monday, a week but as we had through monday, a bit more in the way of sunshine. fog causing problems in the south on tuesday morning. this is bbc news. i'm lewis vaughanjones and these are the headlines... aid agencies call for better access to the earthquake disaster zones from turkey to syria as the number of people killed in both countries rises to more than 25,000. the united nations estimates the earthquakes may have left nearly 5.5 million people homeless in syria. the government there says it will allow aid to be delivered to rebel—held parts of the country. despite the odds, people are still being pulled out alive from under the rubble in turkey, more than 120 hours after the first earthquake struck. us fighterjets shoot down an unidentified aircraft over alaska after president biden gave the order to "seek and destroy". troops are trying to salvage the wreckage. three people have been arrested following clashes

with police, outside a hotel providing refuge for asylum seekers on merseyside in northwest england. you're watching bbc news. now it's time for talking business. hello, everybody. a very warm welcome to talking business weekly with me, aaron heslehurst. let's go take a look at what's on the show. the cities that went to sleep for the pandemic are waking up, but how much are the world's great metropolises bouncing back and can they ever get back to where they were? with hybrid and remote working still in place in much of the world, what is the impact on our great cities, their restaurants, economies and property prices? i'm going to be discussing all of that with these two. there they are. dr megan walters, global head of research at allianz real estate, and julian metcalfe, the big boss of the asian food chain itsu. plus, i sit down with yuriko koike, the governor of tokyo to get her view on how one of the world's great capitals is faring after

the olympics and the pandemic. and if that wasn't enough, we've got the global boss of christies who talks dealing with antiques, technology and real people in real auctions now the art world is back. wherever you'rejoining me from around the world, once again, a big hello and a warm welcome to the show. you know, for well over 100 years the move of people from the countryside to the city has been unstoppable. lured byjobs, money and opportunity, global megacities with millions of people have sprung to life but in march 2020 that came to a grinding halt in almost every city on the planet. as the covid pandemic crossed

borders, those who lived in tightly packed density were at the greatest risk of catching and passing on the virus. every major metropolis had some kind of lockdown. busy streets, shops, offices, restaurants and theatres were shuttered as people stayed indoors, turning to online and remote working. others like medical and other essential staff still went to work. but the closing of office space hit not just those working in them but also the people who made their lunches, brewed their coffees and poured their after—work drinks. while debates about restrictions on liberty raged among politicians, perhaps it was the governor of new york who put the reasons for the lockdowns most blatantly to his city. my mother is not expendable. and your mother is not expendable. and our brothers and sisters are not expendable. and we are not going to accept a premise that human life is disposable.

and many people didn't just work from home, they left the city they lived in often to go somewhere a bit cheaper and with more space. so how are our cities coming back? here in london, office occupancy is roughly where it was before the pandemic but only on certain days of the week. in december, numbers showed that around half of office spaces was occupied on a thursday, a little less than the pre—pandemic average of 60%. but that fell sharply on a friday atjust15%, reflecting that many office workers now come in from tuesday to thursday. in new york the number of people riding the subway is averaging around 60% of the pre—pandemic level. and injapan, sales at department stores, they are recovering but they are still around 11% lower than their pre—pandemic level. so what has all of that been doing to property prices in the centres of our big cities and what can it tell us about how our cities are changing? allianz real estate managers office spaces in 47 cities across north america,

europe, shanghai and singapore. so i caught up with its head of global research. dr megan walters, a real pleasure having you with us. let's start with this quite simply put, how are cities bouncing back? thanks, aaron. look, the pandemic changed how we work, how we live and how we shop, so let's just start with shopping. e—commerce was a huge lifeline for many of us during the pandemic but increasingly, people want to go back to shops, so a recent survey of 20,000 global consumers showed seven out of ten want to view product in shops. a bit more in the us, a bit less in asia pacific where they are willing to shop online. in terms of living, one of the biggest changes we saw was actually in the us. between march 2020 and february 2021 during the pandemic, we saw close to 3 million people leave some of the higher density cities and actually move to what we call the sun cities, places like austin, dallas, miami and phoenix, in search of a lower cost of living

and better weather. what is really interesting is since then, two things, first of all, people have stayed in those sunbelt cities. you can see things like high—frequency data such as restaurant bookings remain above pre—pandemic in those lovely cities. but also, interestingly, people are returning to high—density cities. so for example, residential rents in new york are back above pre—pandemic levels and we've got residential rents rising in other global cities, london, singapore, berlin, sydney and milan. this is very much showing that people are staying in cities. that brings us to how we work which is probably the biggest single change out of the pandemic. hybrid working, probably here to stay and what it means for cities in an era of hybrid working is the footprint of cities actually gets bigger. if you only have to go to the office one, two, three days a week, you might choose to live much further out and then commute in.

