Why London is the best city in the world to do business
There are several cities throughout the world who can lay claim to being at the heart of the modern business world.
Berlin, Tokyo, New York and Toronto can all boast impressive credentials in this sphere, but London can certainly put forward a strong case for trumping them all when you consider a number of key points.
A 2011 survey produced by global property consultant Cushman & Wakefield named London as the ‘Best Business City in Europe’ for a number of logical reasons.
The criteria from the study where London ranked particularly well included:
- Easy access to markets, customers or clients
- Availability of quality staff
- Quality of telecommunications
- Transport links with other cities and internationally
The ability to perform strongly in these areas indicates why London can now effectively be classed as one of the major business hubs on the planet.
Intriguingly, this particular study is made up of interviews with board directors who are in charge of locations for the 501 largest companies in Europe.
This suggests that they are in a strong position to judge precisely what is required for a major city to class itself as a suitable venue to either set up a new business or expand an existing one.
Eclectic mix of sectors
In addition to the relevant criteria outlined above, one of the most striking things about the companies who currently operate in London is the sheer diversity on offer in terms of the sectors which are catered for.
Whether they have their HQ in the English capital or simply some key premises, every type of service from insolvency practitioners to corporate underwriters can be found in London. Alongside the more carefully structured criteria above, it is probably this diversity which continues to attract companies from across the globe to establish a base of some kind in London.
The coalition government will certainly be hopeful that such features continue to attract new business to London as the UK continues to stage an economic recovery.