United Kingdom Property

The city’s stable infrastructure, leading institutions and consistent property demand continues to attract investors, despite unprecedented circumstances.

After a crisis, more people look to find secure job markets and hone in on leading capital cities like London. Decreasing owner-occupier rates in times of uncertainty further add to the demand for rental.

This growing demand, coupled with an incredibly low base rate of 0.75% set by The Bank of England to encourage borrowing, prime London for buy-to-let investors in 2022.

The story across London remains positive, with some Central London areas still offering good value despite high prices and several Outer London locations showing particularly high potential for strong returns as price growth ripples outwards from the centre of the city. The UK capital’s population has just surpassed its 1939 peak of 8.9 million and is now expected to continue on this trajectory to reach some 11.3 million by 2050, while the city remains up against a housing shortfall that is a distance short of demand.

For years now, housing supply in London has struggled to keep up with demand, creating an acute imbalance in the city’s real estate market and driving up prices. Over 49,000 new homes are required per annum for the next two decades and this target is not being met. The imbalance is at its most severe in areas that offer the most value, such as east London.

The birthplace of the modern industrial world, in recent years the city has diversified beyond its historic moniker of ‘Warehouse City’ to become the beating heart of the Northern Powerhouse.

With high quality properties, global transport connectivity, and a buoyant pool of young talent, Manchester is one of the UK’s fastest growing regional cities. It has a £62.8 billion economy with a £5 billion digital ecosystem that crowned it the UK’s Top Digital Tech City with a reputation for innovation.

Its growth is set to continue with an upward trajectory as the HS2 launches, making London reachable in just over an hour. With average property prices more affordable than the capital and the population continuing to grow, Manchester will see rising pressure on house prices and lower void periods in the years to come.

No economy is immune to the current global pandemic and although Leeds’ Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is anticipated to fall 10.12% in 2020, it is estimated to bounce back strongly by 11.18% in 2021. For the next 4 years, an average of above 5% GDP growth is anticipated for Leeds followed by an increase of 18.23% between 2025 and 2030.

Known as the UK's youngest and fastest growing regional city, this West Midlands powerhouse is showing strong price growth prospects as a direct route to London shortens to 45 minutes.

Set to welcome 170,000 new residents by 2039, house prices are forecast to rise by 15.9% over the next 5 years according to data released in 2020. Source OSN, Oxford Economics

In terms of average asking rents, Birmingham has outpaced the wider West Midlands for many years, seeing a rise of 28% since 2009. This trend is set to continue particularly for Central Birmingham in line with house price growth.

Geographically, Birmingham is positioned at the centre of the UK; a factor that helps to explain the city’s success. Of itself, Birmingham is home to 1.1 million people, while its location means that 90% of the UK’s population is within four hours’ reach.

Birmingham’s economy is the UK’s second-largest at GBP25.3 billion and continues to grow at a rapid pace. 25.5% GVA growth is forecast in Birmingham between 2018-2028, above the regional average of 23% for West Midlands.

As Hull’s beating heart, its city centre provides residents with convenient access to local amenities, employment, and transportation links while surrounded by a scenic medieval backdrop. The centre is home to the city’s best attractions and activities, restaurants, shops and businesses. Bustling bars are located in the Old Town district, while the River Hull Marina offers a stunning dining backdrop for the city’s most favoured restaurants. The main shopping districts are located along the historic streets of Whitefriargate and King Edward Street, and the modern shopping centres along Jameson Street.

As the UK’s 2017 City of Culture, Hull has proven the quality of its cultural offerings including museums, theatres, art venues and gardens scattered throughout the city. The compact size of Hull’s city centre provides residents with easy access to all amenities within walking distance or a short commute. Hull also has excellent transportation links, connecting its residents to the rest of the UK and further afield via road, rail, and air. Employment hubs and the University of Hull located outside the city centre can be easily reached through public transport. Under Hull’s new City Plan, the city’s connectivity is set to further enhance, while remaining in line with its sustainability targets.

The rest of the UK can be reached through Hull Paragon Train Station located in the centre. Longer distances within the UK and abroad can be accessed through the city’s Humberside Airport, located30 minutes outside the city centre.

Located in the county of Yorkshire, York’s history dates back to the Roman era. It has retained its prominence over the centuries and was the third-largest city after London and Norwich by 1660. During the 19th century, unlike other larger northern cities such as Manchester and Sheffield, York didn’t see many benefits from the early stages of the industrial revolution as it lacked an extensive canal system to allow the mass transport and trade of goods. However, the arrival of the railway in 1839 meant that the city’s already famous confectioners, Terry’s, and Rowntree’s (as well as other major employers), could rapidly expand their sales providing more jobs and investment from their philanthropic owners. Because of this, York is still known as the home of British chocolate.