so in an era of hybrid working, the footprint for these big cities gets even bigger and even more important. so, we've mentioned hybrid working and how that impact on companies but it's a tricky one, because at the end of the day, companies still need the office, even if it's just for part of the week. that's exactly right. about 70% of employers say the office is absolutely central to their ecosystem, for socialisation, for gathering employees together. so although people might be in the office slightly less frequency, it's surprisingly difficult for corporations to give back space. what we think will happen in terms of hybrid working is there is a change of what happens inside the offices. so historically, individual desks, probably made up 60% of floor areas inside offices and meeting rooms more like a0%. moving forward, what is much more likely to happen is that individual

workspaces will fall right back to maybe 30% and the space for collaboration and meetings will increase to more like 50%. megan, let me end on this, what has all of this meant for property valuations? well, let's take an example of somewhere like london, which is an interesting city because we've got three office markets are broadly. we've got the west end office market, so that the area around mayfair, oxford street, bond street. we've got the city of london around the bank of england then we got canary wharf out on the east side. if you look at the vacancy rates in those different office areas, so in the west end, where there are bars and shops and theatres, you have the lowest vacancy

rates, just 4—6%. in the city of london which is more traditional, 8—10% vacancy, and in the very office heavy and at canary wharf, sort of 15 — 17% vacancy. what it is showing is we have demand for offices in some of the areas where people want to go. what holds up property valuations is the rents that people want to pay, so super prime, premium rents are holding up, people very much want those sorts of offices and so that is supporting those sorts of capital values. so we see the super premium offices probably have a 20% premium over more traditional standard offices. during the pandemic, rents actually held up surprisingly well, people continue to pay their rent. the other component for property values is interest rates. recently we have seen a spike in interest rates. what that does is it tends to depress the value of real estate, so rent divided by your cap rate or your interest rate gives you your capital value, so it's interest rates rises that tend to depress the value of offices. but it's a really mixed picture. as i say, super prime offices in the hearts of cities, values are holding up extremely well. it's the secondary grade offices perhaps with worse energy ratings that we see will probably suffer the most. megan, let me end

on this, a prediction. five years�* time we'll be in our city centres more or less? i think we're in our city centres more. i think people want to together to socialise. the draw of cities actually gets bigger in the era of hybrid working. if people don't have to go to the city centre so much for work, they are more likely to come into socialise. i think the great goal for cities, instead of having a central business districts, we need central socialisation districts. mixed use developments that everyone can enjoy. on that note, dr megan walters, a real pleasure having you with us. thank you for your time. i'll talk to you soon. thank you. just before the pandemic locked the world's cities down, my next guest was talking about opening 100 new restaurants around the world and he knows how to do it as well. his first chain of restaurants pret a manger, redefined lunch for office workers in mega cities across the planet. his next venture, the asian inspired restaurant itsu,

it's opened across the uk, it has a small footprint in europe. its new york restaurant closed during covid. so how has the current state of the world's cities impacted on his plans for global expansion? julian metcalfe, it's great to have you on the show. let's start with this, simply put, how did covid and the closing of offices hit your business? it hit itsu much the same way it hit a great many businesses, particularly hospitality. well, infact, everybody. it's like other hospitality businesses in the sense that as the cities slowly fill up, itsu is thriving. we were lucky that a great many itsus were feeding people outside the great cities and in many of the big towns, and they remained very busy as they opened up. it almost seems like a decade ago, 2020, february, doesn't it? we've moved on.

