Event Archive

With the pandemic wreaking havoc on business workforce strategies and a labour market seeing record level job vacancies and skills shortages, the Government’s Plan for Jobs – a range of programmes and incentives designed to help business train up and recruit – aims to help. Except the offer can be hard to navigate – often, its not clear how to transfer unused apprenticeship levy money, what skills bootcamps are, and what the difference is between Kickstart and Restart.

Invitation only. Next in our Supper Club series, London First members will have the opportunity for informal dinner and conversation with Guto Harri. Guto spent 18 years at the BBC, becoming the Chief Political Correspondent, before joining Boris Johnson’s City Hall as Director of External Affairs. He is now an advisor, commentator and presenter and will be sharing his insights into the challenges faced by the current Government and what this means for business in the capital.

London’s labour market is significantly challenged; on the one hand unemployment remains stubbornly high and large numbers have become economically inactive since the pandemic. On the other, vacancies and demand for skills are reaching record levels. But there’s a skills mismatch which is making it hard for business to access the workers they need. Doubling down on reskilling training is critical as are strategies for unlocking all parts of London’s labour market to build a more robust pipeline of diverse talent to fill staff shortages. 

Join us for our AGM, followed by a Vision for London discussion, where we will explore what the capital needs to be attractive and competitive into the future. This will be an opportunity for you to feed in your perspective, following input from senior business executives across our Board and membership. We would really value your insights on what a thriving capital needs to encapsulate, and we look forward to an in-depth conversation on how we can make London the best place in the world to do business.

London First is intending to respond to the GBRTT whole industry strategic plan consultation that closes on 4 February. This short working session will be an opportunity to review and feed into London First’s submission.

Further details to follow in the new year.

The more we get used to a mix of Zoom and face to face meetings, and regularly switching between home, office and coffee shop working, the more we wonder how this is affecting us, our employers and our workplaces. Will the nature and character of work continue to be in flux for the foreseeable future, is change permanent and if so how do we make it work for us? 
 

These virtual roundtables and dinners provide senior business leaders — chairs and CEOs — in membership with the opportunity to discuss the future of business, the capital and the economy with a specific focus on what is needed to support the capital’s recovery from Covid-19. All discussions take place under the Chatham House rule. 

As part of our series of events with the leaders of London’s most vibrant boroughs, join us for a virtual briefing with John Biggs, Mayor of Tower Hamlets.

This event will be an excellent opportunity to hear the Mayor discuss his priorities for Tower Hamlets, his perspective on the key issues facing London business and the role that local government can play as we move into the next stage of recovery. 

London First are planning to step up our campaigning on London’s international connections in 2022. We are therefore looking to launch a new campaign group seeking to raise the voice of the business community — and specifically, the businesses in London and the South East that most rely on international connectivity to thrive — in the public debate.

This virtual event will assess the affordable housing and S106 market in London and the appetite from registered providers for them. It will be an all rounded view as assessed from across the industry and will also look at partnerships and how new JVs/​other types of partnership are faring.

This event will host a small group of political stakeholders providing them with a presentation and site tour of a member’s development to allow them to see not only the types of properties that BTR delivers, but also the wider opportunities for the community and place.

The annual London First and Planning Officers Society London get together is back and we’re delighted to be holding it in person.

Limited spaces are available for the joint roundtable discussion and we will be joined by the Government’s Chief Planner, Joanna Averley.

By joining this roundtable, you will be able to hear the core strands we see as central in a future competitive London post-pandemic, and have your say in how we can best articulate this vision.

The session will be introduced and chaired by Laura Osborne, our Managing Director, Corporate Affairs. It will be a discussion format, chaired by Laura, with contributions from our pro-bono agency supporters Seven Hills and our host (tbc).

These informal roundtables provide senior business leaders — Chairs and CEOs — in membership with the opportunity to discuss the impact of Covid-19 on business, the capital and the economy and to look ahead to what business and the government will need to focus on to support the capital’s recovery. All discussions take place under the Chatham House rule. 

The November Chair and CEO roundtable will take place in person as a private dinner.

Councillor David Harvey will lead a roundtable discussion with members regarding the work that Westminster City Council is doing to increase house building in the borough. Members will be able to put their questions to him during the discussion.

London First’s Business Advisory Group comprises leaders from cross-sector businesses, who examine the big questions the capital must answer in order to promote a positive recovery and remain competitive into the future. The group is chaired by London First Chairman Paul Drechsler and connects the business voice with government at all levels.

