05/05/2021 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 05/05/2021 03:45
In its UK Higher Education Spotlight the international real estate advisor uses its knowledge of key working trends and the results of its office and workplace surveys over the last 12 months to explore what this means for the university sector. Specific suggestions include:
Mat Oakley, head of UK and European commercial research at Savills, comments: 'We would caution against making radical decisions that might involve significant capital expenditure at this time, as until most staff and students have returned to offices and campuses we cannot be sure how much behavioural change has actually taken place, but overall there are likely to real estate opportunities that have arisen from Covid-19 for universities. Firstly, more corporate employers will be considering agile working practices for their staff, and under-utilised office space on campus could be repurposed into flexible space and let to meet this demand, potentially also expanding into offering flexible lab space in due course. Secondly, the economic downturn has unfortunately led to an increase in vacant space in city centres, but this offers institutions a chance to take space that previously may have been unavailable to them, creating mixed-used schemes and integrating more closely with their communities.'