and for many people, operating their business lives differently but the cities are definitely filling up. julian, before covid you had big global expansion plans. how did you have to change those? well, covid put a stop on everything for a great many of us but now we are opening a second and third itsu in paris, france. we're opening, hopefully about to start building in brussels, belgium, a second itsu. and we are talking of planning to open in germany and other countries in europe, so we are still going well. we are very fortunate. what about north america? north america was a classic... situation in the sense we had a landlord there who would not let us off any rent for two years. new york landlords are famously very demanding,

so after two years of paying for rent, we gave up the keys tragically, sadly but we will go back into north america when the time is right. but no, covid destroyed that. just briefly, when will that time be right do you think? i think next, probably at the end of next year. 0nce i think next, probably at the end of next year. once we have a break from opening in other european countries, we will go back into america. america, the whole of america is in dire need of nutritious, affordable food at the right price. as we all know, anybody who has travelled in america knows it is very much reliant on fried, fast food and that needs to change, but that is much easier said than done. fin needs to change, but that is much easier said than done.— easier said than done. on that oint, easier said than done. on that point. julian — easier said than done. on that point, julian metcalfe, - easier said than done. on that point, julian metcalfe, a - easier said than done. on that point, julian metcalfe, a real. point, julian metcalfe, a real pleasure having you on the show. good luck with everything and i will

checkin good luck with everything and i will check in with you soon. 0ne city that has seen people returning to its pre—covert levels is tokyo. i sat down with the city's governor just to find out how is tokyo. i sat down with the city's governorjust to find out how one of the world's greatest city is bouncing back. a real pleasure having you on my show. you are now open for tourists which is wonderful. are you concerned about those tourists bringing back covid with them? the those tourists bringing back covid with them? , ., ., ., ., those tourists bringing back covid with them? , ., ., ., , with them? the situation in tokyo is fine and secured. _ with them? the situation in tokyo is fine and secured. our _ with them? the situation in tokyo is fine and secured. our situation, - fine and secured. 0ur situation, medical situation is stable. we would like to have more inbound tourists to enjoy tokyo.- tourists to en'oy tokyo. tokyo, everybody _ tourists to enjoy tokyo. tokyo, everybody thinks _ tourists to enjoy tokyo. tokyo, everybody thinks of _ tourists to enjoy tokyo. tokyo, everybody thinks of tokyo - tourists to enjoy tokyo. tokyo, everybody thinks of tokyo as l tourists to enjoy tokyo. tokyo, l everybody thinks of tokyo as one tourists to enjoy tokyo. tokyo, - everybody thinks of tokyo as one of the greatest cities on the planet. it has a long and storied history but surely the pandemic would have been one of the big top points if you will in its history. i am just

wondering, as governor, what were some of the toughest challenges you had to make? figs some of the toughest challenges you had to make?— some of the toughest challenges you had to make? as you know we have a big pepulation _ had to make? as you know we have a big pepulation and — had to make? as you know we have a big population and the _ had to make? as you know we have a big population and the pandemic- big population and the pandemic attacked. we suffered quite a lot because we had to prepare for the 2020 olympic and paralympic games and covid—19. but we could do it thanks to your cooperation and the athletes and so many people involved, they committed nicely and we could do that. i think the games offered such a positive manner and to change the way of thinking. the names to change the way of thinking. the games certainly did that. how close is tokyo now to how it was before the pandemic?—

the pandemic? yes, tokyo is very active as before. _ the pandemic? yes, tokyo is very active as before. we _ the pandemic? yes, tokyo is very active as before. we are - the pandemic? yes, tokyo is very active as before. we are asking i active as before. we are asking people to be, enjoy sustainable recovery rather than ordinary recovery. because during three years' time under the pandemic, we have learned about remote working, digital working, so people's way of thinking and also the lifestyle has been changed. you thinking and also the lifestyle has been changed-— thinking and also the lifestyle has been chanced. ., ., . , .,, been changed. you once did this “ob, m “ob. been changed. you once did this “ob, much. you — been changed. you once did this “ob, myjoo. vou fl been changed. you once did this “ob, my job. you are one i been changed. you once did this “ob, my job. you are one offi been changed. you once did this “ob, my job. you are one of the i been changed. you once did this job, my job. you are one of the financial i myjob. you are one of the financial news presenters injapan, but when you were doing that, tokyo didn't have as much competition in terms of other city centres being a big financial hubs. what are you doing to get tokyo back onto the stage as

