A worker in an office in London's financial district. Many people will start the year working from home amid government concerns about the spread of the Omicron coronavirus strain. AP
A worker in an office in London's financial district. Many people will start the year working from home amid government concerns about the spread of the Omicron coronavirus strain. AP
A worker in an office in London's financial district. Many people will start the year working from home amid government concerns about the spread of the Omicron coronavirus strain. AP
A worker in an office in London's financial district. Many people will start the year working from home amid government concerns about the spread of the Omicron coronavirus strain. AP

England's office space shrinks during the pandemic


Alice Haine
  • English
  • Arabic

The amount of office space in England shrank during the Covid-19 pandemic, contracting by more than a million square metres as the work-from-home trend continues amid a surge in the number of infections.

Office space fell 2 per cent in the 12 months to March 31 last year, according to the Valuation Office Agency, which is part of HM Revenue & Customs. The decline represents more than 1.67 million square metres – equal to 35 times the floor space in the Gherkin office building.

With many workspaces either lying empty or dormant, developers are facing increasing pressure to make offices more flexible and environmentally friendly to adapt to new pandemic-induced work patterns and increased environmental regulations.

The office space contraction comes as companies are gearing up for a surge in workplace absences amid the latest surge in Covid-19 cases.

Ministers have been urged to develop “robust contingency plans” to help companies to cope with rising workplace absences, with the government issuing a warning that up to a quarter of staff could be off work as the Omicron variant sweeps through the country.

The UK has hit a record number of daily cases during the festive period, with the transport sector already heavily affected by staff absences along with the NHS.

With those affected by Covid required to isolate for seven days, the issue is particularly affecting industries where staff are unable to work from home.

For office-based companies, however, encouraging staff to come into work has become more of a challenge amid the Omicron surge, in turn causing a headache for developers with office space occupancy levels falling to 10 per cent in England in the week before Christmas when the government urged people to work from home if possible.

Property experts said the amount of empty office space would have fallen even further since March as employers look to a future of more flexible workspaces, with staff coming in on a rotation basis and, in turn, requiring less physical space.

Mat Oakley, head of European commercial property research at consultancy Savills, told the Financial Times that the UK will not need as much office space in the future “if high levels of agile working remain”.

Mr Oakley expects the flexible work trend to persist beyond the pandemic, making up to one in 10 offices surplus to requirements within five years – making older buildings that fail to meet stricter environmental standards redundant.

“Some stock is no longer fit for purpose,” he said.

As 2022 begins, CBI chief economist Rain Newton-Smith said businesses stand ready to work with the government to lift confidence. Clear forward guidance for companies will be crucial to protect jobs and growth.

“But if infection and hospitalisation rates continue to grow across the country, the potential of further measures will weigh on firms,” said Ms Newton-Smith said.

“The government must monitor the situation closely and ensure that any new restrictions go in lock-step with further targeted cash-flow support to those firms most in distress across sectors [affected].”

Meanwhile, the late payment of invoices is threatening the survival of small companies, according to the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB). It fears that late payments, high inflation and mounting administration costs for businesses that trade internationally could cause numbers to shrink if something is not done about these issues.

Of the 1,271 small businesses owners interviewed in an FSB study, 30 per cent said late payment of invoices had increased over the last three months while a further 8 per cent said they were dealing with other ways in which they were not being paid on time.

"The small business community diminished in size over the past year and, unless action is taken now to tackle the challenges it faces, history is set to repeat itself," FSB national chairman Mike Cherry said.