Throughout the 20th Century, York expanded its footprint in chocolate and confectionary production. By 1937, the Terry’s factory employed over 2,500 people in the city. Rowntree also expanded rapidly, and by 1988 was the fourth largest chocolate manufacturer in the world, responsible for making favourites such as Kit Kat and Aero. This success led the Swiss confectionary giant, Nestlé, to buy out the company that same year for GBP2.55 billion (equivalent to GBP5.73 billion in 2021) making it the largest-ever foreign purchase of a British company at that time. Nestlé still produces around 3 million Kit Kat bars in York daily and the city is home to Nestlé’s Product Technology Centre.

In 1991, York completed construction of their revolutionary science park providing state of the art research and development facilities. This allowed the city to attract some of the most exciting companies in the industry such as Aptamer Group and Optibiotix; allowing York to reinvented itself as a continental centre for Biotechnologies.

In 2016 York introduced their economic strategy to be the intellectual hub of the Northern Powerhouse. It aims to be recognised as the place to do business for a number of distinctive industries which rely on the local high-quality skills base

From its prestigious universities and entrepreneurial structure, to the vibrant art and music scene, the northern city of Sheffield boasts an ideal lifestyle offering.

Once renowned as the centre of steel manufacturing, modern-day Sheffield has developed into a metropolis of opportunities with an ever-increasing population of young professionals and businesses. This growth has led to a rise in the economy and a forward trending real estate market for homeowners and investors.

The ’S’ postcode is one of the greenest cities in Europe, with over two million trees, 250 parks and the nearby Peak District. The city is the playground of choice for those looking for adventures or a lifestyle surrounded by beautiful nature. With seamless access to major motorways, as well as being regarded as one of the safest cities in the UK, it is no wonder Sheffield continues to welcome new residents each year.

As the capital of Scotland, Edinburgh has become a bustling business, education and tourism hub that attracts talent, students and visitors from across the world. Edinburgh sits just 332 miles north of London accessible within 1 hour and 20 minutes by air, or in under 4 and a half hours by train.

Celebrated as one of the most beautiful cities in the world, Edinburgh’s distinctive sandstone architecture, green open spaces and lengthy history has earned the city UNESCO World Heritage status. The city’s charming New Town area covers over 450 hectares and is characterised by vast Georgian terraces dating back to 1767. Unsurprisingly, Edinburgh is regularly voted one of the world’s best cities to live in.

As a major capital city, Edinburgh benefits from continued investment and confidence from some of the largest and fastest-growing companies in the world, such as Amazon, Microsoft and IBM.

Due to a declining post-war birth rate and persistent net outward migration, Edinburgh’s population saw little growth in the final two decades of the 1900s. However, since the beginning of the 2000s, Edinburgh’s population has seen sustained growth, increasing by 19% to 2021, due to a substantial increase in people moving to the city to look for economic prosperity. Edinburgh’s working population has increased by 21% in the last 20 years - 3 times more than Scotland’s average. The city of Edinburgh is currently the second most populous in Scotland, registering 532,200 residents as of 2021. The population is expected to continue growing rapidly, and reach about 570,000 residents by 2035, a 27% increase since 2000.

Edinburgh is a powerhouse within the Scottish economy, as well as the wider UK economy. A key driver of Edinburgh’s sustained economic growth include the city’s highly skilled population. The city’s status as an international hub for financial services and a centre for science and technology; coupled with its strong higher education sector has made Edinburgh attract the most foreign direct investment of any other city in Scotland.

Edinburgh excels in a broad range of sectors from data science and cyber security to renewable energy and stem cell research. Moreover, the city produces one of the highest rates of successful business start-ups in the UK in various fields. Home to 638 high-growth companies employing an estimated 24,000 people with just under half in the technology sector, the culture of entrepreneurship has led Edinburgh to be UK Entrepreneurial City of the Year, and a Global City of the Future.

As result of the city’s successful economic strategy, Edinburgh’s GDP has grown by a considerable 157% since 2000, totaling GBP29.4 billion as of 2021. After shrinking only slightly in the global financial crisis and Covid-pandemic, the economy is expected to continue growing and produce GBP55 billion per annum by 2035. At the same time, average GDP per capita has risen 117% since 2000 and is expected to increase by a further 75%, reaching a staggering GBP96,456 by 2035.