Brokers returning to business

Over half (53%) of property and commercial finance brokers are open for business at the same level as before Covid-19.

A further 18% are operating at around 75% capacity, United Trust Bank’s Broker Sentiment Survey found.

Although 40% of brokers are currently operating with less than a quarter of their staff typically in the office, 72% expect to have all their staff back working in the office on a regular basis by the end of October 2020.

Harley Kagan, group managing director of United Trust Bank, said: “It’s encouraging to see that a vast majority of brokers are open for business with many capable of dealing with enquiry volumes similar to those prior to lockdown.

“The relaxation of social distancing measures and travel restrictions has enabled many staff to return to work, though clearly it will be some time before brokers and lenders can be fully staffed, and that’s if they choose to return to the same working practices they had in place before the pandemic hit. “

When asked about current distancing measures, three quarters (74%) of brokers believe that the 2 metre limit was not harming their business and a slim majority (51%) support maintaining the 2 metre social distancing rule.

However, 41% would like to see distancing reduced to 1 metre and the remaining 8% would like social distancing removed altogether.