Autumn Update
Like any company, Lethaby & Cook has had a testing summer and business still looks like being tough as we go into the winter. However, we have been lucky, with our closest clients maintaining work and keeping us busy as well.
During the early autumn, we completed a yearlong project at City Airport (pictured below) where we aided one of our key clients with the electrical fit out of a new hotel. We supplied up to 24 electricians on the project, handing it over on time. We had some excellent supervisory and trades staff on the project, some of whom we have managed to move over to an office refurbishment project in Bermondsey and a school fit-out in Amersham.
Back in the Thames Valley, we have also been working on office fit-outs in Slough, Newbury, Reading and Bicester. However, a quieter period does look imminent as an aftershock of redundancies happens post-furlough. We are hoping that moderate bounce back will occur in the New Year, but along with everyone we work with, an end to Coronavirus is what we really want for Christmas.
Civil and Structural
The civil and structural side of the business has picked up now and we have been working on several permanent placements in the sector. The big change has obviously been that many of the positions are increasingly home based with limited travel. Many clients have discovered that by having staff working at home, costs can be cut elsewhere without any detriment to output. Covid-19 has, quite possibly, changed the working environment forever.
Overall, as a company our frugality has seen us through lockdown, but we could really do with seeing an exit plan to offer us encouragement as we move into 2021. Even the most robust organisations would find the long-term continuation difficult and stressful at a time where Brexit is going to offer its own complications if a smooth transition doesn’t happen.
We look forward with positivity and would like to thank the clients who have maintained contact with us and given us work in a tough period; it is appreciated more than ever. Please do contact us with any positions you may have in our sectors.