London is world’s fourth-most dynamic city
London is in the top five cities for companies to lay down roots, a fresh study has found, despite the UK suffering years of economic stagnation and reports of an exodus of its wealthiest and high-skilled residents.
According to Savills’ inaugural corporate dynamic wealth index, London is the fourth-best location in the world for major corporate occupiers, closely behind New York in third, with Seoul and Singapore making up the top two.
The UK’s capital continues to be “highly competitive and an attractive location” for blue-chip firms, the study’s authors said, with its economy, knowledge-based workforce and tech ecosystem luring top employers to set up shop in the city’s various corporate districts.
London’s status as a mainstay of global city rankings was unaffected by what Paul Tostevin, a director of Savills World Research, described as an “increasingly changeable geopolitical and economic backdrop” that had prompted wealth flows to evolve.
“Traditional predictors of global wealth flows, such as government policies, taxes and incentives, and the presence of innovative talent pools, have always been key drivers of footloose companies,” Tostevin said.
“These will continue to play a major role, but a sense of place, and a high quality of living, are progressively the deciding factor when making location decisions.”
London secured its place in the top five – which also comprised Abu Dhabi in fifth – in the face of several months of warnings that the capital is haemorrhaging its top talent and wealthiest inhabitants to jurisdictions with lower tax burdens and faster growing economies.
Tax advisers and relocation specialists have argued that the decision to abolish the non-dom regime, a generous tax status afforded to wealthy foreigners, combined with the UK’s moribund economy was serving to push London-based wealth creators out of the country.
And a bombshell study published in January estimated that a net 10,080 millionaires left the UK in 2024. The figure, produced by wealth intelligence firm New World Wealth, was 157 per cent higher than that of the year, and meant Britain was losing more dollar millionaires than any country in the world bar China.
The Savills research also highlighted other headwinds facing firms wanting to establish a presence in London, including higher office rents relative to other rival cities and constraints on high quality office supply.
But pointing to the city’s skills base, infrastructure and culture, Andrew Barnes, director of central London tenant representation at Savills, said London “continues to be a world leader” at attracting talent and corporate occupiers.
“Our conversations with occupiers are consistent; they need and want to be in London, despite the continued high costs relative to other international cities,” he added. “There is an increasingly limited supply of the best quality space, and tenants are having to plan well ahead to get the best choice and terms.”