Figures released from the City of London Corporation show that 89% of global institutional investors view London as having the best pool of talent for financial services in Europe.
This comes as the Corporation’s report, ‘The City as a Place for People’, published ahead of the global property exhibition, MIPIM, taking place in Cannes from 13 to 16 March, found that London continues to be the world leader at the heart of deal-making, business and attracting the very best international talent.
The figures, which looks at London’s competitiveness on the international stage, show London as the best European city for businesses according to 58% of institutional investors, the clear frontrunner of all the European cities, and almost three times more popular than the next city on the list, Dublin, at 22%.
The findings of The City as a Place for People report were supported by a separate survey of 2,568 corporate decision makers spread evenly across France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom. The study showed that London far out-stripped continental rivals when given a choice of 20 cities. When asked:
- `Which European city has the best pool for talent?’, 20% voted for London, 13% for Paris, and 8% for Frankfurt
- `What is the best European city for business?’ 21% voted for London, compared with 13% for Paris and 7% for Frankfurt.
Businesses listed the City’s proximity to innovative and creative clients and tech hubs, the breadth and depth of expertise across financial and professional services, transport infrastructure, cultural offering, smart enabled office buildings and access to world-leading specialists, services and clients amongst the reasons that they continue to select the City of London.
Policy Chairman of the City of London Corporation, Catherine McGuinness, said:
“People and talent are more crucial than ever to business operations, decisions and global competitiveness. It is clear that London continues to lead the way as an international business centre and location for companies seeking access to its unrivalled talent and amenities.
“As one of the most sophisticated financial clusters in the world, London’s creative energy continues to shine through. With businesses basing their location decisions on the quality of what they are able to offer their employees, place is increasingly becoming an asset. More businesses are taking a closer focus on the design of their building, facilities and local amenities.”
The City as a Place for People, produced through interviews and roundtables with 65 top businesses, property developers, owners and advisers, demonstrates that the City of London is at the forefront of the global push towards making the office building itself a means of attracting and retaining talent.
This has resulted in a dense business cluster, where 483,000 people, or 9% of London’s workforce, are employed and 24,420 businesses are located – 99% of which are SMEs.
Furthermore, while financial, professional and associated business services account for 361,000 jobs in the City of London, the City is diversifying and attracting newer kinds of occupiers from emerging sectors, with 38,000 of those in the information and communications sector and 1,200 new start-ups choosing to locate themselves in the City every year.
The research of 101 global institutional investors was carried out by global advisory group FTI Consulting in January 2018, with a separate poll of 2,568 European decision makers was carried out in December 2017.
