Bespoke software development
in London
Magora is a London bespoke software development company. Our team works from the Tea Building in Shoreditch, and has built custom software for UK businesses since 2010. You meet the senior engineers who write the code, you see a working prototype before you commit, and the code and IP are yours. This page covers working with us in London; for the full service see bespoke software development in the UK.
Bespoke software development
in London.
Bespoke software development in London means designing and building software for one organisation's own processes, data and users instead of adapting a product made for everyone. At Magora a free working prototype takes 5–10 working days, Discovery from £3,000, a first release from £10,000 and a full system £25,000–£60,000 (2026 prices, GBP).
Off-the-shelf software is often the right answer. These are the three situations where London businesses tell us it is not.
The process is the advantage
Pricing logic, scheduling, compliance checks or approvals that a packaged product forces you to bend. Bespoke software turns that know-how into a system your team uses every day.
The spreadsheets have hit their limit
Several tools stitched together with exports, copy-paste and manual checks. One system with one source of truth removes the rework and the errors that come with it.
Licences cost more than ownership
Per-seat fees that grow with every hire, or features you pay for and never use.
Not sure which applies? The free prototype is where we find out with your real workflow. See also the bespoke vs off-the-shelf comparison on our UK bespoke software page.
What we build
for London organisations.
Custom software for the way your organisation works, built for scale, audit and a long life.
Business platforms & portals
Customer, partner and supplier portals, booking and ordering systems, with roles, permissions and an admin area your team runs itself. See customer portal development and bespoke web application development.
Internal & operations tools
Workflow apps, dashboards and back-office systems that replace spreadsheets and manual hand-offs. See bespoke business software.
Databases & data systems
One source of truth with roles, an audit trail and reporting. See bespoke database development.
CRM
A single customer record shaped around your sales and service process. See bespoke CRM development.
Finance & accounting systems
Billing, reconciliation, reporting and integrations with your accounting package. See bespoke accounting software.
Integrations, legacy & AI
Connecting your systems through APIs, modernising ageing software in stages and adding AI where it removes real work. See API integration services and AI and ML development.
Why a London team matters
(and when it does not).
The plain version, with no claims beyond the ones we can stand behind.
In the room when it helps
Discovery workshops, user interviews and sign-off meetings work better in a room. Ours happen in the Tea Building in Shoreditch, or at your office. Everything else runs on video calls, a shared backlog and a weekly demo.
UK working hours and UK law
Magora is the trading name of Thinking Fish Ltd (Companies House 03637036), registered in England and Wales. Contracts, GDPR and data-residency questions are answered by the team that will build the system.
The same senior engineers throughout
The same senior engineers from kickoff to handover. No offshore rotation and no hand-offs you did not agree to. In business since 2010, ISO 27001 and ISO 9001 certified, with verified client reviews on Clutch.
Where location does not matter. Once the scope is agreed, a London postcode is not what makes software good. If a supplier outside London answers the questions in our guide better, choose them: see how to choose a software development company in the UK, or the twelve questions for London. More about the team on our London software house page.
London bespoke software prices
(2026).
Published prices, so you can budget before you call. Our rates start from £49/hour per developer, and £65–£70/hour for a full team with QA and product ownership. Every engagement starts with a free working prototype.
A clickable, coded prototype of your core idea in 5–10 working days, before any paid work.
Two weeks with a senior Product Owner and Solution Architect: scope, architecture, a fixed estimate and a roadmap.
Most first releases land between £10,000 and £25,000: one or two core workflows in production.
Several roles, an admin area, reporting and integrations with the systems you already run.
Multi-role, audit-logged, integration-heavy platforms for regulated sectors.
Hosting and monitoring, SLAs, security updates and a steady roadmap of new features.
What 12 real 2026 estimates cost: first releases £11,000–£34,000 (median about £25,000), 6–8 weeks to build. Read the data in Software development cost in the UK (2026), or try the cost calculator for a first rough figure.
