Greater London Report from London Business School BSR

Greater London Report“If Paris was the capital of the nineteenth century and New York of the

twentieth, London is shaping up to be the capital of the 21st,” proclaimedNew York magazine in 2007.

A big part of London’s epicentral status can be found at what some wouldargue is London’s heart: the compact, cultivated, commercial crucibleknown as ‘The City’. But there are other major requirements for any

location that aspires to remain in the pantheon of world financial centres:

© Copyright 2012 London Business School

BUSINESS STRATEGY REVIEW 1

1.1 Billion tube passengers annually


World-class transportation The Tube carried a record numbers of passengers in 2010— exceeding 1.1 billion for the first time. The 2012 SummerOlympics brought some £6.5 billion of necessary newinvestments to the transportation system.


400,000 University students living in London


A large pool of professional talentIn this, London is almost unparalleled. It offers a highly educated professionalworkforce, educational institutions with experts available for advice, andopportunities for growth for employees. London is home to more than 400,000university students, some 100,000 of whom are from over 200 different nations —more international students than in any other city in the world.


Technological expertise andinstitutions

This is a necessity if financial organisations are tokeep up with developments affecting flows ofinformation and finance. When it comes to leading-edge efforts in technology, experts such as BruceWeber, Professor of Information Management atLondon Business School, are at the forefront. Their

work will ensure that rogue traders, such as Nick Leeson, who brought about thecollapse of Britain’s Barings Bank (Britain’s oldest merchant bank, the source offunds for Napoleon's wars and the Louisiana purchase) are unable to do suchdamage in the future.


Multicultural and multiethnicpopulationA total of 604 foreign companies are listed on the London Stock Exchange,including the AIM market. It is also the leading Western centre for Islamicfinance, with 22 banks supplying Islamic financial services, five fully Shariacompliant. It is easier to draw foreign companies to an area in which there arepeople who understand their language and culture


300Three hundred foreign languages are spoken in London; and the city has at least50 nonindigenous communities with populations of 10,000 or more.


30%The latest census reports that 30 per cent of the residents of London were bornoutside the UK (some 2.2 million people).


Aside from bringing new languagesand traditions, the immigrants toLondon offer culinary experiencesunmatched by most other cities,with restaurants featuring thecuisines of 70 different countries.


Cultural institutionsLondon is home to some 240 museums. Amongthem are some of the world’s finest, from theTate to the British Museum, the Victoria andAlbert and the National Gallery.


Health careIn addition to the quality medical care availablethrough the National Health Service, London has HarleyStreet, the home of private medicine. The Harley Streetarea boasts some 1,500 medical practitioners.


EntertainmentFrom the Royal Opera House to the West End theatredistrict, London provides world-class entertainment. Thetheatres alone bring in more than £500 million everyyear to the UK economy. Part of the West End’s successis due to the fact that it mounts numerous short-runproductions each year, often featuring stars of film, suchas Ralph Fiennes. Moreover, thanks to Gordon Ramsay etal, London has now gained a reputation for hautecuisine, with many new upscale restaurants openingdespite the slowdown in the world economy.


Shopping and fashionThink Fortnum & Mason, Harrods, Harvey Nichols, Selfridges.London is retailing nirvana. To this can be added the fact thatthree of the world’s most prestigious auction houses —Christie’s, Bonham’s and Sotheby’s — hold regular sales inLondon, where serious buyers of luxury goods can purchase fineart, antiques, jewellery, wine and even classic cars.


SportsFrom Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium to cricket atthe Oval, participating in sports, or losing yourvoice cheering for your favourites, is easy inLondon. All of this was enhanced by the venuesconstructed for the 2012 Summer Olympics,which marked a unique first — London is theonly city to host three Olympics.


This report was part of Business Strategy Review,Volume 23 Issue 2 - 2012

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Greater London Report from London Business School BSR