The finance capitals of the UK, revealed
- The City of London ranks first with 15% of finance and insurance business present in the area
- Salford, in Greater Manchester, comes in second
- The cathedral city of Carlisle in Cumbria is third
The City of London, Salford and Carlisle are the finance capitals of the UK, a new study reveals.
The study by UK trading company CMC Markets, analysed ONS data on the total number of businesses present across more than 400 districts, counties and unitary authorities in the UK, and compared them to the number of businesses in the finance and insurance sector, to discover where has the highest concentration of finance companies.
City of London ranks first, with 22,305 total businesses, 3,400 of which are within the finance and insurance sphere, resulting in 15.42%.
Second on the list is Salford, located in Greater Manchester, with 1,450 of finance businesses out of 10,910, which corresponds to 13.29%. Finance and insurance businesses are actually the most prominent in the area, followed by professional, scientific & technical ones with 1,315 businesses, and construction companies with 1,170.
Cumbria’s county town Carlisle comes in third, with 5,180 businesses, 625 of which are finance and insurance, resulting in 12.07%. In Carlisle, however, the industry that counts the most businesses is agriculture, forestry & fishing, precisely 765.
Further down on the list, the Borough of Waverley is fourth. Located in Surrey, Waverley counts 8,235 businesses overall, 810 of which belong to the finance & insurance industry, making it 9.84%. Finance and insurance businesses are only the fourth most common in the area, after professional, scientific & technical ones (1,855), construction (900), and information & communication (865).
The top five closes with Stevenage, in Hertfordshire. The city counts 3,185 total businesses, 275 of which are finance & insurance, which corresponds to 8.36%.
Another location worth mentioning is Westminster, in London, which houses 53,370 businesses, of which only 4,290 are within the finance sphere, resulting in a lower percentage regardless of the high numbers, specifically 8.04, placing it in sixth place.
This is followed by Leicester in seventh place, where there are 14,592 businesses, the third highest number in the list, but only 1,155 finance and insurance ones, therefore resulting in only 7.91%.
| Top 10 UK locations housing the most finance and insurance businesses | ||||
| Rank | Location | Total number of businesses | Number of finance & insurance businesses | Percentage of finance and insurance businesses |
| 1 | City of London | 22,305 | 3,440 | 15.42 |
| 2 | Salford | 10,910 | 1,450 | 13.29 |
| 3 | Carlisle | 5,180 | 625 | 12.07 |
| 4 | Waverley | 8,235 | 810 | 9.84 |
| 5 | Stevenage | 3,185 | 275 | 8.63 |
| 6 | Westminster | 53,370 | 4,290 | 8.04 |
| 7 | Leicester | 14,595 | 1,155 | 7.91 |
| 8 | Blaby | 4,150 | 305 | 7.35 |
| 9 | Ashford | 6,485 | 395 | 6.09 |
| 10 | Nottingham | 9,625 | 565 | 5.87 |
A spokesperson for CMC Markets commented on the findings: “It is interesting to see how, apart from the locations within London present in the list, the other finance capitals of the UK are situated in less obvious areas, such as Salford and Carlisle, or Blaby in Leicestershire, which places eighth.
“This proves how the UK is fairly balanced when it comes to financial businesses, and there are clearly plenty of opportunities for people seeking a career in the sector without having to move to London”.