How a London bespoke
project runs.
Same senior engineers from kickoff to handover, weekly demos, and a checkpoint at every stage so the budget never surprises you.
Working prototype
5–10 working days · freeSend your brief; we build a clickable, coded prototype of the core workflow with a written analysis from a senior Product Owner.
Discovery
2 weeks · from £3,000We map your process, users and data, agree the scope line by line and hand over an architecture, a fixed estimate and a delivery plan.
Design
1–3 weeksScreens and user journeys for each role, tested with the people who will use the system before production code is written.
Build
Two-week sprintsWorking software every sprint, a demo every week and a shared board.
Testing
Every sprint, plus UATQA engineers test each sprint and run regression before every release.
Launch & support
OngoingDeployment to your cloud account, monitoring and backups, then a support retainer or a clean handover to your own team.
Bespoke software
we have built.
Four systems for UK organisations. Each shows the problem, what we built and the outcome as published on the case page. The budget line is the range on that case page for the scope (Magora pricing guide, 2026 prices), not the client invoice.
Grant Thornton: EMI scheme documents without the manual work
- Problem
- EMI scheme documents were produced by hand: slow, with no automation and no easy way to manage complex cases.
- Built
- A self-service web platform that generates tailored EMI documentation from client-supplied information, with workflow, case management and notifications.
- Outcome
- Clients and the firm handle complex cases through one guided, automated process, from document creation to close-out.
- Budget
- £80k–£500k+, scoped after Discovery.
Casual Films: one platform instead of separate tools
- Problem
- Producers and financiers switched between separate tools to run video projects, track expenses and revenue, and work with freelancers worldwide.
- Built
- A platform built from the ground up: freelancer accounts, invoicing and profiles, availability requests, product lists, rate cards, project management and a redesigned interface.
- Outcome
- External services consolidated in one place, with a clear view of project progress and less switching between tools and manual error.
- Budget
- £80k–£200k+, scoped after Discovery.
Pharm Card (EGIS): from hundreds of Excel files to one app
- Problem
- Each medical rep filled in hundreds of Excel files on pharmacy visits, and management had no live view of sales and contract performance.
- Built
- A native iOS app for iPad and a web application for senior staff, with GPS pharmacy lookup and an offline mode that syncs automatically.
- Outcome
- In daily use by the client's staff, with new features still being added.
- Budget
- £80k–£120k, typically 5–8 months.
AstraZeneca: configurable financial-report dashboards
- Problem
- Financial-report dashboards lacked customisation and displayed data in ways that made it hard to interpret.
- Built
- Configurable widgets for financial statements, automated chart generation, dynamic report customisation, live chat support and real-time updates.
- Outcome
- A user-friendly platform for in-depth financial analysis, with top managers getting the latest data promptly.
- Budget
- £80k–£500k+, scoped after Discovery.
Also: UFurniture Logistics (delivery and assembly platform), Rollio (enterprise data in plain language), Retrofit Navigator (grant eligibility). All projects →
What clients
say.
Verified reviews from our Clutch profile — 75 verified reviews, rated 4.7/5.
“Broader than just the code itself, the team strived to understand the entire project.”
“They're accessible, and it doesn't feel like I'm working with a faceless team.”
“We were very happy with the overall experience.”
London bespoke software:
the honest questions.
Choosing between suppliers? These are the twelve questions worth asking before you sign with anyone, including us.
Nick is Consulting Director at Magora and runs first calls and Discovery with new clients. He reviews the advice and recommendations on this page.
Pick a slot below
and let's talk.
No commitment, no charge. We'll review your project, scope the next step, and tell you the realistic price + timeline. Free working prototype + senior PO analysis before any paid engagement.
Bespoke software
on the brief?
Send us your brief: a free working prototype of your core idea in 5–10 days, or a 30-minute call with a senior architect who tells you what the build really takes.