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Figures suggest workers started returning to downtown offices last week, with Pret a Manger hailing a comeback for sandwiches and take-out coffee.
With some companies offering free food and gifts in an attempt to get back to staff, a barometer of activity around central London offices saw an increase of almost 5%.
Data experts Springboard said that between Tuesday and Friday attendance was 4.9% up from the previous week, based on its tracker of office buildings in London. Comparisons for the first full week back to work since the end of the school holidays in England are skewed by the August public holiday.
Pret has become a poster for the turmoil caused by the Covid-19 pandemic as travel restrictions and working from home emptied stores that had deliberately been located near offices and train stations to serve commuters. At the height of the crisis, the chain was forced to cut thousands of jobs and permanently close some outlets.
But Pano Christou, the general manager of the sandwich and coffee shop chain, said in an interview over the weekend that he felt optimistic about commerce in downtown areas after employees returning to the office last week. resulted in a 15% sales increase in just seven days.
The first full week after the school holidays had been the “acid test” to gauge the extent of workers returning to areas such as the City of London after a shift to remote work, he told the Mail on Sunday.
Christou said sales of his downtown sandwich shops have now returned to around 80% of pre-pandemic levels. He had also seen a “significant increase” in stores at Pret airport after the relaxation of travel restrictions for vaccinated passengers.
“Things have really continued to build since ‘freedom day’ in July,” he said. “We are optimistic and confident that this demand will continue to grow throughout the year.”
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The first signs of a recovery in commuters in the capital emerged last Monday as the London Underground recorded its busiest morning since the start of the pandemic – although analysts said schools may have played a more role. important than offices in increasing journeys. There has also been an increase in rush hour trips on metro and bus trips.
Diane Wehrle, Springboard’s director of insights, said footfall around central London offices was noticeably higher than the week before, but had “subsided” as the week went on. While Tuesday’s attendance was 15.6% higher than the week before, Friday’s weekly comparison was down almost 2%. This suggested that employees “started working from home again before the weekend.”
Looking at data for the UK as a whole in what was considered the first week employees returned to their offices, Springboard said attendance remained a fifth below 2019 levels, but was on the rise. increase of approximately the same amount compared to 2020.
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