Cobots are coming to a workplace near you May 19, 2021 The word ‘robot’ is a relative newcomer to the English language. It was the brainchild of Czech playwright Karel Čapek who introduced it in his 1920 hit play Rossum’s Universal Robots. The word is drawn from the old Slavic word, robota, which means “servitude” “forced labor” or “drudgery”. By contrast the word ‘cobot’ is a very modern portmanteau [...]
London offices get facelift in lockdown despite pandemic May 17, 2021 New construction starts in London have jumped by one-fifth in the six months to March 2021, despite the pandemic and changing working practices, research by Deloitte has found. New office starts are up to 3.1 million square feet, Deloitte found, with 32 new schemes breaking ground during the six months. More than half (56%) of [...]
The future of the office – What will be the ‘new normal’? May 14, 2021 As we slowly contemplate a return to “normal” life following the disruption caused by the Government’s response to Covid-19, office-based employers are trying to figure out what that return looks like for their businesses. There is a real difference of opinion, both between sectors and in-sector, with some firms advocating that everyone should immediately return [...]
City Corporation releases new CGI images of the future City skyline May 6, 2021 The City of London Corporation has today (6 May) released updated images visualising how the Square Mile’s skyline will look by the mid 2020’s. The new images capture all major developments which have been resolved to approve by the City Corporation’s Planning and Transportation Committee over the past 12 months including 50 Fenchurch Street, 55 Gracechurch [...]
Mayor of London election: Where do the major candidates stand on the Covid recovery? May 5, 2021 With the 6 May mayor of London election just one day away, City A.M. is producing a four-piece series on where the four leading candidates stand on different issues. Today, we look at Covid recovery policies from the candidates from Labour, the Conservatives, the Green Party and the Liberal Democrats. Sadiq Khan The incumbent mayor [...]
Corona Impact Series: How the chronicle of a storyteller from Dalston turned into a virtual tale April 30, 2021 In this series, City A.M. looks at the financial and economic impact of the ongoing pandemic on a range of small and medium-sized businesses across London. This week: How a creative provider of experience in East London was pushed to go entirely digital overnight, without losing its authenticity and immersiveness. “As Covid hit and the bottom fell out [...]
City Corporation unveils action plan to be world’s most innovative, inclusive and sustainable centre April 27, 2021 The Square Mile must adapt to post-pandemic economic and social trends in order to remain a world-leading ecosystem, according to a new report published today by the City of London Corporation. The Square Mile: Future City, produced by the City Corporation’s Recovery Taskforce inpartnership with Oliver Wyman, sets out a vision for the next five [...]
Winkworth confident despite profit hit as London market ‘swings back to sales’ April 8, 2021 Winkworth today said the housing market has swung back towards sales as buyers seek extra room for workspace while maintaining access to central London. The estate agent, presenting its full year trading update, reported a six per cent fall in pre-tax profit last year to £1.53m. Revenues dipped slightly to £6.41m, while the firm declared [...]
Over half of households now commuting to work again March 25, 2021 More than half of all households could now be travelling to work again, analysis of their daily energy usage shows. According to challenger energy brand Bulb, about 54 per cent of households are now commuting into work, up 13 per cent from the beginning of January. Using data from its smart meters, the company is [...]
Manpower CEO: Remote working isn’t unsustainable but it’s certainly not desirable March 24, 2021 Reports on the death of office working have been exaggerated, according to Manpower CEO Jonas Prising. However, so too has the backlash against remote working exemplified by the bosses of Barclays and Goldman Sachs (who labelled the work-from-home era an abheration). So, one year on from the Prime Minister’s orders to “work from home if [...]