South East: Thames Valley powers the best region for growth outside London, reports LSH

The South East is the UK’s fastest-growing economic region outside London, with the Thames Valley home to three of the top five UK towns and cities best placed for growth in 2016.  This is confirmed by the annual UK Vitality Index published by commercial property consultancy Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH).

The Index identifies towns and cities that have healthy and robust local economies; are best placed to support growth and will provide opportunities for businesses to expand. Four of the top five locations are in the South East – Brighton, Oxford, Reading and Guildford – and notably three of these are in the Thames Valley.

Affluent commuter towns such as Guildford performed well, as did dynamic hubs of commerce and hi-tech industry such as Oxford and Reading.

While falling outside the top 10, Maidenhead ranked highly in the most entrepreneurial index and fastest-growing index and has the largest number of  businesses per 1,000 people. This town will benefit from Crossrail and Western Rail Access to Heathrow and it will be very interesting to see if it appears in the top 10 list in 2017.

LSH’s head of the Thames Valley Nick Coote commented: “The Thames Valley stands out as the most successful location for business outside London due to its quality living environment, connectivity to the City and Heathrow – all attracting a creative, educated, skilled workforce.”

The top 10 towns and cities in the 2016 UK Vitality Index are:

• Cambridge
• Brighton
• Oxford
• Reading
• Guildford
• Bristol
• St Albans
• Manchester
• Edinburgh
• Milton Keynes

 

Data calculation

The results of the ‘UK Vitality Index’ are based on the analysis of 20 datasets, with each city ranked within six separate categories: most productive, fastest-growing, most entrepreneurial, best educated, greenest and growing affluence. 

To see the full report, click here.