OFFICES ARE MORE THAN HALF FULL FOR FIRST TIME IN A YEAR

LONDON’S offices are more than half full for the first time since the start of the pandemic as the return to desks gathers pace.

The landmark was passed on Thursday when data from analysts Metrikus, which uses sensors to detect how many people are moving around buildings, showed that offices were 50.51 per cent occupied. It was last above 50 per cent on March 12.

However, there were predictions today from one of the capital’s biggest office landlords that the pattern of work will never be the same again. David Lockyer, of property giant British Land, which owns 22.7 million sq ft of floor space, said the company was assuming that the average worker will spend a full day less a week in the office after the pandemic compared with before. It believes that the average number of days commuting will fall from about 4.2 days to 3.2, a shift to hybrid working brought about by the lockdowns and working from home experience.

But he said that this would be offset by strong employment growth and a demand for more spacious offices, meaning that the “overall net will only be a slight decrease in space that will not be nearly as dramatic as people might have thought a year ago”.

Michael Grant, chief operations officer at Metrikus, said: “Whether occupancy will continue to increase is uncertain with many workplaces opting for a hybrid approach of two or three days in the office and two days working from home.”

Government advice remains to work from home if possible but that is expected to be lifted on June 21.