Predictions for 2022: Brace yourself (part forty-four)

James White

Co-founder, March and White Design

2022 will be the year hospitality becomes a major part of office development design. This has been a growing theme, with more and more developers dedicating a significant part of their buildings to amenities in recent years, and the Covid crisis accelerated it. We believe that not only will office tenants be looking for higher quality, larger spaces than they were pre-Covid, but also that they will want a significant percentage of that square footage to be dedicated to amenities that bring real value-add to their corporate culture. However, enticing staff back to the office will require more than flashy neon lights, fancy coffee bars and the obligatory ping pong table. These spaces will need to be designed using hospitality-based principles of guest experience, demonstrating a real understanding of the people that make the company. The challenge will be to create amenities that are flexible, but custom-designed for their specific users.

Michael Dong

CEO, Investar

We expected to see a Covid-related correction in 2021. However, the reality is that the property market continued to move from strength to strength, supported by a host of positive public sector initiatives on funding, the levelling up agenda and investment in core infrastructure. Our sales are up due to exceptional demand both domestic and overseas. We foresee this continuing in 2022 as we see the return of liveliness to our town and city centres. Any instability will likely bring an equal amount of opportunities. There will be challenges and headwinds. Build cost inflation is something that in particular we need to manage carefully. The key is to buy sensibly and to manage the cost to maximise the value while not compromising on quality. This is a year to be bold in decision making and to take advantage of opportunities as they present themselves.

Pete Rose

Chief revenue officer, Forbury

There is real hope that 2022 will be the year that the real estate sector finally grasps the nettle on valuations. There is growing disquiet about the accuracy of assessments – accelerated by the shifting dynamics of the last two years – and increasing calls to embrace discounted cashflow valuations. It will be particularly interesting to see how the sector responds to the conclusions of Peter Pereira Gray’s review of investment valuations for the RICS. Our software incorporates discounted cashflow because it improves accuracy, and ultimately it is client demand for greater insight that will drive real change across the industry. Away from valuations, I think we all hope that the light at the end of the Covid-19 tunnel proves to be real and not a mirage. There will be bumpy times ahead, but we are in a much more encouraging place than a year ago.

Dougie Lawson

Director, Turkey Mill Business Park

I believe that 2022 will see confidence returning to sectors of the market where there has been considerable speculation of their imminent decline. After a long period of working from home we believe that it has been much easier for employers to persuade the local working population back to work involving a short commute by car, rather than a long train and tube journey, coupled with the extra expense. As the problems posed by Covid recede that the emphasis on ESG will grow such that the property industry will have to actively respond. Despite the original part of our estate being Grade-II listed we have been refurbishing offices to achieve EPC ratings of C, while we are about to install our first communal electric charging points. With the River Len running through the estate we are investigating converting a redundant turbine to generate hydro-electricity. We start 2022 in an optimistic frame of mind.

Continue to part 45 here