What Is Cat A? Fit-Out Meaning and the IT You Need to Plan

If you are asking what is Cat A in the context of a new office, it is shorthand for a Category A fit-out: the base level of finish a landlord provides so a floor can be marketed and occupied. It typically covers raised floors, suspended ceilings, basic heating, cooling, lighting and fire detection. Desks, meeting rooms, reception and, crucially, most of the IT are not part of it.

That gap is where IT projects get into trouble. Fit-out budgets and programmes are often set by property and facilities teams, with IT brought in late. The result is comms rooms in the wrong place, too few data points and a connectivity order placed weeks behind the build.

This guide explains Cat A and Cat B in plain terms, then works through what your IT needs, in the order you need to decide it. It ends with an office move checklist you can adapt.

What is Cat A in an office fit-out?

Category A (Cat A) describes the shell-and-core-plus finish delivered by the landlord. Definitions vary slightly between agents and contractors, and the lease or agreement for lease is the document that counts. As a general guide, Banner UK's overview of Cat A and Cat B lists raised floors, suspended ceilings, basic mechanical and electrical services, air conditioning and ventilation, fire detection and simple lighting as typical Cat A items.

What you do not get is a working office. There are usually no partitions, no meeting rooms, no reception and no breakout space. Walls are plain and floor finishes are basic.

You may also see Cat A+. This is a middle option where the landlord adds some furniture, meeting rooms or IT infrastructure before the tenant arrives. It is a marketing term rather than a fixed standard, so ask exactly what is included and get it in writing before you plan around it.

Cat A vs Cat B: who is responsible for what

Cat B (Category B) is the tenant's fit-out, built on top of Cat A. It turns an empty floor into your workplace: partitioning, chosen flooring and lighting, reception, kitchens and tea points, furniture, branding and data cabling.

This is a guide, not a rule. Check the agreement for lease and the landlord's specification for the building before you assume anything is provided.

What IT is usually left for the tenant

In most Cat A buildings, the tenant is responsible for designing, buying and installing the following:

• Comms room or cabinet space and its power and cooling
• Structured cabling from the comms room to every desk, meeting room and device
• Internet connectivity and the router or firewall
• Switching and Wi-Fi
• Audio-visual equipment for meeting rooms
• Telephony, door entry, CCTV and printing, where relevant

If you are weighing whether to manage this yourself or hand it over, our guide to outsourced IT support vs in-house IT sets out the trade-offs.

Comms room, structured cabling and power

Decide the comms room location first, because everything else hangs off it. Check floor loading, cooling, access and distance to the building's risers. A cupboard with no ventilation is a common and costly mistake.

For cabling, plan cable runs against the furniture layout, not just the floor plan. Allow spare points for growth, hot desks, printers, access points and meeting room panels. Label every outlet and keep test certificates.

• Size the rack for switches, patch panels, firewall and cable management, with spare space
• Specify a UPS for core equipment and confirm the circuit it will sit on
• Agree who owns risers, containment and penetrations, and whether the landlord must approve them
• Confirm whether the cable specification suits the speeds you expect over the next several years

Power is a Cat B detail that gets missed. Floor boxes and comms room circuits must be on the electrician's drawings before first fix.

Cat A is not Cat6: clearing up the confusion

When a contractor says 'Cat 6 in a Cat A building', they mean a Cat6 cable installed in a base-fit-out shell. Make sure quotes spell out both.

Internet connectivity and lead times

Order connectivity as early as your lease allows. Fibre circuits to a new floor can involve a survey, route planning, permissions and sometimes civil works before engineers can install anything. Lead times vary by supplier, location and the type of circuit, so ask your provider for a dated plan rather than a general estimate.

Ofcom's statement on excess construction charges notes that communications providers have raised concerns about the speed and predictability of new Ethernet circuit provision, and that survey, engineering and test stages sit alongside any construction work. In practice, that means a late order can leave you moving into an office with no internet.

• Order a primary circuit as soon as the lease is signed
• Consider a second, diverse circuit or a 4G/5G backup for continuity
• Ask about interim connectivity for move day
• Confirm who holds the wayleave and building access permissions

Our managed cloud services team can help design connectivity around the cloud services you actually use.

Wi-Fi survey, AV and meeting rooms

Commission a Wi-Fi design once the Cat B layout is fixed. A predictive survey on the floor plan gives access point positions and cable requirements, and a validation survey after installation confirms coverage. Partitions, glass and lift cores all change radio behaviour.

For meeting rooms, agree the platform first (Microsoft Teams Rooms, Zoom or a mix), then specify screens, cameras, microphones and the data and power behind them. Cabling for AV is far cheaper before ceilings close than after. If Teams is central to how you work, our comparison of Microsoft Teams vs SharePoint explains where each fits.

Do not forget security. A new office is a chance to segment guest and corporate networks and review Cyber Essentials requirements for the new network.

Questions to put to the landlord and contractor

A short list of written answers early in the process avoids expensive variations later. Put these to the landlord's agent and the fit-out contractor before you commit.

• Which services are live at the floor, and where are the nearest risers and entry points for telecoms?
• Is there an approved list of telecoms or cabling contractors for the building?
• What are the rules for roof access, external antennas and wayleaves?
• Who is responsible for making good penetrations through fire-rated walls and floors?
• What are the access hours for out-of-hours cabling and move-day deliveries?
• What happens to cabling and comms room equipment at lease end? Some leases require reinstatement.

Reinstatement is easy to overlook. If your lease expects the floor returned to its original condition, cabling removal belongs in your exit budget.

Office move IT checklist

1. Before lease signature: read the landlord's specification and ask what Cat A includes for risers, power and containment.
2. Early design: agree comms room location, cabling plan, power and cooling with the fit-out contractor.
3. Order connectivity: place primary and backup circuit orders and track the survey and installation dates.
4. Hardware and licences: order switches, firewall, access points and AV, allowing for supplier delivery times.
5. During fit-out: inspect cabling and containment before ceilings close.
6. Testing: certify cabling, run the Wi-Fi validation survey and test failover.
7. Move plan: schedule device moves, telephony cut-over and a rollback option.
8. Day one: have engineers on site. Our onsite IT support can cover this.
9. Afterwards: update asset records and documentation, and review user feedback within the first fortnight.

Conclusion: plan the IT before the walls go up

So, what is Cat A? It is the landlord's base finish, and it leaves the IT, cabling and connectivity for you. Treat Cat B as an IT project as much as a design one, involve your provider before the contractor is appointed, and order circuits early.

If you are planning a move in Manchester, Nottingham or London, our managed IT support team can scope the IT requirements alongside your fit-out. Contact NetMonkeys to discuss your timeline.

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