Commercial Building Works · Manchester & Greater Manchester
Commercial Builders
In Manchester — Fit-Outs,
Extensions, Managed Builds.
Shopfits, salon and café fit-outs, light commercial extensions and managed commercial builds across Greater Manchester — programmed around trading hours, finished on the date we signed up to.
FMB Member · Fully Insured (£2m PL & EL) · Fixed Written Quotes
Service Overview
Commercial Building Works —
The Brief, In Plain English.
What It Is
Commercial building works covers retail and salon shopfits, café and restaurant builds, light industrial fit-outs, office refurbishments, commercial extensions and managed commercial new build. We handle the full scope under one main contract — strip-out, structural, M&E, partitions, ceilings, floors, joinery, decoration and signage coordination.
Who It's For
Independent retailers and operators opening or refitting a unit; landlords delivering shell-and-core or Cat-A fit; multi-site operators rolling out brand standards; building owners refurbishing offices or repurposing space; clients needing one accountable contractor rather than five sub-trades.
When You Need It
Lease signed and design finalised, between tenancies during void periods, during planned closure for refurbishment, or as part of a phased programme that keeps the business trading through the work. Out-of-hours and weekend working available where the site demands it.
Why It Matters
Commercial work fails on programme certainty more than on construction quality. Every day a unit isn't trading is revenue lost; every day a fit-out drags is rent on an unproductive lease. A contractor running a real programme — sequenced trades, called-off materials, daily progress reporting — is the difference between opening on the date you advertised and refunding deposits.
What Happens If You Wait
The Cost Of
Doing Nothing.
Commercial overruns cost more than the construction. Loss of trading days, rent on closed units, staff on payroll with nothing to do, marketing already booked for an opening date that slips — the consequence dwarfs the build cost.
Risks Of Ignoring It
- →Opening date slipping past the marketing — flyers and adverts wasted, social-media build-up dies.
- →Failed commercial gas / electrical / fire inspections on completion — can't trade until rectified.
- →Landlord licence-to-alter compliance missed — costs at lease end, deductions from deposit.
- →Sub-contractor coordination failures — flooring laid before final M&E test, ceilings closed before fire stop sign-off.
- →Disability and accessibility compliance failures — DDA / Equality Act work needed retroactively.
Common Mistakes Customers Make
- ×Awarding to lowest tender without checking programme realism or recent commercial references.
- ×Splitting the package between five trades and trying to coordinate as the operator — guaranteed slip.
- ×Skipping mechanical and electrical design — fit-out trades winging it on power and ventilation specs.
- ×Not building in contingency for surveys behind plasterboard — old commercial units always hide one surprise.
Our Process
First Call To
Final Sign-Off.
01
Design & Spec Review
Architect / interior designer drawings, mechanical and electrical specs, landlord licence-to-alter, fire strategy and accessibility review. Buildability flagged before tender.
02
Fixed Tender & Programme
Itemised fixed-price tender, week-by-week Gantt against the opening date, payment schedule and provisional sums. Signed contract before works begin.
03
Strip-Out & First Fix
Existing fit-out stripped, structural changes formed, first-fix M&E, partitions framed and boarded, fire stopping recorded.
04
Finishes & Second Fix
Ceilings, flooring, joinery, decoration, sanitaryware, kitchen / bar install, signage coordination, second-fix M&E with certificates.
05
Snag, Handover & Trade
Snag list closed, commercial gas / electrical certs issued, fire risk assessment, landlord licence sign-off, keys handed over ready to trade.
Credentials
What Stands
Behind The Work.
Fully Insured
£2m public liability and £2m employers' liability cover.
FMB Members
Federation of Master Builders — verified profile.
Structural Work In-House
Carried out by Ultra Build's own team — not subcontracted out.
Garden & External Works
Handled in-house alongside the main build.
NAPIT-Registered Electricians
Electrical work carried out by our NAPIT-registered specialist subcontractors, with certification on completion.
Gas Safe-Registered Engineers
Gas work carried out by our Gas Safe-registered specialist subcontractors, with certification on completion.
The Team
Around 7 full-time staff, and 20+ including long-standing subcontractors we've worked with for 5+ years.
Why It's Worth It
What You
Actually Get.
Opening Date Hit
Programme built backwards from the opening date with float built in. Reported weekly so any slip is visible early enough to recover.
One Contract, One Accountability
One company holds the whole scope — no operator chasing six trades for the same answer.
Out-Of-Hours Working
Weekend and overnight working available where the site requires — phased programmes that keep the business trading through major elements.
Compliance Built In
Commercial electrical (NICEIC), gas (Gas Safe commercial), fire stopping, DDA / Equality Act and food-safe finishes all designed into the spec, not added at the end.
