Stormy weather

One contractor, who is never happy at the best of times, voiced this worry to me. He reckoned that beyond the next two years, where economic conditions for the industry look likely to be rosy, there could be something of a slowdown. The now mythical Olympics affect may not be the panacea for the industry many initially thought it would be, he argued, a point being echoed by many commentators.

The contractor's view is backed by the latest figures released on the state of the capital's office market, oft-used as a bell-wether of future prospects for the industry. King Sturge's reports on the City and West End markets do not make for particularly positive reading (see page 6). Will the market ever reach the heights of previous decades, such as the 1980s? Have the old economic boom/bust patterns that dominated the 20th century now been superseded? Discussions on the state of the market, which are likely to dominate MIPIM (at least before midday, anyway) and whether particular sectors are bouncing back, may no longer be as relevant as they once were. What has emerged as paramount in recent years is the importance to the market of government spending, which itself is clouded by as much uncertainty in future years as our contractor voiced this week.

A lighter touch

Neither is the business environment helping companies much. While discussing his firm's results this week, EC Harris' chief executive Philip Youell voices concerns on issues ranging from tax burdens, to changes to pension regulations which mean firms need to plough more into their funds, to regulatory red tape. A lighter touch is necessary from the government to ensure firms can operate effectively and invest in people and processes.