For clinic owners and practice managers
Best Clinic Fit-Out Companies in London: How to Choose One That Gets You Open and Registered
Sviatoslav JerdetchiiCEO & Founder of Craftex. Updated , 5 min read
The short answer
The best clinic fit-out company designs for what CQC and the council will check, not just for looks. It then hands over on the date your lease and staff plan assume.
- Ask which healthcare guidance it designs your rooms to.
- Check infection control is built into finishes and layout.
- Agree who handles landlord consent, building control and licences.
- Get a programme built backwards from your opening date.
Most clinic owners judge a fit-out company by its photos. Then the trouble starts after the build. The treatment room has no clinical basin. The laser room has the wrong ventilation. Or the borough wants a licence nobody applied for. Rent is running, staff are hired, and the opening date slips.
This guide compares the types of clinic fit-out company in London. It sets out the seven criteria that matter for registration and opening day. It also shows where we fit. For the regulatory detail, read our guide to clinic fit-out CQC requirements. Have premises in mind? Book a site visit and bring your treatment list.
Seven things the best clinic fit-out companies get right
Good-looking rooms are the easy part. These seven decide whether you open on time and pass registration.
1. They design for registration, not just for looks
CQC must be satisfied your premises meet Regulation 15. That means clean, secure, suitable for purpose and properly maintained. CQC guidance says premises should take account of national best practice.
For clinical rooms, the NHS Health Building Notes and Health Technical Memoranda are the usual design benchmarks. Ask which ones the company will design your rooms to.
2. Infection control is built into the finishes
Wipe-clean sealed surfaces, coved flooring and clinical hand-wash basins are design decisions. So is the split between clean and dirty routes. They are cheap to get right on paper and costly to change later.
3. Ventilation and services suit the treatments
Treatment, laser, procedure and decontamination rooms each need different air, power and water. A general fit-out contractor may not know this. A healthcare-experienced one asks for your treatment list before it draws.
4. Patients can get in, wait and talk in private
Step-free access, accessible toilets and a calm waiting area shape the layout. So does privacy at reception. CQC guidance also covers seating, waiting space, privacy and dignity.
5. They manage the consents around the build
Most leased units need the landlord's written consent first. Our guide to licences for alterations covers that side. Building control comes next.
In London, many boroughs also license treatments such as massage, laser and acupuncture. That is a special treatment licence, with exemptions for some health professionals. Ask who manages each consent, and when.
6. The programme starts from your opening date
Rent, staff and marketing usually start before the first patient. So the programme should run backwards from your opening and registration dates. Long-lead equipment and finishes must be ordered early.
7. Aftercare is written down
Clinics run hard from day one. Ask what aftercare period is included. Ask how fast defects are fixed once you're seeing patients.
Clinic fit-out company types compared
Each type suits a different clinic. Pick the type first, then compare firms of that type.
| Type of company | Best for | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
| Specialist healthcare or dental fit-out firm | Dental and specialist clinical premises | Less design freedom outside clinical rooms |
| Equipment supplier's fit-out package | Single-discipline clinics where equipment sets the layout | Fit-out quality outside the surgery |
| Interior designer plus a separate builder | Aesthetic and wellness clinics where brand comes first | Gaps between design intent and compliance |
| General commercial fit-out contractor | Clinics with a finished, compliant design | Healthcare detail |
| Design and build team with healthcare work | Multi-floor or design-led clinics needing compliance and finish together | Check its projects match your clinic type |
What our clinic and healthcare work shows
Two projects show both sides of a clinic fit-out: the clinical standard and the finish.
Macmillan Cancer Care Centre: a calm, clinical interior
The Macmillan Cancer Care Centre is a 2,100 m² healthcare interior in London. We delivered it over seven months. The brief asked for spaces that feel calm and human for patients.
The finishes are hygienic and wipe-clean. The circulation is accessible. We managed every trade directly, with dust, noise and access controls around the works.
Medusa, Knightsbridge: a four-floor clinic in 17 weeks
Medusa is a spa and beauty clinic on four floors, 180 sq m in total. It was a £460K turnkey design and build fit-out, delivered in 17 weeks.
The client came to us at RIBA Stage 2 with a concept. Our team finished the design and stripped out all four floors. We fitted new partitions, ceilings, electrics, fire and intruder alarms, CCTV, air conditioning and ventilation. Designing and pricing together kept the concept within budget.
Holistic therapy space fit-out Super impressed. I had a very specific vision for the studio. calm tones, soft lighting, hidden storage etc. the craftex team just got it. build was done quicker than I expected and the guys were polite, tidy and actually listened. we had 2 snags on day one but they fixed it before the week was out. worth it for the peace of mind.
The team behind a clinic fit-out
The people who run the job matter more than the brochure. Earlier projects below are from their careers before Craftex.
- Joe Crawford, Operations Director: 37 years in construction, on projects of up to £135M, including the Dior flagship on Bond Street.
- Martin Hickey, Preconstruction Director: more than 50 years in construction.
- Konstantin Jegorovs, Projects Director: 16 years, an Oxford Brookes construction management graduate.
Craftex has traded since 2016. We hold ISO and CHAS accreditation and carry £10M public and employers' liability cover. Around 60% of our labour is in-house.
Speed matters too. At Beaumont House we refurbished 750 sq m of offices in three weeks, with zero snags.
Where Craftex is not the right fit
We would rather tell you now than after a survey.
- Projects under £100,000. A single room refresh suits a local fit-out firm. Our construction work starts at £100,000.
- A dental surgery where the supplier package covers everything. One contract for chairs, equipment and a standard layout is simpler.
- You need a CQC registration consultant. We design and build premises that support registration. The application is yours or your adviser's.
Five steps to choose a clinic fit-out company in London
- List your regulated activities and treatments, and check the registration and licences they need.
- Shortlist two or three companies of different types from the table.
- Ask each which healthcare guidance it will design to, and to show a similar project.
- Get a programme built backwards from your opening date, with long-lead items named.
- Compare scope and exclusions, not just the headline price.
See our clinic fit-out and refurbishment service for how we deliver clinics in London. If you have a unit in mind, book a site visit before you sign the lease.