the financial hub of your region? that is why i am here in london promoting tokyo as an initiative, as an international hub in asia in order to revitalise the market in tokyo. when i was a news presenter, financial news, actually the japanese economy was enjoying a bubble. i thinkjapan and tokyo can resume its power... this a bubble. i thinkjapan and tokyo can resume its power. . ._ resume its power... as a financial centre? as _ resume its power... as a financial centre? as a _ resume its power... as a financial centre? as a financial _ resume its power... as a financial centre? as a financial centre - resume its power... as a financial centre? as a financial centre and| resume its power... as a financial i centre? as a financial centre and by digitalisation _ centre? as a financial centre and by digitalisation and _ centre? as a financial centre and by digitalisation and inviting _ centre? as a financial centre and by digitalisation and inviting more - digitalisation and inviting more youngsters from abroad with the talents and also think tanks are invited to tokyo.— talents and also think tanks are invited to tokyo. governor, a real leasure invited to tokyo. governor, a real pleasure having — invited to tokyo. governor, a real pleasure having you _ invited to tokyo. governor, a real pleasure having you on _ invited to tokyo. governor, a real pleasure having you on the - invited to tokyo. governor, a real pleasure having you on the show. j pleasure having you on the show. thank you so much for your time.

good luck with everything. today we have been looking at how the world's biggest cities are coming back after covid. christie �*s london, the lodges auction house in the world. it is active in 46 countries with showrooms in ten and the pandemic was one of the company �*s toughest challenges. i popped into its london headquarters to catch up with its big boss. a real pleasure having you on my show. thank you for your time. we have been looking at the impact, the pandemic has had on the big cities around the world. you have offices in some of the larger cities on the planet. i'm wondering, how did you pivot christie �*s during what was a horrible time? did you pivot christie 's during what was a horrible time? that's a treat what was a horrible time? that's a great question _ what was a horrible time? that's a great question and _ what was a horrible time? that's a great question and thank- what was a horrible time? that's a great question and thank you - what was a horrible time? that's a great question and thank you for l great question and thank you for having me today. 2020 was a tough year. and we closed our offices. we need a few months to pivot to online auctions and the rebound was really

impressive at the end of 2020 and at the end of 2021. it took us a few months to change and modernise our business model, to accelerate our investment into digital. 2022 was an even better year. the investment into digital. 2022 was an even better year.— investment into digital. 2022 was an even better year. the bounceback has been rather phenomenal. _ even better year. the bounceback has been rather phenomenal. absolutely. | been rather phenomenal. absolutely. because of this _ been rather phenomenal. absolutely. because of this move _ been rather phenomenal. absolutely. because of this move towards - been rather phenomenal. absolutely. because of this move towards online | because of this move towards online sales and also because it is a period of time when we have seen an influx of new clients. developing our online sales has helped engage with a new audience, millennial �*s, especially in asia. at christie �*s in 2021 and 2022, more than 30% of our clients were new to christies and one third were millennial �*s. which of your global offices has change the most? i'm wondering where you are seeing people returning and the flip side where people are staying away? we the flip side where people are staying away?— the flip side where people are sta in: awa ? . ., ., ., .,

staying away? we have four ma'or auction sites. i staying away? we have four ma'or auction sites, london, i staying away? we have four ma'or auction sites, london, new�* staying away? we have four major auction sites, london, new york, | auction sites, london, new york, paris and hong kong. all of these auction rooms i've seen the same phenomenon, moving towards more online sales but still live auctions especially for higher value lots, people want to see the works in the flesh. but in every auction room we have seen a move towards more online sales. the most impressive probably is in asia. why? because the effects of covid were longer, for instance in shanghai we have discontinued our sales. probably in asia people the work towards online has been stronger. work towards online has been stronoer. ., , ., ., stronger. people are returning to cities, so what _ stronger. people are returning to cities, so what are _ stronger. people are returning to cities, so what are you _ stronger. people are returning to cities, so what are you doing - stronger. people are returning to cities, so what are you doing to l cities, so what are you doing to take advantage of that, to embrace the return? brute take advantage of that, to embrace the return? ~ ., ., , take advantage of that, to embrace the return?— the return? we are opening our calleries the return? we are opening our galleries before _ the return? we are opening our galleries before auctions. - the return? we are opening our galleries before auctions. we . the return? we are opening our. galleries before auctions. we have the return? we are opening our- galleries before auctions. we have a few days where we are open free of

