London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Jul 07, 2025

'It’s a ghost town': City of London market reacts to Covid slump

Leadenhall hit hard by Boris Johnson’s U-turn on encouraging workers back to their desks
Ten days after the government halted its back-to-the-office drive in England, sparse lunchtime scenes in London’s historic financial district indicate that employees have embraced the renewed instruction to work from home.

A rain-soaked and windswept Friday had drawn few visitors to the shops, restaurants and pubs at the capital’s Leadenhall market, close to the Bank of England, the Gherkin skyscraper and the insurance market Lloyd’s of London.

In pre-Covid times at this time of the working week, the market would have been “heaving, absolutely rammed”, said one customer having a drink at a table outside the New Moon pub, who declined to give his name.

A worker usually based in the area, he was visiting the City for the first time since March and was surprised to see the market so quiet, where many of the grab-and-go lunch outlets including Pret a Manger and Leon have not reopened since lockdown.

“It’s a ghost town,” said Suzie Griffin, owner of Nicholson & Griffin hairdressers located at one of the market’s entrances. “Yesterday we only did two haircuts all day.”

She said trade had been slowly picking up in September at the salon and the three other branches run by her husband and herself in the City and the Canary Wharf financial district, until Boris Johnson recommended a return to homeworking on 22 September.

“I could feel business coming back a bit, then the next day it dropped off a cliff,” Griffin said.

Daphne Thomas opened the doors of her Leadenhall market cake shop, Aux Merveilleux de Fred, for the first time on 15 September and noticed a change soon after advice on work changed. The market was noticeably busier before 22 September she said. “Boris Johnson spoke on the Tuesday. We didn’t notice a change on the Wednesday and Thursday, but we did the next week. People got organised and decided to leave work and stay home,” she added.

A shop assistant at another food outlet in the market, who didn’t want to give her name, said trade had been quieter following the PM’s announcement.

A string of financial firms including Barclays, PwC and Goldman Sachs, put the brakes on their office return plans in England following the government’s U-turn on encouraging workers back to their desks. Prior to the 22 September change, ministers had said that from 1 August employers in England could decide whether staff could return to the office, which had given them more leeway than the previous advice which was to work from home where possible.

The reversion to previous advice on homeworking sparked an immediate drop in commuting, according to data from the Office for National Statistics released this week. In the week following Boris Johnson’s intervention, 59% of UK workers travelled on their usual commute, compared with 64% the previous week.

Road traffic across the UK declined by about 3%-4% in the six days after the 22 September announcement compared with the previous week, according to he Department for Transport. Rail industry sources said they were experiencing a “noticeable decrease” in passenger journeys after numbers had climbed to more than 40% of pre-pandemic levels daily at the start of the month.

Statistical evidence of a drop-off in commuting is a blow to businesses such as Griffin’s, amid signs that people were drifting back to their desks in ever greater numbers. The return to the office had begun to gather pace in early September, according to data collected by the Alphawise research unit of US bank Morgan Stanley.

It showed that prior to the prime minister’s announcement, almost half (45%) of British staff had gone back to their workplace, compared with 37% in August and 34% in July. Before the pandemic, about 500,000 people travelled to work in the Square Mile financial district, the vast majority of them commuting on public transport.

The loss of office workers and tourists has hit hospitality and retail businesses in the City hard.

“Hibernating through the winter is not an option for our economy,” warned Catherine McGuinness, policy chair at the City of London Corporation, the Square Mile’s governing body and landlord of Leadenhall market. “We are building up an economic crisis which has the potential to impact more people than the health one. It is vital that we protect livelihoods as well as lives.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
U.S. Enacts Sweeping Tax and Spending Legislation Amid Trade Policy Shifts
Football Mourns as Diogo Jota and Brother André Silva Laid to Rest in Portugal
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
London Stock Exchange Faces Historic Low in Initial Public Offerings
A new online platform has emerged in the United Kingdom, specifically targeting Muslim men seeking virgin brides
Trump Celebrates Independence Day with B-2 Flyover and Signs Controversial Legislation
Boris Johnson Urges Conservatives to Ignore Farage
SNP Ordered to Update Single-Sex Space Guidance Within Days
Starmer Set to Reject Calls for Wealth Taxes
Stolen Century-Old Rolls-Royce Recovered After Hotel Theft
Macron Presses Starmer to Recognise Palestinian State
Labour Delayed Palestine Action Ban Over Riot Concerns
Swinney’s Tax Comments ‘Offensive to Scots’, Say Tories
High Street Retailers to Enforce Bans on Serial Shoplifters
Music Banned by Henry VIII to Be Performed After 500 Years
Steve Coogan Says Working Class Is Being ‘Ethnically Cleansed’
Home Office Admits Uncertainty Over Visa Overstayer Numbers
JD Vance Questions Mandelson Over Reform Party’s Rising Popularity
Macron to Receive Windsor Carriage Ride in Royal Gesture
Labour Accused of ‘Hammering’ Scots During First Year in Power
BBC Head of Music Stood Down Amid Bob Vylan Controversy
Corbyn Eyes Hard-Left Challenge to Starmer’s Leadership
London Tube Trains Suspended After Major Fire Erupts Nearby
Richard Kemp: I Felt Safer in Israel Under Attack Than in the UK
Cyclist Says Police Cited Human Rights Act for Riding No-Handed
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Musk Battles to Protect Tesla Amid Trump Policy Threats
Air France-KLM Acquires Majority Stake in Scandinavian Airlines
UK Educators Sound Alarm on Declining Child Literacy
Shein Fined €40 Million in France Over Misleading Discounts
Brazil’s Lula Visits Kirchner During Argentina House Arrest
Trump Scores Legislative Win as House Passes Tax Reform Bill
Keir Starmer Faces Criticism After Rocky First Year in Power
DJI Launches Heavy-Duty Coaxial Quadcopter with 80 kg Lift Capacity
U.S. Senate Approves Major Legislation Dubbed the 'Big Beautiful Bill'
Largest Healthcare Fraud Takedown in U.S. History Announced by DOJ
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Political Dispute Escalates Between Trump and Musk
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
US Senate Votes to Remove AI Regulation Moratorium from Domestic Policy Bill
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
Jury Deliberations in Diddy Trial Yield Partial Verdict in Serious Criminal Charges
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
King Charles Plans Significant Role for Prince Harry in Coronation
Two Chinese Nationals Arrested for Espionage Activities Against U.S. Navy
Amazon Reaches Major Automation Milestone with Over One Million Robots
Extreme Heat Wave Sweeps Across Europe, Hitting Record Temperatures
×