Cities Outside London Poised for Most Growth

Great Britain is thriving away from the Capital City in places such as Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester, among others. Lower costs of housing certainly help.
Global investors are discovering there is more to Britain than London. Indeed, those who are inclined to alternative investments might find that building commercial and residential properties in the country’s other cities a wise choice.
Consider some of the cities and boroughs around England, Wales and Scotland where healthy growth and an elevated standard of living serve as a draw to disaffected Londoners:
Birmingham – With an active programme to lure London-based high tech firms, Birmingham already has 300 specialist companies in the aerospace industries and one million people with foreign language skills. It also aspires to be a leader in the renewable technologies sector.
Leeds – With a financial services centre second only by London itself, Leeds is projected to experience a 23% growth in GVA over the coming decade. In just the next few years the city is projected to add 44,000 new jobs.
Manchester – England’s “second city,” it boasts a workforce where a quarter of its people hold a degree, many of whom are among the 4,000 graduate engineers coming out of the area’s universities every year. Media and creative industries are robust here, as are the medical research institutes.
Cardiff – With companies in aerospace, automotive and life sciences, a large portion of the 30,000 students who study at the Welsh city’s institutions of higher learning (Cardiff University in particular) remain here after graduation.
Peterborough – Geography and a diverse population make this city more than a bedroom to London. At 70 miles distance from the Capital City, it is a transportation crossroads that provides it with a growing warehousing and distribution industry.
Borough of Allerdale – The west Cumbria economy is growing at 4.2%, compared to London’s 3.7% growth rate and 2.9% for all of the North West. Much growth is centred on the Port of Workington, which received a multimillion-pound investment from the central Government to increase its shipping capabilities.
Bristol – While among the smaller cities in the country, it has an above-average business start-up rate (44 per 10,000 population) and is projected to add 32,000 jobs over the next half decade.
Edinburgh – Life sciences research at the Edinburgh Science Triangle are complemented by informatics, electronics and energy industry clusters. Scotland overall has a quarter of the wind and tidal energy production in all of Europe.
Southampton – While regarded widely for its port, the investment in aerospace, defence, manufacturing, rail and truck transport industries here is fed by spinout firms that originated in research partnerships with local universities.
Liverpool – The city’s world class port is in planning to expand with a container terminal for handling ships that are wider than the Panama Canal locks, while its “Liverpool Waters project will involve £5.5BN investment in its dock system that will add 17,000 jobs. Liverpool has the country’s fastest growing economy outside of London.
Perhaps this is why London is experiencing the migration of some younger workers to these other locales. The 2015 Cities Outlook report from the Centre for Cities found that growth remains strongest in the South, but housing affordability is becoming unbearable for the middle class. A home in London in 2004 cost about nine times average earnings, and ten years later that rose to 15 times average earnings.
When housing is affordable, employers can afford to hire good employees who aren’t spending hours in commutes to and from their workplace.
Speak with an independent financial advisor to learn what might be right for you.

Which is why real asset funds focused on real estate development are sorely needed in cities that wish to grow. Investments in UK land, businesses, real estate, and other real assets offer advantages and risks.

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