What Next For London?

Ahead of last week’s mini-fiscal event, Kevin Ellis, Chairman and Senior Partner at PwC, talked to BusinessLDN CEO John Dickie about how he sees the future of work, business priorities for the new government and the role of the capital as a global financial centre. Listen in for Kevin’s take on the future of hybrid working, the skills challenge and recruiting at scale across the UK.

In our latest What Next for London? episode, we're focusing on the next generation of leaders in a new mini-series, sponsored by Ashurst, that explores the challenges the capital faces and the opportunities on offer from a fresh perspective. In our studio today is Joanna Fox, Planning, Environment & Safety Associate at Ashurst and Andrew Fox, Institute of Classical Studies, School of Advanced Study. They spoke to us about the philosophy of placemaking, the importance of healthy living within a space and how we should consider green and energy-efficient spaces in the future.

We spoke to Laura Citron, CEO of London & Partners, to explore what makes the capital an international success and how it can build on that into the future. Laura shared her insights into making the city a magnet - for talent, investment and creativity - building on the discussion at our Work, Live, Play conference.

Jan Walstrom, SVP, Office of Global Climate Response & ESG at Jacobs joins us the day after our celebratory Olympics event to discuss what working on the 2012 Olympic games meant for major projects of the future, for the development of ESG metrics and for her career. 

This episode is our first Place Commission special, talking to John Mulryan, Group Managing Director of Ballymore and a Place Commissioner, about how he sees the future evolution of the capital’s built environment as we look ahead to the future. Listen in for his take on what changing patterns of work, travel and social activity might mean for the city.

Virginia Blackman, national head of Avison Young’s Site Assembly and Compulsory Purchase team, talks to us about Avison Young’s Cities Recovery Index and what it is telling us just over two years on from the first lockdown. Taking a look at retail, leisure, footfall and office occupancy trends, Virginia shares what this emerging picture might mean for how we live and work in the city in the future.

We spoke to Paul Barnes, CEO of the Association for International Retail, about the sector’s potential to play a major role in the capital and the UK’s recovery. We touched on what needs to happen now to make that possible, from reinstating tax free shopping for international visitors, to putting shopping into the country’s tourism strategy.

London First CEO John Dickie and CEO of Grosvenor Property UK James Raynor discuss the role of the capital in the country's future success, the role for the built environment in recovery and the future of work.

We spoke to Arup’s Richard de Cani and Cathy Li about the new report, London Alive, and how the capital’s public spaces could be reimagined for a post-pandemic future. We were joined by the Northbank BID’s Alison Gregory, who shared her perspective on the evolution of Waterloo Bridge and Charing Cross, as well as the wider role of the Northbank in the city’s renewal.

Laura Osborne and Mark Hilton spoke to Charles Oak, Hotel Director of the Londoner, a new super-boutique hotel in the heart of the capital. From opening a new 16-storey hotel in uncertain times, through to the importance of its art collection and cultural contribution, Charles shares the highs and lows of bringing this new iconic destination to the capital.