My World: June 2021…

This is part of a series of articles where our contributors describe how they think things will look a year from now.

Flexible working will become a permanent and prominent part of office culture, bringing changes for the London property market

Who could have predicted at the beginning of 2020 that come Easter, a global pandemic would force the majority of London businesses out of the city and into home offices across the country? I certainly didn’t, yet here I am in my kitchen, in the midst of a stringent lockdown as part of a bid to stop the spread of covid-19.

The speed at which the virus spread, both in the UK and globally, meant many firms were simply not prepared. There was not sufficient warning time to enable them to implement the drastic transformation required to how they deliver their products or services.

In the property sector, social distancing measures have posed many practical obstacles when undertaking a transaction. Physical valuations are difficult or impossible to carry out, and there are concerns that any valuation given in the current climate would not accurately reflect the market value of a property. For solicitors, the once straightforward task of signing legal documents is proving a more complicated and costly process. 

I see now as an opportunity for businesses to understand what they are doing right and to embrace practices that make them more efficient organisations. By June 2021,