Report

The Productivity Engine

10.6.24 2024

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In Bidwells’ latest groundbreaking report, The Productivity Engine, we uncover the fundamental role that space plays in understanding - and solving - the UK’s productivity problems.

There are fundamental challenges holding back a generation, limiting our economic potential and impacting our living standards. The housing shortage, exacerbated by restrictive planning and underinvestment, is delaying young adults' independence and sapping disposable income. The rise of hybrid work post-COVID is impacting office use and local businesses. Soaring housing costs are pushing workers further from jobs, lengthening commutes and lowering productivity.

The UK is also failing to fully commercialise its world-class scientific research. Funding gaps, talent shortages, and insufficient government support are hindering the growth of innovative SMEs, particularly outside the Golden Triangle. The economic and social costs of not nurturing homegrown breakthroughs in AI, life sciences, and sustainability are immense.

At the same time, the UK must juggle rising energy demands from booming knowledge industries with urgent decarbonisation goals, necessitating a revamp of aging power infrastructure.

To better understand the complex web of factors influencing productivity, we have developed a framework to interrogate the four key types of space that can help lift the UK’s productivity: Housing, Cities, Innovation, and Power & Infrastructure.

These first order effects, primary drivers of productivity, are often overlooked or underappreciated in the national discourse. There are 'second-order effects' too, the myriad of factors that interact with and influence these primary drivers of productivity. 

These first order effects, primary drivers of productivity, are often overlooked or underappreciated in the national discourse. There are 'second-order effects' too, the myriad of factors that interact with and influence these primary drivers of productivity. 


PE Report

 

Rather than focusing merely on the well documented productivity problems we face, Alongside Bidwells’ experts, we invited more than 15 leading thinkers from real estate, academia, renewable energy, Forestry, operational living, and science & technology,  to put forward their own personal solutions to how we might make an impact on solving the Uk's living standards crisis.
Solving the UK's housing shortage, finding new ways to power infrastructure, better understanding new working patterns and improving the lives of young renters, should not just be a top economic priority for the next government - it should drive all of us.
Nick Pettit - Senior Partner

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Report Articles

Image of People Report 2024

A society’s productivity, the key to its prosperity and living standards, reflects the outcome of decisions taken over many years or even decades. Britain’s flatlining productivity today reflects the disappearance of this long-term perspective.

Productivity Engine: Foreword from Diane Coyle, Bennett Professor of Public Policy

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Image of green-and-blue-light-wave-of-energy-with-elegant-g-2023-11-27-05-32-19-utc Report 2024

Productivity is measured by dividing the output of goods and services by the number of hours which people have worked.

Productivity Engine: Preface from Bidwells’ Senior Partner Nick Pettit

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Eddington Report 2024

As one of the UK’s leading investors in rental communities, Apache has expanded its focus to suburban areas through its Present Made platform in recent years.

Attracting and retaining talent hinges on holistic housebuilding

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Image of Enhancing uks productivity Report 2024

As the UK seeks to enhance its productivity and competitiveness on the global stage, innovative urban development strategies have emerged as a critical component of this endeavour.

Enhancing the UK’s productivity through innovative urban development strategies

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Image of Housing crisis Report 2024

Addressing the housing crisis requires a portfolio of solutions, from the renewal of our towns and cities, to the creation of new settlements that can provide genuinely affordable homes in healthy communities.

Government needs to shift the narrative from housing numbers to delivery to secure a sustainable future for the nation

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Image of robert-bye-4hcpIbqQM8c-unsplash Report 2024

Two quotes, half a century and a continent apart, explain why housebuilding has declined to 145,000 per year, less than half of the Government’s objective of 300,000 p.a.

Planning Reform and Productivity

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Image of shutterstock_2394821321 (1) Report 2024

As productivity lags, wages can’t keep up with rents and mortgages; so, for far too many, a home of their own now seems out of reach. We simply haven’t built enough of them, undermining our young people’s potential for a prosperous future.

Saying Yes to more housing and higher productivity

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Image of Community Report 2024

In the face of the UK’s productivity crisis, addressing the issue requires a multifaceted approach that goes beyond traditional economic measures. An often-overlooked factor is the social impact of developments on local communities.

Impacting Productivity: A Developer’s Perspective

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Image of UK Housing Report 2024

The UK economy, and social mobility of British people, are held back by the lack of availability of an appropriate range of housing options, according to new research from the free market think tank the Institute of Economic Affairs.

One size (doesn’t) fit all by Mark Woodrow COO, Packaged Living

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Image of priscilla-du-preez-W3SEyZODn8U-unsplash Report 2024

It’s well-documented that productivity is flatlining across the UK.

Place, Planning, Productivity

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Image of Workers London Report 2024

Commercial property returns are variable by geography. This dispersion is significantly influenced by the resilience and growth in income.

Productivity drives output, output drives employment and employment drives property income

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Image of Abstract Building Report 2024

As an architect, our promise in the products we deliver to the world is that they will work to uncover challenges to solve problems through opportunities that change the world around us for the better.

Productivity, Work, and the Future of the Built Environment

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Image of rear-view-of-people-watching-soccer-match-at-stadi-2023-11-27-05-30-50-utc Report 2024

Urban town planning is often a delicate balance between economic ambition, environmental concerns, and societal well-being but it can stumble due to its own overly complex bureaucracy.

