The changing spatial nature of business and employment in London

Key information

Publication type: General

Publication date: Saturday 20 February 2016

GLA Economics commissioned Trends Business Research (TBR) to undertake a study of the changing spatial nature of businesses in London over time. This analysis will inform ongoing work developing the Economic Evidence Base for London.
Working Paper 73 finds that, overall, London has been a net contributor of firms and employment to the rest of the UK economy through outward migration (that is, over the time period considered, more businesses have migrated out of London than have migrated into London from the rest of the UK).
The Information & Communication; Finance & Insurance activities; and Professional, Scientific and Technical activities sectors are particular industrial specialisations for London. However, the extent of the specialisation appears to have diminished a little between 2004 and 2013.