charge for anyone to come and visit us. we are trying to engage with new generations of collectors and people. in london and new york we have christie's late. 0nce people. in london and new york we have christie's late. once a month we are opening until late in the evening and redevelop their exhibitions, shows, talks with our specialists or with guests. it's a lively place. i love to mention this example, last year we sold this incredible collection from paul allen, one of the co—founders of microsoft. we sold his wonderful collection for more than $1.6 billion. it was a record—breaking sale. before the sale we welcomed at christie's more than 35,000 people around the world, seeing highlights from this collection. in london, in paris, asia, new york, 35,000 people came to see these artworks, this

wonderful collection free. haee came to see these artworks, this wonderful collection free. have you seen a change _ wonderful collection free. have you seen a change in _ wonderful collection free. have you seen a change in the _ wonderful collection free. have you seen a change in the taste - wonderful collection free. have you seen a change in the taste of - wonderful collection free. have you seen a change in the taste of what | seen a change in the taste of what people are buying and selling because of the pandemic? in people are buying and selling because of the pandemic? in 2020, durin: the because of the pandemic? in 2020, during the pandemic, _ because of the pandemic? in 2020, during the pandemic, during - because of the pandemic? in 2020, during the pandemic, during the - because of the pandemic? in 2020, i during the pandemic, during the most difficult moments we have seen successful sales of design. people at home were buying pieces of furniture or pieces of design probably because they were at home and they were buying for their home. they had more time to think about their interiors. that was something that happened in 2020. since then... and --eole that happened in 2020. since then... and peeple had _ that happened in 2020. since then... and people had more _ that happened in 2020. since then... and people had more money - that happened in 2020. since then... and people had more money to. - and people had more money to. probably more money to spend. that said, for the last ten years, there is a tendency to want more and more contemporary and luxury goods. luxury means jewels, watches, handbags, wine, contemporary art is contemporary art but in different definitions. photos, design,

paintings, sculpture, so that is where the new collectors are primarily buying.— where the new collectors are rimaril bu inc. ~ ., , primarily buying. with online sales, i'm primarily buying. with online sales, i'm curious. — primarily buying. with online sales, i'm curious. i _ primarily buying. with online sales, i'm curious, i am _ primarily buying. with online sales, i'm curious, i am looking _ primarily buying. with online sales, i'm curious, i am looking over - primarily buying. with online sales, i'm curious, i am looking over your| i'm curious, i am looking over your shoulder, there is a painting that is priced at 3.5 million to £5 million. if that went for £5 million, nearly $6 million, and i'd buy that and i am in sydney, australia, how do you get that to me? i am thinking the security around transportation must be phenomenal. brute around transportation must be phenomenal-— around transportation must be henomenal. ~ , ., , ., phenomenal. we will provide you with solutions. phenomenal. we will provide you with solutions- we — phenomenal. we will provide you with solutions. we have _ phenomenal. we will provide you with solutions. we have shippers _ phenomenal. we will provide you with solutions. we have shippers we - phenomenal. we will provide you with solutions. we have shippers we workl solutions. we have shippers we work with, insurers and we will ship it for you. with, insurers and we will ship it for ou. ~ , . with, insurers and we will ship it for you-_ of - with, insurers and we will ship it | for you._ of course. for you. with security? of course. insecure cargoes. _ for you. with security? of course. insecure cargoes. we _ for you. with security? of course. insecure cargoes. we are - for you. with security? of course. insecure cargoes. we are working j insecure cargoes. we are working with network of companies that ship artworks around the world is. that

