Top 10 Highlights of 2021

Posted by Spaciable on 15th December 2021 -

While 2020 was full of uncertainty and angst, 2021 has given us more reason for optimism, and while it hasn’t always been plain sailing, it has produced many highlights – both from a business perspective and on a national scale.

The last two years have felt like a bit of a blur and it takes a bit of digging in the memory bank to discern whether certain events actually happened this year.

While 2020 was full of uncertainty and angst, 2021 has given us more reason for optimism, and while it hasn’t always been plain sailing, it has produced many highlights – both from a business perspective and on a national scale.

Here, in no particular order, are our ten highlights of 2021:

 

Spaciable Legal

In May, we launched Spaciable Legal – a free digital conveyancing tool built into Spaciable, that has reduced completion times by 42% and with 67% fewer fall-throughs. The game-changing feature moves time-consuming paper-based processes online with full transparency, meaning key tasks can be automated and homebuyers are kept motivated by visible progress.

 

Lockdown Lifting

It’s hard to believe that it was only in July that the final restrictions were lifted. It hasn’t always been a smooth road, but the second half of the year has allowed us to attend weddings with all our friends and family, go out dancing, fall back in love with cinema and reunite with colleagues in person!

 

Countryside Order

Even in a turbulent year for the industry, we have received a number of big orders from some of property’s biggest names. Amongst many others, Countryside Properties signed a two year order for completion booklets and Spaciable access for between 4,000 and 6,000 plots, McCarthy Stone ordered 1,200 folios and document boxes, Hill Residential ordered Spaciable access, A5 quick reference booklets and document boxes for almost 800 plots, and we welcomed developers including First Base, Homes for Lambeth, Legal & General Modular Homes, Southwark Council, Stagfield and Hive Homes to the Classic Folios family!

 

Euros

What can we say? It may have ended in heartbreak, but England gave us reason to dream in the summer haze of June and July. From the mature performance against Germany and stylish attacking display against Ukraine, to the euphoria of late and early goals in the semi-final and final, the good times never seemed so good (so good, so good, so good)!

 

Hybrid Working

A big success story from 2021 has to be the effectiveness with which our team adjusted to a hybrid working model, which has allowed our operations to run flawlessly, while keeping team members and their families safe. In a recent survey, 100% of team members reported high satisfaction with our hybrid working arrangements, reflecting the efficiency with which this has been rolled out, and the strong morale it has helped create.

 

Olympics and Paralympics

The summer of sport continued with the rescheduled 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, thankfully rewarding the athletes for their sacrifices and gruelling training, given the one-time uncertainty around whether the Games would go ahead. Team GB matched their second highest medal haul since 1908 in the Olympics and secured second place on the medal table at the Paralympics.

 

Stamp Duty Bounce

After a difficult 2020, the Stamp Duty Holiday provided plenty of reason for optimism, with a high volume of sales creating a great demand for our handover solutions.

 

Sustainability

Will 2021 be looked at as a turning point in our relationship with the planet? After years of taking it for granted, this year seems to have finally opened a lot of eyes to the accumulated damage we have done, and it has been widely acknowledged that it simply cannot go on like this. COP26 coincided with a number of major organisations and businesses announcing their sustainability goals, many of whom we are proud to work with and be supporting on their quest. 

 

Spaciable Living App

As you’ll have seen announced in the video, we have been hard at work developing our Spaciable Living app, readying it for a launch in Q1 2022. Our fantastic development team have worked tirelessly to create an app that will enable home users to fully interact with their home and the wider community, including key and parcel management, and the ability to book shared facilities.

 

Vaccine Rollout

What an incredible effort from the NHS to get 8 in 10 people aged 12 or over double jabbed, with a further 20 million boosters or third jabs also being administered. The freedoms we have enjoyed since the summer are a result of the tireless work put in by healthcare workers, who ran a supremely efficient operation.