BCO finds office industry 'not yet' as bold as in 1986 and puts adaptability at heart of guidance

The British Council for Offices has concluded the office industry is "not yet" responding to AI, hybrid working, wellbeing, net zero and ageing stock as boldly as it did to the City's 1986 deregulation.

The BCO published its Big Bang at 40: The vital role of offices in supporting economic progress report today. It found the industry too often reacts to Covid-19, AI and the latest amenity trend rather than leading, the BCO said.

The report also found grounds for confidence. According to the BCO, demand for good space is strong, the product is broadly right and the industry knows more than ever about what people need.

Samantha McClary, BCO chief executive, said: "Forty years on, we have more evidence than ever about what people want and the technologies and knowledge to deliver it. The question is whether we have the same nerve."

The event

The report draws on a BCO live research event held on 20 October 2026 at JLL's new offices at 1 Broadgate in the City of London.

Panellists were Sir Stuart Lipton, Despina Katsikakis of Cushman & Wakefield, Michael Cassidy CBE and Peter Rees CBE, both formerly of the City of London Corporation, and JLL's Geoffrey Pentecost. Rob Harris of Ramidus set the scene.

The panel credited the 1986 transformation to the industry's response rather than to deregulation alone: buildings designed from evidence of occupier needs, delivered at speed, backed by new deal structures and set within a carefully designed public realm, the BCO said.

Cassidy, who chaired the City's planning committee at the time, said: "This was not a glorious, pre-ordained success story. It had to struggle to get where it reached."

Workshop delegates weighed Covid-19, AI and a planning reset as candidates for the next big bang. They concluded it may not be recognised until after it has happened, according to the BCO.

Eight insights and 12 guidelines

The report sets out eight insights for the industry. These include that people now choose the office, so it must earn the day; that transport is the weakest link in the office's appeal; that adaptability is the product; and that most occupiers are small businesses rather than headquarters.

As a result of the event the BCO has established 12 guidelines to bring into its research, guidance and thought leadership. They include putting adaptability at the heart of its specification guidance, researching what AI means for the design, operation and value of offices, and championing reuse and retrofit as bold choices.

The guidelines also commit the body to giving equal attention to small occupiers and workplaces beyond central London, and to regularly revisiting with members the question of what its big bang is.

The BCO describes its Guide to Specification as the flagship of its series of best practice guides for the commercial property sector. The commitment on adaptability follows the BCO's Guide to Fit-Out 2025, launched at an event on 29 January 2025, which the body positioned around creating adaptable spaces.

The venue

JLL opened its UK flagship office at 1 Broadgate on 27 July 2026. The firm said the 90,000 sq ft space spans three floors and that the building is on track for a BREEAM Outstanding rating.

Broadgate, a joint venture between British Land and GIC, announced practical completion of 1 Broadgate on 24 July 2025. The building comprises 545,000 sq ft of workspace and roof terraces plus 48,000 sq ft of retail and leisure space, British Land said.

Background

The 1986 Stock Exchange rule changes were called Big Bang because of the immediate increase in market activity they were expected to generate, according to HM Revenue & Customs guidance. The changes allowed banks and other financial institutions to join the London Stock Exchange and run broking firms.

The BCO was founded in 1990 and has more than 4,000 members. McClary, a former EG editor, took up the chief executive role on 6 May 2025, succeeding Richard Kauntze, during whose tenure membership grew from 585 to more than 4,000.

The full Big Bang at 40 report is available to BCO members.