16-08-2011
The
Olympic and Paralympic Games are now less than a year away. To date, 10.8
million tickets have been sold and an anticipated 5.3 million visitors are
expected during July and August alone, swelling London’s population to a staggering 13.5
million.
This
influx of people, coupled with road closures and enhanced security, means that
there will inevitably be disruption to those relocating assignees into London.
A few ways the Olympics may affect you:
At
Sterling we
will do all we can to help and will be issuing fact sheets, updates and advice
over the coming months. In the meantime, here are some facts and figures that
could give you an insight into how your business may be affected.
- Rental costs in the Wimbledon area have been known to increase by 400% during
the tennis championships. Similar increases were seen in Barcelona
and Sydney during
their Olympic Games in 1992 and 2000 respectively. We anticipate a similar
trend in London.
Even a year ahead of the event, we are seeing landlords increasing rents, and
reluctant to renew leases that cover the summer of 2012 in the hope that they
can reap greater profits from a short term let.
- Household goods deliveries are likely to be severely disrupted
in some areas and delayed in others, due to temporary road closures, parking
controls and the introduction of priority lanes for athletes and VIPs. Loading
times in some areas will also be reduced.
- London transport is currently at capacity. Each Olympic ticket includes
free travel with public transport in London for
the day of the event; including the London Underground and London bus services. Londoners have been
asked to commute at different times or to work from home, but destination
services involving travel across London
(for example home searches) may be delayed.
What you can do now:
- Review your expected volumes during July and August 2012 and
identify which of these moves are critical and which could be brought to the UK
earlier or post the Olympic activities
- Revisit your housing allowances – housing costs could
substantially increase in the coming year.
Do your allowances take this into account, have you factored this into
your cost projections and what support can your assignees expect to receive?
- Take a look at which London
based assignees are currently in temporary accommodation – is their lease up
for renewal in the next year?
- Get in touch with your Sterling
Account Manager to address any concerns you may have
