Are the champagne days over for PropTech?
Guy Windsor-Lewis, Locale Group’s CEO and founder reflects on 2022 and shares his 2023 PropTech predictions.
I think it’s safe to say it’s been one hell of a ride in the past 12 months. We started 2022 in a positive mindset thinking we’d left the uncertainty of the pandemic slowly behind us, but only to jaywalk into a crippling recession. Needless to say, we’ve had a laughable churn of ministers and Prime Ministers with wavering interest in genuinely supporting our community – and years of what has manifested into neglect and complacency are now resulting in widespread systematic failures, a bitterly challenging cost-of-living crisis and sorry scenes I haven’t witnessed since the 70s.
Our 18th anniversary
This year, Locale Group is officially coming of age as we turn 18 this year. As you might expect, we’ve experienced quite a few economic downturns in our business lifetime. Our success to date? We’ve resisted battening down the hatches, further developed our core products, invested in bringing the right talent, bolstered customer service and sought expansion opportunities. And it’s no different today. Our in-house team of developers continue to collaborate with our clients, ensuring we bring best-in-class products to market whilst constantly enhancing our current service, whilst also renewing our commitment to promote both a sustainable and affordable adoption. Staying true to our values, we remain asset-class agnostic while enhancing our customer journey by developing more customer-focused teams.
Put the champagne on ice
The champagne days are over for tech investment – certainly for now! We’re expecting a balanced fall as investors become more cautious and diligent in their approach as opposed to the riskier financial approaches witnessed in previous years.
In terms of real estate itself, we’re expecting fewer but better properties to arise this year, creating an even more competitive feel to the sector, and enforcing the rest to adapt to match their standards which ultimately creates a rise in the need for PropTech throughout these buildings.
The rise of hybrid working.
Nobody can deny the shift we have seen in working patterns. According to The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), more than three-quarters of organisations surveyed (78%) allow hybrid working, through either formal or informal arrangements. It’s resulted in a huge shift in the office sector, with many businesses seeking flexi-spaces to align with the new methods of work. Despite data confirming the new office working week being between Tuesday and Thursday, offices continue to play a pivotal role in the world of work and technology could play a crucial part in its success. Offices are like destinations – they need to offer more than just a desk and WIFI – and the power of dedicated occupier engagement strategies combined with bespoke visual communications via digital signage could transform ailing spaces into thriving office destinations.
Real estate is changing at a faster pace than ever, and the battle-hardened real estate industry needs ears, not mouths. It’s time to dig deep, understand your needs and look at the tangible value digitalisation can bring – it’s stark when you get it right. By starting simple and breeding familiarity with digital systems, it will soon become part of the DNA of any building for generations to come.