Demand for office space in High Wycombe has gone up by more than 50 per cent as workers avoid returning to London.

Business owners and industry experts have said London has witnessed its “biggest change in living memory” after the coronavirus pandemic emptied the streets of the capital.

Bustling tourist hotspots and busy city office blocks went silent in March as the government lockdown forced the vast majority of people to work from home and visitor numbers dried up.

A year later, just over half of UK workers have returned to their workplaces but the impact on the City of London is still particularly stark.

Mark Dixon, chief executive of office giant IWG, said demand for central London office space has shrunk over the past 12 months, with more firms eyeing up opportunities outside the M25.

He said the company has seen demand in the city fall by 26 per cent, with a 175 per cent increase in Uxbridge and 52 per cent rise in High Wycombe.

He said: "What we saw during Covid is that liveable cities were less affected than what we called ‘unliveable cities’ or very expensive cities.

“So, if you looked at cities like Copenhagen – where there’s lots of affordable housing, it’s very easy to get to work, there’s a reasonably priced and very good public transport system – it was much, much less affected.”

And High Wycombe has plenty of empty offices that businesses can take advantage of.

According to RightMove, there are 25 properties up for rent in the town currently, including spaces in Frederick Place at the Kingsmead Business Park in Loudwater, St John's Place in Easton Street, Peregrine Business Park in Wycombe Marsh and even in High Wycombe High Street, at Old Bank House.