Will People Return to the Office Anytime Soon?

IT’S OVER 18 MONTHS now since the pandemic triggered a total disruption to our everyday office routines – causing millions of people to work from home.

As we move into the second year – many established companies are still undecided on the new workplace model going forward. [Read more…]

Seeds of Opportunity Emerge from the Turmoil

IT MAY SURPRISE YOU to learn that new businesses grew at a record rate during the last financial year. And that’s because COVID-19 served up a whole host of new opportunities among the economic turmoil.

Apparently, there were 365,500 new start-ups along with 277,700 established businesses closing shop – delivering a net gain of 87,800 new businesses.

As encouraging as that may sound, these newcomers will face challenges going forward – given they began in a climate of low interest rates and government support.

Nonetheless, they will clearly add to the demand for suburban office space – as workers seek to avoid the grind of a long daily commute.

Add to that the large CBD firms currently decanting whole departments out to the suburbs – to also be closer to where their employees live.

Bottom Line: Every change (however disruptive) brings with it seeds of opportunity. Sometimes these are hard to recognise – but highly profitable, for those who do.

The Retail Landscape Looking Forward

LEAVING ASIDE the effect of Covid has had on the general economy, the consequent drop in population growth and immigration will have a lasting impact upon … [Read more…]

Why is Everyone Surprised at Our Speedy Recovery?

IF YOU REMEMBER back to last May and June of last year, I explained that the economic decline caused by COVID was quite different from any other recessions.

What we experienced was a Medical Crisis with economic implications. As opposed to a total collapse of the Financial System – as you experienced during the GFC. [Read more…]