Taking opportunities in 2022

16 March 2022

Operations Director David Moorhouse has been with HLP five years this spring. He offered his thoughts on clients’ needs as we near the two year anniversary since the UK national lockdown.

As a business owner in the last two years, in almost any sector, it has become a challenge to make any kind of forecast. From lockdowns to new variants, business health has been connected to public health in a way we have never seen before.

So we may be foolish to feel optimistic as we approach the end of the first quarter of 2022. But there are signs of spring and we are feeling upbeat about the coming months.

Retail sector

The retail market is always volatile and vulnerable to economic peaks and troughs. For our retail clients, the news that retail sales have bounced back after Omicron eased is very positive. The Office for National Statistics has suggested that January’s rebound was "the biggest monthly rise since the shops reopened last spring".

While many consumers are likely to be doing more online food shopping, there has been a rise in high street footfall. As a result the proportion of online sales dropped to its lowest level since March 2020.

Increased sales brings increased confidence in the high street and the budget to expand to more locations. Clients are planning long term, and looking to grow their estate. We have been working across the UK for a variety of retail clients so far this year. Changing high streets are presenting opportunities for clients to try new formats. They continue to need both timely delivery and great value service, and we are confident of our ability to deliver on both fronts.

Care sector

Outside of the retail market, clients are less likely to feel the impact of economic changes but they have faced other challenges. Our care sector clients in particular have faced many operational difficulties since 2020. However, the need to provide services to vulnerable people remains. As we emerge from the shadow of Covid, these clients are able to focus more on day to day operations. Access to premises is becoming more straightforward and budgeting for property maintenance is high on their agenda.

We see that care homes are very focussed on creating a safer visiting experience, which is comfortable for everyone involved, rather than taking place behind screens or in residents’ bedrooms. They are taking opportunities to update communal areas in order to combine comfort and safety. We are pleased to be supplying surveying services to several multi-site care providers. These clients are needing detailed information to help them with long term asset planning and our building surveying expertise is invaluable.

Building the team

The HLP team has grown substantially over the last 12 months as client confidence and demand has grown. We are pleased to have strengthened our surveying capacity and added to our architectural design team. We continue to have a balance of team members bringing a wealth of experience from across sector, and newer entrants to the industry, with a drive to implement new technology to benefit clients.

We still need to recruit Project Manager, Architectural Technologists and Surveyors at all levels, so please get in touch if you are looking for a new opportunity.