It’s that time of year, when Business Link Magazine invites the region’s business leaders to offer up their predictions for the year ahead.
It has become something of a tradition, given that we’ve been doing this now for over 30 years.
Here we speak to Berta Toth, head of operations at Perrymead Estates.
As an East Midlands property developer, we’ve monitored closely how the pandemic has shifted behaviours, focusing our investments accordingly. The lesson we’ve learnt is how important it is to apply an agile approach. While we predict that 2022 will welcome a period of stabilisation, businesses will need to be dynamic if they are to fare well over the coming months.
Taking a look at commercial lettings, while COVID was a controversial catalyst towards hybrid working models, we believe these will endure throughout 2022 and beyond. The traditional office 9 to 5 is unlikely to return, that’s evident, and it’s a reality developers have to accept. Pivoting the offer to suit this landscape is vital, so for instance, we expect to see a rise in flexible workspaces and regional hubs, accompanied by lower demand for long term leases of large square footage units.
Companies will need to make it attractive to lure people away from their homes. We believe there is huge opportunity in Nottingham for multi-use buildings, where people can collaborate – working together ad hoc and as needed – which requires good transport links into the city, cafés and coffee bars that double as meeting spaces, hotdesking with superfast wifi and printing facilities. We recognised this early in 2020 and tore up our plans for our latest commercial venture in the Lace Market, launching Stoney Street Studios to appeal to this hybrid audience. Our next project will be called Hockley HQ and will also offer this kind of creative, vibrant, collaborative experience that we think the city will benefit from.
From a residential perspective, the market is buoyant and we don’t anticipate this to change. Despite cost of living increases and inflation, rents continue to rise too. In fact, it is reported that the average rental in the UK is now around £1,000 per month, which is an 8.3% year-on-year increase. Demand among renters has prompted the highest growth in 13 years.
While we’ve witnessed a small departure from city living from those embracing work from home and pursuing a more rural lifestyle, our belief is that this trend is shortlived. It’s vitally important that office workers and students feel compelled to return to our streets to drive our local economy. As business confidence is beginning to be reinvigorated, we’re witnessing positive signs of pandemic recovery, and we hope this leads to a renaissance for Nottingham by the summer. It’s welcome news that Nottingham will benefit from the Levelling up Fund – it’s to all of our benefit that Nottingham is a green and sustainable destination.
