IN D U ST RY N EW S COVID-19 impact plays out across industry Secondary effects of the COVID-19 crisis on the moving and relocation business have begun to unfold around the world. Regions known for their expat workforces are seeing an outux of employees and their families, as rms reduce wages and staff. A report in Emigrate.co.uk, for example, said economists in Singapore were predicting at least 200,000 redundancies as contracts are cut short, with outward emigration and interest in short-term leases on the rise. Movers in Dubai, Hong Kong, China and other countries are seeing similar outbound movement of staff (see p31 for the impact of COVID-19 on the Asia-Pacic region, and p38 for an interview with Simone Percy, Managing Director of DASA). This uplift in relocations and the release of pent-up demand as restrictions were lifted led to a surge in demand in these and many other markets. In the US, mortgage applications rose for ve successive weeks to the rst week of June and were 54 per cent up since the beginning of April. In the UK, according to property website Rightmove, there was an upswing in interest in properties with gardens located away from cities during lockdown, with the BBC reporting that estate agents had seen a huge revival of interest in moving as restrictions on home viewing were lifted. In the Netherlands, estate agents association NVM said coronavirus had caused minimal disruption, with the number of property exchanges throughout the lockdown period remaining more or less the same as before. Iconic Movers B.V. formerly Pickfords B.V. announced at the start of June that it had called in the administrators as it was Estate agent services had an upturn as restrictions were lifted in many markets declared bankrupt. Meanwhile, the industry continues to negotiate regional variations, with the Schengen area opening up at the start of July, while local lockdowns were reenforced in parts of Germany, the UK city of Leicester, and Melbourne, Australia. India enforced stay-at-home measures in areas of some cities; however, as FIDI Focus went to press, travel and visa applications to visit or live in the country continued to be suspended. International movers have modied their businesses to operate within restrictions. USbased Armstrong Relocation & Companies has even developed a package of services to help clients adapt to the pandemic. These include social-distancing ofce set-up and dorm services, and space transitioning and work-from-home solutions, including workto-home equipment transport, home ofce set-up, and return-to-ofce services. SUDDATH COMPANIES PURCHASE PHASE Suddath Companies has acquired technology consulting and project management company Phase Integration. The Jacksonville-based business said the move is designed to support a strategy of delivering comprehensive workplace design, furniture and technology solutions to the North Florida marketplace. The addition of a commercial technology services division will provide a seamless and complementary approach to Suddaths existing office furniture dealership, Perdue, and position it as Americas largest office mover. The deal expands Suddaths capabilities into audio-visual solutions, structured cabling, lighting and control, sound masking and other workplace technology project management. Mark Scullion, President of Suddath Workplace Solutions, said: The market is thirsty for smart, connected and technologically enabled workplaces. This acquisition will allow us to bring strategic value to our clients much earlier in the project life-cycle to support their IT infrastructure and workplace technology needs. Suddath has also announced the launch of its new global website. Insurance to contain the risks www.reason-global.com 12 FF298 AugSept20 pp12-15 News.indd 12 Solutions outside the box WW W. F I D I FOC U S . OR G 21/07/2020 11:29