Business leaders still favour London as a base, research finds.

Business leaders remain confident in London’s status as a base for their companies, tipping the technology and creative sector as a key area for UK growth.

New research from the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) claims nine in ten (91pc) of the capital’s business leaders still believe London remains a good or great base for businesses, despite Brexit-related risks.

Asked directly if they might consider moving elsewhere 63pc of business chiefs, responding in July and August this year, said they had no plans to move any part of their operation overseas.

Jeff Kelisky, CEO of crowdfunding platform Seedrs, said that a combination of a modern and progressive attitude to financial regulation, strong financial and technical talent, and the UK’s convenient time zone between the US and Asia, “has made London a natural base for some of the most exciting hyper-growth tech companies in recent years".

The pro-London attitude among the 271 chief executives who took part did come with caveats, however, with calls for increased investment in the city’s infrastructure: 69pc would like to see the Government push forward with Crossrail 2, and more than half of businesses want to see the expansion of Heathrow airport made a priority.

In terms of future UK prosperity, two thirds of business leaders identified the technology and creative sector as the area they believe would prove most fundamental for economic growth, and 49pc cited professional services, closely followed by 47pc who tipped fintech.

Phil Moore, vice president northern and southern EMEA at music technology firm Deezer, said that is was essential for the company, which also has a Paris office, to have a London base due to the high number of content and label rights holders based in the UK.

“Even within the tech industry, it is still essential to speak to customers and partners face-to-face and being based in London gives us that advantage. If you are focused on delivering excellent customer service and a unique offering, London is a perfect place to be based,” said Mr Moore.

“Despite the political uncertainty in the air, London continues to enjoy sound economic health and strong business fundamentals,” said Eddie Curzon, the London director at the CBI.

“It’s clear Brexit is weighing heavily on minds in the capital though, so it’s absolutely vital that substantive progress is achieved during the Brexit negotiations and that comprehensive, time-limited transitional arrangements are agreed with all urgency,” he added.


Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2017/09/20/business-leaders-still-favour-london-base-research-finds/
Photo Credit: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg