CoStar alternative for occupier-led BD

A CoStar alternative — built around occupiers, not buildings.

CoStar is the property industry’s system of record: buildings, availability, deals, comparables. Signal starts from the other end — the occupier. Not “what space exists”, but “which companies are about to need space, or spend on the space they have”.

771

London occupiers in market for a move, fit-out or refurb right now

scoring 80+ — moving imminently

382

lease expiries & breaks inside 18 months

155,131

London companies tracked

Live figures from Signal’s London office statistics · figures update weekly · computed 8 August 2026

Side by side

Different tools, different questions.

	CoStar	Signal
What it is	Commercial-property data platform — buildings, availability, lease comps, market analytics.	Occupier-movement intelligence — which companies are about to change their office, and when.
Unit of record	The building / the deal.	The occupier — a named company with a score, a why-now and a contact.
The question it answers	“What’s the market doing? What space is available? What did it let for?”	“Which companies does my BD team call this week, before the requirement is public?”
Timing	Records deals largely once they surface to the market.	Reads the events BEFORE the requirement goes public — lease clocks, planning, filings, hiring.
Audience	Agents, investors, landlords, researchers.	Fit-out, design, furniture, AV/IT, relocation, FM — and agents hunting occupier-rep mandates early.
Best for	Understanding the market and the stock.	Filling a BD pipeline with timed occupier leads.

Honestly, though

Agents often run both: CoStar for stock, comps and market intelligence; Signal for spotting which occupiers to pitch for the mandate before it’s a requirement. Different ends of the same transaction.

Where the leads come from

Public record in, scored shortlist out.

Spot

HM Land Registry lease events, Companies House filings, local-authority planning, hiring and growth — read continuously across 155,131 London companies.

Score

Every company is ranked 0–100 by how strong, recent and combined its signals are. 60+ is in market; 80+ is imminent. Scores re-run weekly.

Act

Your dashboard opens on your patch: ranked companies, the why-now in one line, timing window, and a decision-maker to call.

FAQ

Questions, answered.

Does Signal have building or availability data?+

No — deliberately. Signal reads occupier-side signals (leases, planning, filings, growth) and building context where it explains the occupier (floor area, EPC), but it is not a stock database. If you need availability and comps, that’s CoStar’s job.

Can agents use Signal for occupier rep?+

Yes — it’s one of the core audiences. Knowing a company’s lease event 12+ months out is exactly the window for winning the stay-vs-go mandate.

Where does Signal’s lease data come from?+

HM Land Registry registered-lease records, combined with Companies House and local-authority planning — public record, refreshed continuously, scored weekly.