Derwent London predicts offices will be used differently, with fewer desks in future

Office landlord Derwent London has said it expects workspaces to be used differently in the future, with less “max-packing” and more meeting rooms and fewer desks.

The FTSE 250 property developer and landlord made the prediction as it said the value of its portfolio had an underlying fall of 3% to £5.4 billion in 2020. The vacancy rate across the estate rose to 1.8% from 0.8% as at December 2019.

Last year saw scores of office staff do their jobs remotely amid work from home guidance, and post-pandemic a number of firms are set to embrace more hybrid working. Some companies are looking to reduce office space.

Derwent, led by Paul Williams, believes there will still be good demand for modern and environmentally-friendly buildings.

The firm said: “Looking ahead in respect of changing working practices, we do believe businesses will adopt more agile working practices and, whilst we think this may reduce overall office demand to some degree, we do not believe the impact will be significant.”