around the square attract businesses that want a Soho address with a slightly more composed environment.
- Oxford Street and the streets immediately behind it offer proximity to Tottenham Court Road station and a newer generation of buildings like 1 Soho Place. This includes Broadwick Street and D’Arblay Street.
- Shaftesbury Avenue marks the southern edge of the office market. Buildings like 77-85 Shaftesbury Avenue offer a prominent island site between Soho and the West End theatre district.
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Transport connectivity is excellent throughout Soho, centred on two of the most significant stations in central London:
- Tottenham Court Road serves the Elizabeth line, Central and Northern lines. Thanks to the Elizabeth line, you can get to Bond Street in two minutes, Liverpool Street in six and Heathrow in under 40 minutes.
- Oxford Circus serves the Central, Bakerloo and Victoria lines, providing direct access to Paddington, Victoria, the City and the West End shopping and business districts.
- Leicester Square and Piccadilly Circus serve the Northern, Piccadilly and Bakerloo lines, with strong connections south towards Waterloo and Charing Cross.
- Charing Cross National Rail station is within walking distance of the eastern end of the submarket, providing services to south-east London and Kent.
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Types of office space in Soho
Despite its compact size, Soho offers one of London’s most varied office markets with a wide range of building types and tenure options. Alongside landmark new developments such as 1 Soho Place and 1 Newman Street, you’ll find refurbished Victorian and Edwardian buildings that combine modern specification with the character the area is known for. These smaller floorplates and distinctive interiors continue to appeal to creative, media and design-led businesses looking for workspace that reflects their brand.
Flexible workspace is also well represented, with a number of managed office operators offering all-inclusive space throughout the neighbourhood. At the other end of the market, smaller office suites and converted townhouses rarely reach the open market, instead changing hands through established occupier networks and local agents. Whether you’re looking for Grade A headquarters space or a characterful studio, Soho offers a breadth of options that’s unusual for a West End submarket.
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New-build Grade A
Until recently, Soho had almost no institutional-grade office space. That changed with 1 Soho Place and 1 Newman Street. Between them, they deliver over 345,000 sq ft of Grade A accommodation with BREEAM Outstanding and Excellent credentials respectively. Both are now fully let, but they’ve established a new benchmark for what the submarket can offer (and set the rents to match).
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Refurbished mid-market offices
The majority of Soho’s stock sits in buildings that have been upgraded over the past decade. These are often converted Victorian and Edwardian commercial buildings with smaller floorplates and exposed services, plus a character that suits creative and media businesses. This is where the traditional Soho office market lives, and it remains the most active part of the leasing market.
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Character and boutique offices
Soho has a significant number of smaller buildings that rarely appear on the open market. Think converted townhouses, former warehouse spaces and period commercial properties. These suit boutique businesses that put more weight on the environment and address than specification. And they often change hands informally within the creative and media community.
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Managed and flexible offices
Several operators run managed and flexible offices across the submarket, including within larger buildings like 1 Newman Street. This is ideal if you want to test a Soho address or you don’t want to commit to a traditional lease because of a variable headcount.
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5 key office buildings in Soho
Soho’s office market is defined by quality rather than quantity. New developments are rare, refurbished buildings are highly sought after and the best spaces are often secured before they reach the wider market. The buildings below highlight the breadth of what’s available, from landmark Grade A developments and carefully restored commercial buildings to smaller offices that capture the character and appeal Soho has long been known for.
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1) 1 Soho Place
1 Soho Place is the most significant office development to arrive in Soho in a generation. Developed by Derwent London and designed by Allford Hall Monaghan Morris, the 12-storey building sits at the corner of Oxford Street and Charing Cross Road. That’s one of the highest-footfall junctions in London.
It delivers over 220,000 sq ft of Grade A space with BREEAM Outstanding credentials. Having completed in 2022, it’s now fully let, with G Research and Apollo Global Management occupying over 187,000 sq ft combined on leases running to March 2037.
