As the coronavirus pandemic has forced firms to work more flexibly, threatening traditional large office spaces in London, will tech talent make a lon

Will the Covid-19 crisis accelerate a shift in Tech talent out of London?

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2020-06-29 14:00:18

As the coronavirus pandemic has forced firms to work more flexibly, threatening traditional large office spaces in London, will tech talent make a long-term shift away from the capital? By Cath Everett Published: 26 Jun 2020 Barclays boss Jes Staley sent shockwaves through the banking industry at the end of April, when he said that…

Barclays boss Jes Staley sent shockwaves through the banking industry at the end of April, when he said that big, expensive city offices “may be a thing of the past”.

The Covid-19 lockdown situation was leading to a “long-term adjustment” of the bank’s “location strategy”, he explained, as it re-evaluated just how much office space was actually required when 70,000 of its staff around the world were able to work from home.

Jonathan Ratcliffe, lead broker at serviced office provider Offices.co.uk, then added fuel to the fire by declaring that “we’re witnessing the biggest shift of a generation”, as huge, centralised HQ buildings start to be replaced with a “new culture of flexible working and regionalisation of office space”.