As part of our series of events with the leaders of London’s most vibrant boroughs, join us for an in-person briefing with Catherine McGuinness, Policy Chair of the City of London Corporation.
 
This event will be an excellent opportunity to hear Catherine discuss her priorities for the City, her perspective on the key issues facing London business and the role that local government can play as we move into the next stage of recovery. 
 
 

Join London First, Compass Group UK, JLL & Ireland and London & Partners, as we bring COP26 to London. 

These virtual roundtables and dinners provide senior business leaders — chairs and CEOs — in membership with the opportunity to discuss the future of business, the capital and the economy with a specific focus on what is needed to support the capital’s recovery from Covid-19. All discussions take place under the Chatham House rule. 

After more than a year of Streetspace interventions in response to the pandemic, and three months of the London e‑scooter trial, what is the future of micromobility and active travel in the capital? Is the increase in walking and cycling sticking now that the city is out of lockdown? What is the role of cycle and e‑scooter hire schemes in the economic recovery of the capital?

The UK has set a target to reduce emissions to net-zero carbon by 2050. To achieve this ambitious target, we as a country will need to think carefully about the wide range of carbon emissions sources, and how best to reduce these. Electric vehicles are not the silver bullet, but they are an important weapon in the fight against poor air quality and climate change. It is necessary for London to act to enable the transition to electric vehicles.

Covid-19 has challenged fundamental assumptions about the world’s largest cities. Cities across the world have seen an unprecedented level of change: initially this was in response to massive, enforced, changes to behaviour, but as Covid recedes, cities across the world have become creative in their recoveries. Urban life is coming back with innovations in transport pricing, new designs for street usage, and fundamental questions about long-term demand for all forms of urban infrastructure.

Join us for a discussion of the priorities London First should pursue in 2021 – 22

Following the devastating impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, London First’s annual event on the River Thames will seek to highlight how the river played an important part in supporting the UK through the immediate crisis and how policymakers should be thinking about the role it can play in delivering a sustainable recovery.

These informal virtual roundtables provide senior business leaders — chairs and CEOs — in membership with the opportunity to discuss the impact of Covid-19 on business, the capital and the economy and to look ahead to what business and the government will need to focus on to support the capital’s recovery. All discussions take place under the Chatham House rule. 

As part of our series of events with the leaders of London’s most vibrant boroughs, join us for a briefing with Councillor Elizabeth Campbell, Leader of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea 

This webinar will be an excellent opportunity to hear the Leader discuss her priorities for Kensington & Chelsea, her perspective on the key issues facing London business and the role that local government can play as we move into recovery. 

The Gigabit Connectivity Network for London brings together London’s leading fibre and mobile operators, and key representatives from the GLA, London Councils, London’s sub-regions and Local Authorities. The purpose of the Network is to facilitate better collaboration between the key private and public sector stakeholders with an interest in accelerating the rollout of full fibre and 5G technologies across the capital.

London First working in partnership with AECOM have produced a publication which considers the delivery of homes through local authorities collaborating with the private sector. During the briefing looking specifically at the Joint Venture model, members will have the opportunity to hear from both London borough representatives and private developers on their view to such partnerships and the benefits of partnership working. 

As part of our series of events with the leaders of London’s most vibrant boroughs, join us for a briefing with Councillor Georgia Gould, Leader of Camden Council.

This webinar will be an excellent opportunity to hear the Leader discuss her priorities for Camden, her perspective on the key issues facing London business and the role that local government can play as we move into recovery. Councillor Gould is also Chair of London Councils and the Recovery Board Growth Lead, so will share insights from those perspectives too.

The Greater London Authority’s (GLA) Infrastructure Coordination Service is an initiative the Mayor of London is trialling in the capital to try and improve infrastructure coordination between housing developers and utility providers. London faces many unique challenges when delivering infrastructure projects, and this service seeks to mitigate some of these problems by employing dedicated infrastructure coordinators who will liaise between developers and utility providers to try and improve their communication.

As London and the rest of the country starts to unlock, join us for a panel discussion on the intersection between the return to work and the economic recovery of our city centres.

An ongoing events series (currently virtual) to discuss key skills issues, for members to promote their good practice, and to foster better collaboration between business and education. The monthly sessions showcase data/​evidence to frame the discussion, members present on what they are doing to tackle the challenge in their organisation and network; followed by discussion and questions on how this good practice could apply to other organisations. This group is open to all, so if you would like to get involved please contact