How Decants Lose Money and How Smart Rental Stops the Waste

Decants are designed to be temporary. They are intended to bridge the gap between offices, refurbishments or lease transitions.

In reality, they often become one of the most expensive moments in a workplace lifecycle.

In workplace terms, a decant refers to the temporary relocation of teams while an office is refurbished, reconfigured or prepared for long-term occupation. Decants can last a few weeks or extend across several months, often involving short-term space, temporary layouts and fast procurement decisions made under tight timelines.

Under that pressure, teams are forced to act quickly. Furniture is sourced fast, layouts are estimated early, and long-term implications are rarely considered. By the time the permanent workspace is ready, the decant has already absorbed more budget than expected.

The cost rarely feels visible at first, but it builds quietly.

The Initial Rush Creates Long-Term Problems

At the start of a decant, speed becomes the dominant factor.

Procurement teams must furnish entire floors within weeks. Headcount figures are provisional. Hybrid attendance patterns remain uncertain. Space planning is often based on best guesses rather than confirmed data.

In this environment, furniture is frequently purchased outright.

That decision feels efficient at the time, but it locks the business into assets designed for a short-term scenario. Once teams move again, many items no longer suit the space they are heading into.

Furniture bought for urgency quickly loses relevance.

Where the Real Financial Loss Appears

The largest decant costs rarely sit on the original furniture order. Storage fees begin once items no longer fit the new workplace. Transportation is paid repeatedly as furniture moves between sites. Additional purchases follow when layouts evolve or capacity changes.

Office pods and booths often highlight this problem most clearly.

Pods purchased for one building may not align with ceiling heights, services or layouts elsewhere. Instead of improving productivity, they become stranded assets with limited resale value.

These inefficiencies compound, turning temporary solutions into permanent overhead.

Why Rental Fits the Reality of Decants

Decants introduce uncertainty from day one, and that uncertainty is where inefficiencies begin.

When furniture is purchased outright, every change creates friction. Delays in delivery, unsuitable layouts and multiple moves all contribute to decant inefficiencies that quietly drain budget and time. These issues often impact teams directly, leading to lost productivity as staff work around temporary office furniture setups that were never designed to last.

Office Furniture Rental removes that pressure.

With Fluid’s rental scheme, furniture is delivered, installed, moved and collected in line with each project phase. Quantities can increase or reduce as occupancy changes, and layouts can adapt without triggering replacement purchases or storage costs.

Because rental operates on a zero CapEx basis, budgets remain protected during periods of transition. There is no capital tied up in furniture that may only be needed for a few months.

At the same time, rental supports sustainability goals. Much of the furniture supplied forms part of Fluid’s high-quality reused stock, kept in circulation across multiple projects rather than sitting idle or being sent to landfill.

Instead of forcing decisions too early, rental allows the workspace to evolve naturally as the decant progresses.

Furniture-as-a-Service Brings Structure to Uncertainty

Furniture-as-a-Service creates consistency during disruption.

By aligning furniture terms with lease lengths and project durations, Furniture-as-a-Service removes the pressure to predict future requirements perfectly.

Office pods and booths can be added when noise becomes an issue. Collaboration zones can be rebalanced as teams settle. Furniture can be refreshed or replaced without restarting procurement cycles.

This flexibility allows workplace strategies to mature naturally instead of being frozen by early assumptions.

For procurement teams, it also means reduced capital exposure and far greater budget control.

Reducing Waste While Improving Performance

Decants generate significant furniture waste across the UK.

Items are disposed of simply because they no longer fit the next space. Perfectly usable products are removed long before the end of their functional life.

Fluid’s circular model, FluidSpace Flex keeps furniture in use across multiple projects. Returned items are refurbished and redeployed, reducing embodied carbon and supporting ESG commitments without compromising workplace quality.

Sustainability improves not through sacrifice, but through smarter planning.

A Smarter Way to Approach Temporary Space

Decants will always introduce disruption.

They do not need to introduce financial loss.

With rental, leasing and Furniture-as-a-Service, temporary workplaces remain flexible, professional and productive from move-in to move-out.

From agile desk layouts to acoustic pods and collaboration booths, Fluid helps organisations manage change without waste, storage headaches or unnecessary capital spend.

Temporary space should support progress, not leave behind expensive consequences.

Get in touch with our team for free, expert advice on flexible furniture, rental and workplace solutions designed to adapt as your space, teams and plans change.