It might come as no surprise that 64% of entrepreneurs and business executives would choose London as their business location, when given the chance. Companies remain enthusiastic about the London office market with it remaining the most prestigious location for businesses of any size.
It is reported there is potential for 20% annual growth achievable for businesses based in the capital.
Beth Hampson, commercial director at LEO states, “Start-ups, in particular, can thrive in London’s business eco-system and position as a global city, with unrivalled access to investment, customers, suppliers and skilled staff. Part of the attraction of London is the clustering of businesses in different locations, with demand for premium space to do business in London looking set to remain strong.”
London Executive Offices (LEO), conducted a survey of UK based entrepreneurs and business executives. The findings demonstrate that certain locations remain associated with sectors. It was reported that 73% of financial companies surveyed would chose financial hotspots such as Bank and Canary Wharf to base their start-up’s. Fintech SME’s favour the City, in order to be closer to their customer base. This is evidenced by LEO’s recent launch at 1 King William Street already being at over 80% let.
“This research effectively shows the true value of a London business address, and that the capital remains the preferred location in which to set up and do business in the UK, with confidence remaining high in the London office market. Over half of those surveyed believe that being based in London would create a better perception of their business.”
But why are businesses overlooking South London when it comes to picking an office location?
Coworking office spaces are multiplying rapidly in cities such as London. Due to their flexibility and lower cost fees, demand is expanding for serviced and virtual offices and for good reason. Unsurprisingly this is seen as an attractive option for small businesses and start up’s.
The existence of multiple coworking offices shows a healthy entrepreneurial scene in the capital. The 2018 global coworking forecast predicts by 2022 there will be 30,432 spaces and 5.1 million members. Although growth is predicted to slow down within the next five years in comparison to the rapid growth seen in the previous five years.
This vast growth can have attributed to the rise in coworking office spaces opening South of the river.
The South West area of London is often overlooked as a diverse area of the capital, spanning a vaster area then you would originally think. Encompassing Westminster, Kensington and Chelsea, Richmond upon Thames to name a few. Survey results showed that 55% of businesses specialising in luxury goods would chose to base their business in either Kensington or Chelsea.
The South West district is stated to have 1.3 million workers employed within 95,000 businesses, the borough is said to have the highest concentration of international firm headquarters than any other location in London.
In 2016 an initiative titled Backing Business Ambition was set up by private equity specialist LDC and The Telegraph to find the most inspiring medium sized businesses in the UK. London had 5 entrants but the standout was Banham, a family owned security firm who had recently moved to Earlsfield in South London. Banham chairman Charles Hallatt: “There’s no doubt that being here helped us reach our 90th birthday this year.”
Startups.co.uk have recently published their best place in London to start a business guide. The results showed various locations around London to be great areas for start up businesses, but Lambeth stole the show. It was discovered the borough of Lambeth had one of the highest start up rates and the highest percentage of micro-businesses.
It’s safe to say South London is looking more and more attractive.