Key facts
- Size: 220,461 sq ft NIA
- Floors: 12
- Completed: 2022
- Architect: Allford Hall Monaghan Morris
- Developer: Derwent London
- Owner: Derwent London
- Lease type: Traditional leasehold
- Accreditations: BREEAM Outstanding
- Estimated rent: £89-£108/sq ft
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Why businesses choose it
- One of only two BREEAM Outstanding building in the Soho submarket. It combines West End character with the sustainability credentials that are increasingly required by regulated financial services and major corporate occupiers
- Tottenham Court Road station is a two-minute walk. It gives occupiers direct Elizabeth line access to Heathrow, the City, Canary Wharf and the wider network from the most central station in the submarket
- Typical floorplates of 18,371 sq ft suit businesses that need scale in Soho without going to the larger buildings further east or north
- 100% leased since completion, with average asking rent of £105/sq ft. That’s the highest in the Soho submarket and a benchmark for what the area’s best space now commands
Features
1 Soho Place’s location at the Tottenham Court Road intersection gives it a visibility and transport position that few West End buildings can match. The Elizabeth line has made this corner of London genuinely competitive with the City for businesses whose teams travel widely or commute from the west. For G Research and Apollo, the ability to offer a West End creative address while retaining the connectivity their people need is precisely the balance that 1 Soho Place delivers.
Occupiers
1 Soho Place’s tenant list represents a notable shift in the profile of Soho occupiers. G Research, the quantitative finance and technology firm, takes 103,148 sq ft as the anchor tenant. Apollo Global Management, one of the world’s largest alternative asset managers, occupies 84,240 sq ft alongside them. Both are on leases to March 2037, with UNIQLO anchoring the retail ground floor with 22,239 sq ft.
The combination of a quantitative finance business and a global asset manager in a building on Oxford Street would have been inconceivable in Soho a decade ago. It reflects how the area’s new-build space has opened the submarket to occupiers that would have previously defaulted to Mayfair or the City.
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2) 1 Newman Street
1 Newman Street was developed by GPE and designed by Orms, completing in 2021 on the eastern edge of the Soho/Fitzrovia boundary. The eight-storey building delivers 125,039 sq ft across typical floorplates of 15,567 sq ft. There’s also a substantial retail offer at ground level including Boom Battle Bar’s 15,370 sq ft.
It sold in October 2025 for £250 million (£1,999/sq ft) reflecting the strength of investor appetite for well-located, well-let West End stock. CoStar classifies it in the Noho submarket, but its address on Newman Street and its link to the Oxford Street/Tottenham Court Road intersection puts it firmly within the wider Soho office market.
Key facts
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- Size: 125,039 sq ft NIA
- Floors: 8
- Completed: 2021
- Architect: Orms
- Developer: GPE
- Lease type: Traditional leasehold
- Accreditations: BREEAM Excellent
- Estimated rent: £84-£103/sq ft
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Why businesses choose it
- Tottenham Court Road station is a three-minute walk. Elizabeth line connections put the building at the centre of the West End’s transport network
- 100% leased since completion, with achieved rents of £95/sq ft and a sale price of £250 million in October 2025. Above all, this underlines consistent investor and occupier confidence
- A roof terrace and natural light throughout with BREEAM Excellent credentials. This building balances specification with the scale and character appropriate to this part of London
- Typical floorplates of 15,567 sq ft offer genuine versatility. They’re large enough for a substantial team but small enough to feel like a dedicated space rather than a campus
Features
The combination of United Talent Agency and Boom Battle Bar at 1 Newman Street says something clear about the building’s positioning. It’s a place where the creative and entertainment industries feel at home, but where the specification and location are good enough to attract serious financial services businesses too. That breadth is what distinguishes the best buildings on the Soho/Fitzrovia boundary. They don’t have to choose between creative credibility and institutional quality.
