We’ve just completed our busiest month of the year with the filing deadline for personal tax returns having passed at 31st January. There was no extension to this as part of the COVID-19 support programme and we had to achieve it whilst working almost exclusively from home.

The idea of making home-working arrangements a more permanent feature of working lives is a debate that will run for a while.

Savings on rent and office costs

Employers and employees will see different benefits and happily will agree on those that work for both parties. For employers, one of the main attractions will be the savings that they can make in rent and associated office costs.

So is there an opportunity for a geographical shift in activity too? Those who know me well will tell you that I don’t have too many good words to say about the nation’s capital city, save for a small piece of footballing turf in the red part of N5.

The capital has long been the ‘go to’ place for making money to the point where it’s almost a different world to the rest of the country in terms of prices, salaries, etc. That applies to rents too, so is this the perfect time for firms to abandon London and move to smaller, more affordable bases in the rest of the country?

Less pollution and an easier lifestyle?

The benefits, as we who live in Gloucestershire can vouch for, go well beyond cheaper office accommodation. Less pollution, open fields, the ability to get almost anywhere you want to go without too much grief... The list goes on and on. Office rents are as much as 75% lower than they are in the capital.

Is it time for a power shift and for more people to find a Local Answer?