Up to 440,000 could be forced to close this year due to late payment alone, according to the FSB study.

yallacompare profile

Date of launch: 2014

Founder: Jon Richards, founder and chief executive; Samer Chebab, co-founder and chief operating officer, and Jonathan Rawlings, co-founder and chief financial officer

Based: Media City, Dubai 

Sector: Financial services

Size: 120 employees

Investors: 2014: $500,000 in a seed round led by Mulverhill Associates; 2015: $3m in Series A funding led by STC Ventures (managed by Iris Capital), Wamda and Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority; 2019: $8m in Series B funding with the same investors as Series A along with Precinct Partners, Saned and Argo Ventures (the VC arm of multinational insurer Argo Group)

Last-16 Europa League fixtures

Wednesday (Kick-offs UAE)

FC Copenhagen (0) v Istanbul Basaksehir (1) 8.55pm

Shakhtar Donetsk (2) v Wolfsburg (1) 8.55pm

Inter Milan v Getafe (one leg only) 11pm

Manchester United (5) v LASK (0) 11pm 

Thursday

Bayer Leverkusen (3) v Rangers (1) 8.55pm

Sevilla v Roma  (one leg only)  8.55pm

FC Basel (3) v Eintracht Frankfurt (0) 11pm 

Wolves (1) Olympiakos (1) 11pm 

The stats

Ship name: MSC Bellissima

Ship class: Meraviglia Class

Delivery date: February 27, 2019

Gross tonnage: 171,598 GT

Passenger capacity: 5,686

Crew members: 1,536

Number of cabins: 2,217

Length: 315.3 metres

Maximum speed: 22.7 knots (42kph)

Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026

1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years

If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.

2. E-invoicing in the UAE

Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption. 

3. More tax audits

Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks. 

4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime

Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.

5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit

There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.

6. Further transfer pricing enforcement

Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes. 

7. Limited time periods for audits

Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion. 

8. Pillar 2 implementation 

Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.

9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services

Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations. 

10. Substance and CbC reporting focus

Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity. 

Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer

Heather, the Totality
Matthew Weiner,
Canongate 

Name: Peter Dicce

Title: Assistant dean of students and director of athletics

Favourite sport: soccer

Favourite team: Bayern Munich

Favourite player: Franz Beckenbauer

Favourite activity in Abu Dhabi: scuba diving in the Northern Emirates 

 

Like a Fading Shadow

Antonio Muñoz Molina

Translated from the Spanish by Camilo A. Ramirez

Tuskar Rock Press (pp. 310)

ABU%20DHABI'S%20KEY%20TOURISM%20GOALS%3A%20BY%20THE%20NUMBERS
%3Cp%3EBy%202030%2C%20Abu%20Dhabi%20aims%20to%20achieve%3A%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E%E2%80%A2%2039.3%20million%20visitors%2C%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20nearly%2064%25%20up%20from%202023%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E%E2%80%A2%20Dh90%20billion%20contribution%20to%20GDP%2C%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20about%2084%25%20more%20than%20Dh49%20billion%20in%202023%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E%E2%80%A2%20178%2C000%20new%20jobs%2C%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20bringing%20the%20total%20to%20about%20366%2C000%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E%E2%80%A2%2052%2C000%20hotel%20rooms%2C%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20up%2053%25%20from%2034%2C000%20in%202023%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E%E2%80%A2%207.2%20million%20international%20visitors%2C%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20almost%2090%25%20higher%20compared%20to%202023's%203.8%20million%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E%E2%80%A2%203.9%20international%20overnight%20hotel%20stays%2C%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2022%25%20more%20from%203.2%20nights%20in%202023%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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Remaining Fixtures

Wednesday: West Indies v Scotland
Thursday: UAE v Zimbabwe
Friday: Afghanistan v Ireland
Sunday: Final

Temple numbers

Expected completion: 2022

Height: 24 meters

Ground floor banquet hall: 370 square metres to accommodate about 750 people

Ground floor multipurpose hall: 92 square metres for up to 200 people

First floor main Prayer Hall: 465 square metres to hold 1,500 people at a time

First floor terrace areas: 2,30 square metres  

Temple will be spread over 6,900 square metres

Structure includes two basements, ground and first floor 

Updated: January 03, 2022, 10:58 AM