Occupiers
United Talent Agency is one of the world’s leading talent and entertainment companies and the largest occupier at 27,575 sq ft. This anchor reflects the building’s appeal to the creative and entertainment industry. AKO Capital (13,972 sq ft) and JLL (13,786 sq ft) represent the financial services and real estate advisory layer that coexists with the creative community across this part of the West End. Boom Battle Bar’s 15,370 sq ft retail lease to March 2037 brings the kind of ground-floor energy that suits both the building and the neighbourhood.
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3) 77-85 Shaftesbury Avenue
77–85 Shaftesbury Avenue occupies a prominent island site at the southern edge of Soho, tucked between Frith Street, Romilly Street and Dean Street. The building comprises two interlinked structures – 75 Shaftesbury Avenue, dating from 1905, and the 1984–85 main building.
Both were comprehensively refurbished in 2016 by Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands. The result is 65,739 sq ft of refurbished space across seven floors, with typical floorplates of around 9,750 sq ft. There’s also a prominent red brick and glass exterior that’s immediately recognisable on Shaftesbury Avenue.
Key facts
- Size: 65,739 sq ft NIA
- Floors: 7
- Completed: 1989 / 2016
- Architect: Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands
- Developer: BEA UK
- Lease type: Traditional leasehold
- Accreditations: BREEAM Very Good, EPC B
- Estimated rent: £95/sq ft
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Why businesses choose it
- An island site with frontage onto Shaftesbury Avenue, Frith Street, Romilly Street and Dean Street. Surrounded on all sides by the heart of Soho’s restaurant and bar culture
- 90.8% leased with a single 6,036 sq ft sixth-floor suite available at £95/sq ft. You get a high-floor Soho address with views across the rooftops of the West End
- A roof terrace, atrium, shower facilities and fibre optic internet. The 2016 refurbishment modernised the interiors while retaining the external character of the original structures
- Piccadilly Circus and Leicester Square stations are both within a short walk, with Tottenham Court Road a few minutes further north
Features
The island site is 77–85 Shaftesbury Avenue’s most distinctive quality. Being bounded by four streets means every elevation gets natural light. Additionally, the building’s proximity to Dean Street (arguably the social heart of Soho) gives occupiers immediate access to some of the best restaurants and bars in central London. If you care about entertaining clients and retaining staff through culture and environment, that positioning is worth paying for.
Occupiers
BEA UK (the UK arm of the Bank of East Asia) is the building’s owner-occupier anchor at 22,482 sq ft. Marston Holdings occupies 10,749 sq ft on a lease to March 2036. Weatherbys Bank, InvestCloud and Metia complete the tenant mix. It reflects the financial and professional services layer that’s grown alongside Soho’s traditional creative community.
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4) 127CXR
127CXR at 127–133 Charing Cross Road is the newest building in this selection, completing in 2025 following a complete rebuild by Nomura Real Estate. The seven-storey building delivers 54,777 sq ft across typical floorplates of around 10,000 sq ft.
It occupies a prominent position on Charing Cross Road at the boundary of Soho and the West End, with Tottenham Court Road station four minutes on foot. Expect BREEAM Outstanding credentials and asking rents of £100–105/sq ft.
Key facts
- Size: 54,777 sq ft NIA
- Floors: 7
- Completed: 2025
- Architect: Barr Gazetas
- Owner: Nomura Real Estate UK Ltd
- Lease type: Traditional leasehold
- Accreditations: BREEAM Outstanding
- Estimated rent: £100-£105/sq ft
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Why businesses choose it
- One of only two buildings in the Soho submarket with a BREEAM Outstanding rating, alongside 1 Soho Place. It gives occupiers with ESG requirements the best available credentials in the area
- 53.2% leased since completing in 2025, with two floors available at £100–105/sq ft. It represents a genuine opportunity to take new-build space in a submarket where it’s rarely available
- Backup generators, fibre optic internet and 24-hour access alongside bicycle storage and secure lockers
- Tottenham Court Road station is a four-minute walk and Leicester Square is seven minutes. The building also sits at the point where Soho, Covent Garden and the West End theatre district converge
Features
127CXR’s availability makes it the most actionable new-build opportunity in the Soho submarket. If you want BREEAM Outstanding credentials, a Charing Cross Road address and the Soho amenity offer, there’s no direct competitor available. The building’s roof terrace and the quality of the interior fit-out position it at the top end of the market for its size.
