Of course I’m looking forward to getting out and
meeting my clients and prospective clients when the time is right but for now, it’s more about finding my feet and settling in and allowing my workload to pick up gradually over the next few months.
What lessons have been learned over the past few months about the way we all do business? Historically, a lot of firms, including some law firms, have been nervous of remote working. Tat was may- be due to a lack of trust either in people or in systems, or because they feel that teams need fixed office in- teraction. Due to the immediate effect of lockdown, businesses were forced into a new way of working and there has been a realisation in lots of service led businesses that you can actually create something that works better for everyone which should lead to a more flexible working environment for the future. While I don’t think that we work in an envi-
ronment where everyone works from home, I believe there will be a shift in working practices, where businesses feel they can be more flexible but understanding at the same time the need for a business hub to bring people together, that can’t be underestimated, the ability to create a community where the teams can work together and have those spontaneous moments are really important as business and culture develops. Working remotely doesn’t make this easy.
You specialise in real estate, a sector that has its own specific issues at the moment. How can you help? Te long-term effects on the property market re- main to be seen. Tere is going to be a lot of renego- tiation to do for both Landlords and Tenants as they look towards the future. Te decision though for the services sector will be measured and not kneejerk.
Businesses may feel they don’t need all the space they had before and therefore negotiation with Landlords will be key. If the ability is not part of the contractual arrangement, then it could be that landlords will need to be prepared to be flexible. Te balance of power may well shift in the short term, when tenants decide they don’t need to be paying premium rents for space and want to negotiate. Milton Keynes has a large number of professional services firms and there’s been a great need for office space, but a lot of companies will want to readdress their property needs as the new normal becomes reality. A lot of help has been provided for the short term, during lockdown,
giving tenants protection against landlords demanding rent or threaten- ing eviction, and that has been extended for another three months, but at the end of this period the real work is going to start on bringing landlords and tenants together to find the best solution for everyone. Government help has been important during the height of the pandemic, but when it is withdrawn, people will have a lot of decisions to make.
How do you see the future for the local business community? I think what they have experienced during COVID-19 will make firms think about the way their businesses are structured. Tat might be things like whether they need all their staff in the office every day; or a positive view of the environmental effects of what has changed over the past 3 months, the need for less commuting and possibly they may need fewer parking spaces, businesses may take this opportunity to reassess their carbon footprint. In general, I think a lot of people have realised the way businesses
have traditionally worked are not sustainable in this current climate. Te immediate nature of Covid19 has forced business to adapt to a situation they couldn’t control and family and well-being took centre stage. Te local business community locally has always been very supportive, and over the past weeks have really reached out to one another in support commitment to Milton Keynes, its future and with the hope that we will come through all this and be stronger together. Freeths is ranked 57th in the Sunday Times Top 100 Best Companies
to work for 2019 and reached 46th place in Te Lawyer’s magazine’s Top 100 UK law firms 2019.
For more information contact
www.freeths.co.uk or email
lucy.bradban@
freeths.co.uk
ALL THINGS BUSINESS
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