is what we — artworks around the world is. that is what we do. _ artworks around the world is. that is what we do. you _ artworks around the world is. that is what we do. you mentioned china and we know christie's is the only international auction house authorised to sell on the mainland. now we know china is pretty much opening up but during all of those lockdowns, when it had that zero covid mentality policy, that must have been a big impact on your business. {lit have been a big impact on your business. _, , have been a big impact on your business. , ,, ., ., ., business. of course. shanghai, for instance, business. of course. shanghai, for instance. very _ business. of course. shanghai, for instance, very important _ business. of course. shanghai, for instance, very important in - business. of course. shanghai, for instance, very important in terms | business. of course. shanghai, for. instance, very important in terms of image and for recruiting new clients in mainland china. we had to discontinue the sales but the online sales and our ability to sell from hong kong as well, that has helped us to overcome the situation. the chinese back _ us to overcome the situation. the chinese back buying? yes. - us to overcome the situation. the chinese back buying? yes. i - us to overcome the situation. the chinese back buying? yes. i was. chinese back buying? yes. i was there in november. _ chinese back buying? yes. i was there in november. it _ chinese back buying? yes. i was there in november. it is - chinese back buying? yes. i was| there in november. it is possible now to travel more usually in asia,

especially hong kong, the main hub for auctions and the art world in asia. we are hoping this spring we will see an even bigger opening of the region and yes, we are counting on a rebound in may when we have our main sales in hong kong.— main sales in hong kong. before i shake your _ main sales in hong kong. before i shake your hand, _ main sales in hong kong. before i shake your hand, you _ main sales in hong kong. before i shake your hand, you have - main sales in hong kong. before i shake your hand, you have put - main sales in hong kong. before i. shake your hand, you have put these items in here for this interview. which one are you going to give me? this one. look at the power of this, cecily brown. it is expressionist, colourful, the power of this painting on the wall is amazing. you cannot choose between all of these paintings but this one is really the one i would pick up. that paintings but this one is really the one i would pick up.— one i would pick up. that is again 3.5 one i would pick up. that is again 3-5 million _ one i would pick up. that is again 3.5 million to _ one i would pick up. that is again 3.5 million to £5 _ one i would pick up. that is again 3.5 million to £5 million. - one i would pick up. that is again 3.5 million to £5 million. all - one i would pick up. that is again 3.5 million to £5 million. all i - 3.5 million to £5 million. all i need now is a war big enough to put it on! thank you so much for your

time. that is it for this week. you can keep up with the latest on the bbc website or on the app and you can follow me on twitter. thank you for watching, i will see you soon, goodbye. for most places today sunshine was in short supply but there were exceptions. particularly in the north—east of england and the east of scotland, a decent amount of blue sky overhead in aberdeenshire. that's because there was shelter from the westerly flow that brought all of this cloud in from across the

uk. we will keep some large areas of cloud as we head through the night, that cloud in places thick enough to produce the odd spot of drizzle, perhaps especially in the north—west of scotland. north—east scotland should see clear spells, that could allow for frost and as the cloud breaks elsewhere, again the touch of frost but for most, temperatures will stay several degrees above freezing. tomorrow, this area of high pressure still with us but it slips eastwards and that will allow the wind is to strengthen around some of these western and northern parts of the uk and that should help to break up the cloud. that said there could be the odd spot of drizzle in the north—west of scotland first thing. central and eastern parts of england will struggle to break up the cloud because the winds are set to stay light but with more of a breeze around western and northern parts, we will see more in the way of sunshine and it will be another mild

day with temperatures north to south between nine and 12 degrees. as we move out of sunday into monday, we have high pressure to the east. this frontal system trying to push in from the worst but it will take its time to do so. things will change very slowly as we head through the first couple of days of the week. monday should bring more in the way of sunshine, this southerly breeze should break up more of the cloud. slightly brighter day although parts of eastern england will stay grey throughout. temperatures between nine and 12 degrees, so still mild for the time of year. towards the middle of the week of this weather front should eventually make some progress eastwards. it will be moving quite erratically, there are waves along this weather front so uncertainty about how quickly the rain will arrive but the chance of some wet weather through the middle part of the week, further rain for the end of the week but throughout it is set to stay mild.

this is bbc news — welcome if you're watching here in the uk or around the globe. i'm lewis vaughanjones and these are the latest headlines. aid agencies call for better access to the earthquake disaster zones from turkey to syria as the number of people killed in both countries rises to more than 25,000. over on that side of the border, there is the constant sound of sirens, of heavy machinery, of people working. there is none of that here. down there are small children removing the rubble. the united nations estimates the earthquakes may have left nearly five and a half million people homeless in syria. the government there says it will allow aid to be delivered to rebel—held parts of the country. people are still being pulled out alive from under the rubble in turkey, more than 120 hours after the first earthquake struck.