Commercial Design and Build in London

Overview

LCC designs and builds restaurants, retail stores and offices in London, taking each project from the first survey through landlord approval, construction and handover under a single contract. As Principal Designer and Principal Contractor, we hold responsibility for the design, the programme and site safety from start to finish.

Design and build compared with a traditional tender

Under a traditional route, the client appoints an architect, waits for a full set of drawings, tenders them to contractors and then manages the gaps between the two. Prices often return above budget, the design is revised, and the opening date moves.

With design and build, design and construction are developed together by one team. Buildability, building services and cost are reviewed while the scheme is still on the drawing board, approvals and procurement run in parallel, and the client deals with one company that answers for the whole project.

Our design and construction team

LCC is led by an ARB-registered architect. Our team of ARB-registered architects, who are also members of RIBA and BIID, works alongside our fully qualified construction team, with our own site management team running each site. The architects who design each scheme remain fully involved throughout construction, so the design approved by the client and the landlord is the design delivered on site.

Restaurants, retail and offices

Restaurants. Kitchen layout and equipment, extraction and odour control, gas safety interlocks, grease management, drainage and acoustic separation are designed in from the start. For Japanese BBQ and hot pot restaurants we deliver table grills at every seat, with the extraction and ventilation to suit. See Restaurant Fit-Out.

Retail stores. Store layouts are adapted to the brand's guidelines and the landlord's fit-out guide, including the shopfront zone, lease line, signage limits and the interface with the centre's sprinkler and fire alarm systems. See Shopfitting London.

Offices. Category A and Category B fit-outs, refurbishment of occupied floors, and landlord approvals in managed buildings.

Case study: Yakiniku Like, Westfield Stratford City

LCC was the design and build contractor for Yakiniku Like, a Japanese BBQ restaurant with a grill at every seat, inside Westfield Stratford City. We designed the restaurant, took the concept, detailed design, shopfront, signage and mechanical and electrical design through each stage of Westfield's review, and agreed the fire strategy and the ventilation, sprinkler and fire alarm changes with the centre's engineers before work began.

Construction took place inside the trading centre, behind a branded hoarding, with deliveries booked through the service yard. LCC acted as Principal Designer and Principal Contractor under CDM 2015, notified the project to the HSE, and held the centre's permits for hot works and work on live fire systems. The restaurant opened in December 2025 on the date agreed with the centre, and LCC continues to maintain it.

Other commercial design and build projects

• Haidilao Hot Pot, Bullring, Birmingham: full design and build of a large shopping-centre restaurant
• Haidilao Hotpot, The O2, London: refurbishment and fit-out in a busy entertainment venue
• Pop Mart, Oxford Street and Westfield Stratford City: design and build of flagship stores for an international brand
• Kintan Japanese BBQ, Oxford Circus: restaurant fit-out with smokeless grill tables and bespoke booth seating

How a project runs

1. Survey and brief: measured survey, review of the lease and the landlord's fit-out guide, and agreement of the brief
2. Concept design: layout and design intent, submitted for the landlord's concept approval
3. Detailed design: architectural, mechanical, electrical and fire strategy design, with specialist approvals
4. Approvals: Licence to Alter technical package, planning and advertisement consent where needed, building control
5. Construction price: prepared against the coordinated design, with scope and exclusions stated
6. Construction: site managed by our own site management team, with CDM documentation and landlord permits in place
7. Handover: testing and commissioning, certificates, as-built drawings and O&M manual for the client and the landlord, with maintenance available afterwards

Design first, price second

We do not price commercial projects from a site visit. The design, the building services and the client's choices on layout, equipment, lighting and finishes are agreed first, and the construction price is then prepared against coordinated drawings. This is the most reliable basis for a client's budget and avoids price changes once work has started.

Accreditations

ARB and RIBA registered architects, BIID membership, CHAS, Constructionline and SSIP.

Frequently asked questions

What is commercial design and build?

A procurement route in which one company is responsible for both the design and the construction of commercial premises, giving the client a single point of responsibility.

How is it different from a traditional tender?

In a traditional tender the design is completed first and then priced by contractors. In design and build, design and construction are developed together, so cost and buildability are controlled throughout and the overall programme is shorter.

Who is responsible for CDM?

On our design and build projects LCC acts as Principal Designer and Principal Contractor under the CDM Regulations 2015, and notifies the project to the HSE where required.

Can you work inside a shopping centre that is open to the public?

Yes. At Westfield Stratford City, for example, Yakiniku Like was built behind hoarding while the centre traded, under the centre's permits, delivery rules and working hours.

Can you take over a design prepared by our brand team?

Yes. We develop brand designs into technical drawings, landlord submissions and a completed fit-out that meets UK regulations.