Exclusive: Central London will not be busy any time soon, says Sadiq Khan September 6, 2020 Sadiq Khan has admitted central London will not be “anywhere near” pre-Covid levels for months to come as he prepares to survey businesses about their back to office plans. The London mayor told City PM in an exclusive interview – released tomorrow in full – that office and public transport social distancing rules meant central [...]
Home working could cost UK economy £15bn a year, PwC warns September 6, 2020 Home working could cost the UK economy up to £15.3bn a year due to the knock-on effect on office cleaners and security guards as well as nearby cafes and coffee shops. The latest research by accountancy firm PwC showed that the one per cent drop in GDP would be caused by a cut in spending [...]
Pret a Manger boss says shift to home working will become permanent September 4, 2020 The boss of sandwich chain Pret a Manger said the shift towards home working during the coronavirus pandemic will become permanent. Pano Christou, who was appointed chief executive in September last year, said workers will come into the office less often than they did before the Covid-19 crisis. Christou said Pret needs to adapt to [...]
More retail job losses forecast unless office workers return, industry warns September 4, 2020 More store closures and retail job losses are expected unless office workers return and consumers are encouraged to visit city centres, a retail industry body warned this morning. Despite an uptick in footfall in the final week of the month due to back to school shopping and the final days of the Eat Out to [...]
Government needs clearer ‘back to work’ message, says senior Tory MP September 3, 2020 The government has to give clearer and more consistent advice on people going back to their workplaces, according to a prominent Tory backbencher. Sir Graham Brady, who is chair of the 1922 Committee of Conservative backbenchers, said the message coming from ministers was unclear and that people needed “common sense advice”. The government was due [...]
Commuter numbers rise to highest level since end of lockdown September 3, 2020 The number of people travelling to work rose to its highest level since the end of lockdown, new data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) showed today, as the government seeks to encourage workers back to the office. According to the ONS, the proportion of working adults who travelled to their place of work [...]
London Tories call for Waterloo and City Tube line to reopen September 3, 2020 A group of Conservative London MPs and London Assembly members have called for the Waterloo and City Tube line to reopen in a bid to boost the number of people returning to central London. The line – which travels directly between Bank and Waterloo stations – was closed when the country was put into the [...]
City workers slowly beginning to return to office after lockdown September 2, 2020 Commuters are slowly starting to return to London’s business districts after the coronavirus lockdowns, new data from Transport for London has shown. As of last Friday, 17,852 passengers entered and exited Bank tube station in the City, ten times more than the 1,800 who did so at the height of the pandemic. The figure is [...]
Lloyd’s of London opens its doors for the first time since March September 2, 2020 Lloyd’s of London has reopened its doors with enhanced safety measures after nearly six months of remote working. Employees returned to the office on Tuesday after months of insurance contract negotiations taking place online and over the phone. In June the insurer, which is one of the last face-to-face financial markets, announced plans to reopen [...]
Can office workers save the day for local businesses ravaged by Covid-19? September 2, 2020 The sudden shift to remote working put in place by the majority of UK businesses may herald the end of the office, at least as we know it. Five months and multiple government campaigns later, and the shift to the kitchen table continues, seemingly unabated. According to a survey from US bank Morgan Stanley, just [...]