Occupiers
127CXR’s early tenants reflect its position on the Soho/West End boundary. It includes ICONIQ Capital UK and Liquidity, which are a private wealth and investment firm and financial technology business, respectively. There’s also the creatives at Tiger Milk. This combination of private wealth management, fintech and creative reflects the broadening of Soho’s occupier profile beyond its traditional media and advertising base.
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5) 22 Soho Square
22 Soho Square is the smallest building in this selection and the most distinctly Soho in character. Built in 1988 and renovated in 2000, the seven-storey building delivers 12,944 sq ft across typical floorplates of around 1,850 sq ft on the east side of Soho Square. It’s fully let to a mix of small financial services and advisory businesses. The building sold in June 2024 for £15.75 million (£1,217/sq ft) reflecting the enduring investor appetite for well-located, multi-let Soho stock.
Key facts
- Size: 12,944 sq ft
- Floors: 7
- Completed: 1988 / 2000
- Owner: Private
- Lease type: Traditional leasehold
- Estimated rent: £65-£79/sq ft
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Why businesses choose it
- A Soho Square address – and one of the most sought-after in the submarket, with direct views onto one of central London’s few genuine garden squares
- Typical floorplates of around 1,850 sq ft. It suits single-team occupiers who want a self-contained floor in a building with a real address, rather than a desk in a managed space
- Tottenham Court Road is a three-minute walk and Leicester Square is eight minutes, with Oxford Circus and Piccadilly Circus both within a short distance
- At £45 to £79.50/sq ft, it’s a more accessible entry point to Soho than the newer buildings
Features
22 Soho Square represents the original Soho office proposition. A genuine address in one of London’s most characterful locations, in a building that makes no particular claims about its specification. What it delivers instead is something newer buildings can’t – the sense of being embedded in the neighbourhood rather than dropped into it.
For boutique businesses, the view across the square, the walk to lunch and the address on the letterhead often matter more than BREEAM ratings or end-of-trip facilities. On those terms, it remains one of the most appealing small office addresses in the West End.
Occupiers
22 Soho Square’s tenants are characteristic of the building and the address. London Wealth Management, Ibis Capital, Consulco, Influence Ltd and Fin London are a group of boutique financial services, investment advisory and communications businesses. These are the kind of small, specialist practices that have always found Soho Square a natural home. Achieved rents of £75.50/sq ft for recent leases reflect the enduring appeal of the address despite the building’s age and modest specification.
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Key considerations
Choosing an office in Soho is about more than finding the right building. Limited supply, smaller floorplates and premium rents mean businesses need to balance the area’s character and prestige with their long-term operational needs. Understanding how location, growth plans, workplace design and budget intersect will help you identify a space that’s right for your business, not just your brand.
Soho commands a premium over neighbouring submarkets
Headline rents for Grade A space in Soho now range from £85 to £110/sq ft, with the newest buildings pushing towards £115/sq ft on upper floors. That puts Soho above Holborn and Clerkenwell and broadly in line with mid-tier Mayfair and Fitzrovia. The premium reflects the address and the amenity offer rather than the specification, which lags behind the City’s newest stock in older buildings.
Floorplates are smaller than the City or Canary Wharf
With the exception of 1 Soho Place and 1 Newman Street, most Soho buildings offer floorplates of 10,000 sq ft or below. That suits businesses with teams of 60 to 80 people on a single floor. But makes it difficult to accommodate significant growth without taking multiple floors. If you anticipate rapid headcount growth, you should factor this in when shortlisting buildings.