Landlord-Ready Handover
Documented O&M pack, as-builts where relevant, certificates and warranties — everything needed for landlord sign-off and lease compliance.
Workmanship Guarantee
Written Into
The Contract.
Every Ultra Build Northwest contract carries a workmanship guarantee in writing. It covers defects with the structural build and plumbing issues such as faulty fittings — not just a verbal promise.
10
Years
On Roofs
2
Years
On Extensions
Up To
5
Years
On Internal Renovation Defects
In Detail
Commercial Building Works —
Every Variation Covered.
Materials, methods and the situations each variation applies to — so you know what you're buying before you buy it.
Working across
Manchester · Cheshire · Oldham · Salford · Stockport · Alderley Edge · Altrincham & Hale
Full Service Area MapRetail Shopfits
Fashion, gift, specialist retail and convenience unit fit-outs — fronts, internal partitions, ceilings, lighting, flooring, counters, stockroom and back-of-house. Brand-standard rollouts where applicable. Programmed around landlord access and centre management.
Salon, Beauty & Wellness Fit-Outs
Hair salons, beauty studios, barbers, nail bars and wellness clinics — washing positions with plumbing and waste, treatment rooms with acoustic separation, lighting designed for clients in front of mirrors, retail display areas. CIBSE ventilation rates met for treatment spaces.
Café, Restaurant & Bar Builds
Front of house and back-of-house — kitchen extraction, grease traps, gas runs, refrigeration plant, bar service runs, customer WCs to BS6465. Coordinated with commercial gas, fire and EHO requirements.
Office Refurbishments & Cat-A / Cat-B Fit-Outs
Demountable partitions, suspended ceilings, raised access floors, comfort cooling coordination, data and power floor boxes, breakout areas and tea-points. Programmed around occupier hours where the floor is occupied during refurbishment.
Light Commercial Extensions & Managed Builds
Single and two-storey commercial extensions for trading premises, MOT bays, workshop and storage units. Managed builds where the client wants a single accountable main contractor for a defined commercial scope.
Residential vs Commercial Differences
Commercial work runs to faster programmes with bigger consequences for slip, tighter compliance regimes (commercial gas, NICEIC, DDA, fire stopping records), and different finishing materials (commercial-grade flooring, fire-rated linings). Different mindset, same trade quality.
Questions
Straight
Answers.
Cost, timeline, guarantees, lifespan, emergency availability — the questions everyone asks, answered before you call.
Ask YoursHow much does a commercial fit-out cost in Manchester?
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Greater Manchester 2026: standard retail fit-out £900–£1,500 per m² depending on spec; salon and beauty fit-out £1,200–£2,000 per m² with plumbing and treatment-room build; café and restaurant £1,500–£2,800 per m² with commercial kitchen and customer WCs; office Cat-B £700–£1,300 per m². Fixed itemised tender against your drawings.
How long does a commercial fit-out take?
+
Typical retail unit 4–8 weeks. Salon 5–9 weeks. Café 8–14 weeks (commercial kitchen sign-off drives the back end). Office Cat-B 6–12 weeks depending on size. Week-by-week programme issued with the tender.
Can you work out of hours to keep the unit trading?
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Yes — evening, overnight and weekend working available, with the appropriate cost premium. We've delivered fit-outs around active trading hours on multi-tenanted sites.
Do you handle landlord licence-to-alter and lease compliance?
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Yes — we coordinate with the landlord's surveyor, submit drawings for consent, work to landlord's contractor standards (including out-of-hours, hot-works permits, dilapidation protection), and deliver the documented handover the landlord requires for sign-off.
Are your electricians and gas engineers commercially qualified?
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Yes — NICEIC commercial-registered electricians and Gas Safe commercial-registered engineers, with documented test certificates issued on completion.
Can you build commercial extensions as well as fit-outs?
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Yes — light commercial extensions (workshop, retail, salon expansions, mezzanines) are part of our scope. Larger commercial new build is delivered under managed-contractor terms — see new build construction.
What documentation do you provide on handover?
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O&M pack as standard: electrical certs (EICR / EIC), gas commissioning certs, fire risk assessment, fire-stopping register, asbestos register (where survey done), as-built drawings where relevant, material warranties.
Do you guarantee the work?
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Yes — 12-month workmanship guarantee on the build, plus all material and equipment warranties registered in the client's name.
Do you serve all of Greater Manchester for commercial work?
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Yes — Manchester, Salford, Stockport, Oldham and Cheshire. See service areas.
Next Step
Open On The Date You Advertised.
Free site survey across Greater Manchester, fixed written quote — no obligation. FMB member, fully insured with £2m public liability and £2m employers' liability, Manchester-based.
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