Charles Begley, executive director of London Property Alliance, told Property Week there had been a surge in physical workplace attendance in recent days.
“The return of workers to City and West End offices is gathering pace as we anticipated, with many of our members reporting occupation rates of up to 40% to 60% in recent days,” he said.
“It is clear from the level of deals and ongoing confidencecin the development pipelinecthat prime office space across central London continues to be in high demand.”
Paul Williams, chief executive of Derwent London, reported a similar uptick. “We’ve seen a doubling of our office occupation in the last week compared with the first week of July,” he said.
“Definitely the West End is busier. It’s not back to pre-Covid levels but we’re expecting levels to continue to rise.”
Over in the Square Mile, James Strevens, head of City leasing at BNP Paribas Real Estate, said: “There was a slow start on Monday, which surprised me a bit, but by Wednesday it was noticeably bigger. The trains are super busy, all the retail is busier and our office is as well. We’re definitely moving in the right direction.”
Catherine McGuinness, policy chair at the City of London Corporation, described the scenes in the City as “buzzing”.
She added: “The virus has not gone away, but we must learn to live with it. Many employees themselves are eager to return to the office for at least part of the week, and their return will deliver the footfall needed for the hospitality and retail sectors.”
Evidence from Transport for London also shows a rise in commuters. Between 7am and 8am on Monday, there were 298,600 ‘taps’ on the Tube, up 33% on the previous week, while on London’s buses there were 327,600 taps, marking a 73% week-on-week rise.
Source: Office - propertyweek.com
