London financial district plans to lure in small firms
The City of London Corporation has pledged to ‘reinvent itself ’ by encouraging small businesses and artists to ‘re-enter the city centre’, as the capital attempts to shake off the economic damage caused by the relentless increase of Covid-19.
In a five-year target to reinvigorate London, the Corporation has drawn up plans to motivate small businesses and artists to return to the capital “by providing hives of affordable work space and access to basic infrastructure.”
The Corporation said it wants a fifth of office tenants to be new to the Square Mile (the financial district) by 2025, while it vowed to increase weekend and evening visitors to the capital by 50 per cent over the next five years.
The plans are part of an attempt by the City to “reinvent itself”, as the capital seeks to maintain its position as a worldleading business district in the wake of the pandemic.
Policy chair at the City of London Corporation, Catherine Mcguinness, said: “London is today facing major challenges.
Coronavirus, the UK has exited from the European Union and increasing protectionism across the globe are all threats to the capital’s role as an international business hub. We must reimagine London in order to seize the moment.”
The comments from Mcguinness came after a Lords EU subcommittee report had warned, some while back, that London would be at risk of losing its footing as a global professional services hub.
The Lords report cautioned that Britain’s £225bn professional services industry had to be protected. City of London report proposed boosting investment in tech firms to “ensure London’s future as the pre-eminent hub for financial services, professional services, and tech firms the world over”.
It suggested promoting the finance watchdog’s tech sandboxes, which allow firms to draw up software without being subject to usual regulator’s scrutiny, while also increasing the use of tech across different industries including legal services.
“Investment in London-based tech firms is on track to reach an all-time high, even while many of London’s small businesses face collapse,” the report said.
The City acknowledged some threat to the capital’s businesses posed by Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s orders to work from home where possible.
“As terrible a period as this is, we have seen how resilient and innovative businesses, and their workers have been, adopting new ways of working and embedding technological change,” the report said. It came after City of London chair Mcguinness said it was “absolutely critical that London moves as one in tackling this wretched virus and to keep the economy running as much as saving lives”.
She added: “A blanket recommendation to work from home risks stalling the capital’s recovery and damage long-term competitiveness. Hibernating through the winter is not an option for our economy.”
Hopefully by the end of winter the current vaccination programme will have made considerable difference.
Despite this uncertain and difficult backdrop, many investors are turning to property investment ahead of any looming recession.
Just over half of investors believe UK real estate is a sound investment regardless of Brexit and Covid-19.
Prospects for real estate and investment opportunities in the capital have seen particular improvement, according to a recent report from the Urban Land Institute. It described London as a “stalwart” and places London in second place across Europe’s major cities as a go-to destination for property investment.
Chief executive of FJP Investment, Jamie Johnson, said: “This is important – any attempt to stimulate investment and economic growth will be boosted by a vibrant property market. As such, it is vital for the government to implement policies that sustain this interest over the long-term.” (The writer is our foreign correspondent based in the UK)
THE CORPORATION HAS DRAWN UP PLANS TO MOTIVATE SMALL BUSINESSES AND ARTISTS TO RETURN TO THE CAPITAL “BY PROVIDING HIVES OF AFFORDABLE WORK SPACE AND ACCESS TO BASIC INFRASTRUCTURE”