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The Elizabeth line has changed the connectivity calculation
Tottenham Court Road’s Elizabeth line connection has significantly improved Soho’s transport position. Journey times to the City, Heathrow and east London are now direct. If your teams commute from the west or you have clients at Heathrow, the station’s proximity to most of Soho is a genuine competitive advantage over neighbouring markets.
Fit-out in Soho requires a different brief
Soho offices tend to reward fit-outs that reflect the neighbourhood’s character rather than importing a generic corporate aesthetic. The businesses that thrive here tend to invest in spaces that feel distinctive and considered. That includes creative agencies, technology companies, boutique financial services firms. A workspace that feels bland or corporate can work against the very reasons a business chose Soho in the first place. Put simply, design quality and material choices matter more here than in most London submarkets.
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Soho is one of London’s most sought-after office markets, but the true cost of occupation extends beyond headline rent. Download Oktra’s London Office Rent Report to compare rental levels, occupancy costs and market trends across the capital.
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Alternative areas to Soho for office space
Immediately to the north, Fitzrovia shares Soho’s creative character and proximity to Tottenham Court Road. But it tends to be quieter, with more consistent building stock and slightly lower rents. It suits businesses that want a West End creative address without the intensity of central Soho.
Mayfair is for businesses where a prestigious address is a commercial requirement. Think private equity, asset management and luxury brands that need the St James’s/Berkeley Square postcode. Rents are higher and the working environment is more formal.
Covent Garden and the Strand offer a different West End character with strong transport via Charing Cross and a mix of building ages and specifications. Worth considering for businesses that want to be near the West End but value the slightly calmer streets to the east of the Soho core.
Elsewhere, Holborn is 10 minutes east and offers competitive rents for comparable specification, with strong transport via Chancery Lane and Holborn stations.
Not sure which part of London is right for your business? Oktra’s guide to choosing the right part of London compares the main submarkets by sector, character and cost.
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Soho office space FAQs
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What kind of businesses are based in Soho?
Soho has historically been home to advertising agencies, post-production companies, music businesses, film and television production, and creative technology firms. That community remains strong, but the submarket has broadened considerably. Financial services businesses, technology firms, talent agencies and investment managers have all taken space in Soho’s newer buildings over the past five years. The common thread is businesses that value culture, amenity and address alongside (or even above) specification.
How much does office space cost in Soho?
Headline rents range from around £65/sq ft in older refurbished stock to £115/sq ft on the upper floors of 1 Soho Place and 127CXR. Service charges run from £12 to £16/sq ft in the buildings covered here. A full breakdown of West End office costs is available in Oktra’s London cost guide.
Is Soho well connected for public transport?
Yes, Tottenham Court Road now serves the Elizabeth line alongside the Central and Northern lines, making it one of the most connected stations in London. Oxford Circus (Central, Bakerloo and Victoria lines), Leicester Square and Piccadilly Circus (Northern, Piccadilly and Bakerloo lines) are all within walking distance of most Soho addresses.
Are there large office buildings in Soho?
The traditional Soho market is characterised by smaller buildings with floorplates of 5,000 to 10,000 sq ft. However, 1 Soho Place (220,461 sq ft, typical floors of 18,371 sq ft) and 1 Newman Street (125,039 sq ft, typical floors of 15,567 sq ft) have changed that picture. Both are fully let, but they demonstrate that large-scale occupiers can now find buildings in Soho that meet their requirements.
How does Soho compare to Fitzrovia or Mayfair for offices?
Soho is livelier and more varied than Fitzrovia, with a stronger street-level amenity offer and a more distinctive working environment. Mayfair commands higher rents and carries a more formal, prestige-oriented character suited to private equity and hedge funds or luxury brands. Soho sits between the two. There’s more character and energy than Fitzrovia, but it’s more accessible and less formal than Mayfair. The right choice depends on what your business needs its address to say about it.
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What kind of businesses are based in Soho?
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