Putting Cambridge in the Productivity Premier League

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Image of Housing stock Report 2024

Operational living is transforming housing options in the UK, offering flexibility and accessibility to suit diverse lifestyles at different stages of their lives and careers.

The Right Home, in the Right Place, at the Right Time

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Image of The Nucleus Autolus’s European HQ Report 2024

The creation of any ready-to-use product from Research & Development (R&D) needs to consider the ‘five Ps’ of Good Manufacturing Process (GMP): 1. a clear Product, 2. skilled People, 3. clear Processes, 4. correct Procedures, and 5. clean, safe and appropriate Premises.

Bridging the Gap: why do we need to think beyond traditional R&D labs?

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Image of Tech glasses Report 2024

There’s an awakening in the world of deeptech investment that if you want results, you need specialists.

Enhancing science literacy beyond the lab will turbo-charge productivity

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Image of DISC 2 Report 2024

There is little debate about the causal link between a healthy workforce and greater national prosperity.

Fixing the productivity puzzle: enhancing equitable access to medical innovation for economic growth

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Image of shutterstock_2475126381 Report 2024

The UK construction industry has a productivity problem. Construction output per hour worked is lower than in manufacturing, financial and business services, and utilities.

Innovating in construction: A work in progress

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Image of Productivity Report 2024

As the UK seeks to boost productivity levels, innovative companies and ecosystems are emerging as key drivers of growth.

Pioneering Productivity

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Image of Driving innovation Report 2024

Oxford Technology Park (OTP) prime location next to the University of Oxford’s Begbroke Science Park positions it to drive innovation.

Quantum leap: harnessing the power of proximity

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Image of jason-rai-LLW_jnBdQVY-unsplash Report 2024

The United Kingdom, once celebrated for its industrial prowess and ingenuity, now confronts a dire economic reality marked by a persistent productivity crisis.

Real estate can drive productivity by supporting regional centres of excellence

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Image of AI deepmind Report 2024

Our starting point when thinking about how AI is going to impact productivity across the real estate sector must be to understand what it is that we are dealing with.

The Impact of AI on the UK Real Estate Sector’s Productivity

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Image of re_ewr_highvis_jacket_49055032562_o Report 2024

The Oxford to Cambridge region is home to the most productive life sciences cluster in Europe, with 300 companies contributing £2.9 billion to the UK economy, creating jobs and attracting investment for the whole country.

How East West Rail will boost the UK’s productivity

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Image of Electricity Report 2024

By 2035 the UK has a target to decarbonise the whole electricity system for Great Britain (GB), whilst also increasing demand for electricity by 50% over the same period.

Net Zero Carbon and Electricity Demand – Binding Targets, Barriers and Bonuses

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Image of Wind Turbines Report 2024

Low carbon, low cost, and a secure supply of electricity is central to a sustainable and productive economy. However, building the generation and getting the power to where it is needed is not without its hurdles.

Overcoming infrastructure barriers to renewable energy

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Image of 0916-2-223 Report 2024

David Leslie, who leads one of Britain’s most innovative timber companies, shares his insights on how investment in people, technology, and sustainable practices can help the UK timber industry thrive and drive productivity in forestry and construction.

Planting the seeds of productivity in the UK Timber industry

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Image of Quantum computing Report 2024

It’s 2040. The UK is directly feeling the benefits of its 2030s quantum innovation and is now running a highly productive economy. You can feel and almost hear a constant, powerful hum. It’s the soundtrack to a new era of British innovation and prosperity: the hum of quantum technology.

The quiet hum of a highly productive economy

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Image of 0916-2-181 Report 2024

The UK has a productivity problem. One overlooked solution lies in the forestry sector. A strategic approach to increasing our domestic timber production and use could not only help decarbonize the construction sector but also provide a significant productivity boost to the UK.

The role of forestry and timber in a modern, green society

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Image of shutterstock_151149641 Report 2024

Making more efficient use of Britain’s most finite resource—land—is our best chance to enhance the country’s sluggish productivity. It’s as simple as that.

We must land on a strategy for our most precious resource

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High tech lab Report 2024

Significant real estate lettings tell the story of a country highly attractive to global giants from Apple and Amazon to Moderna and MSD, but which struggles to nurture and retain our own innovative SMEs to scale. This is not to say the UK has an unimpressive record.

Commercialising Science

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Image of Powering Productivity Report 2024

Just the title of this report, The Productivity Engine, reminds us of breakthrough technologies and the immense potential for renewable electricity to power our future.

Powering Productivity

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Image of The Productivity Paradox Report 2024

Download this report to read both part one & two of 'The Productivity Paradox'

The Productivity Paradox

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Image of Introduction image - PE report Report 2024

While rising productivity does not guarantee a successful economy and happy society, it certainly helps.

Understanding the slowdown and unlocking £8,600 in lost income

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Image of When Will We Solve the Housing Shortage Report 2024

England suffers from a shortage of housing.

When Will We Solve the Housing Shortage?

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Our Research experts

Sue Foxley

Sue Foxley

Research Director

Sue leads a dynamic programme of research at Bidwells. Working with her colleague Mark Callender, she is particularly focused on the real estate implications of the science and technology sector.

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Mark Callender - higher res

Mark Callendar

Research Partner

Mark was appointed as research partner to focus on high-growth sectors, including renewable energy, science and technology, and natural capital markets.

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Contributors:

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