Scale and Extent of the Economic Links Between Leeds and London · 2018. 6. 13. · Migration in 2016 Leeds City Region has the highest concentration of higher ... Retail & the Visitor

Scale and Extent of Economic Links between Leeds and London

Leeds City Council

May 2018

Introduction 3

Business Connections 6

Academic Collaboration 36

Transport Connections 45

Population & Labour Market Connections 49

Investment Flows 54

Positioning Leeds 59

Opportunity Mapping 66

Note: Images used in this report may be subject to Copyright

2

Contents

Introduction

Introduction

Leeds is already a vibrant, successful andinternational city full of innovation and enterprise, withstrong economic prospects for its future. The city’sstrong growth is partly the result of its highly skilledworkforce, innovation made by its universities andbusinesses, and its strong underpinning infrastructure.Leeds cannot be complacent, and it should continueits efforts to attract more high-calibre of firms to thecity.

This research has been commissioned to betterunderstand the current economic connectionsbetween Leeds and London, and future opportunitiesfor growth in these links between the two cities. Thekey connections which have been assessed betweenthe two cities are:

• Business Connections

• Academic Collaboration

• Transport Connections

• Population & Labour Market Connections

• Investment Flows

This study comes at an important time for both cities,with the Leeds Inclusive Growth Strategy (2017-23)having recently been launched at a similar time toLondon’s Economic Development Strategy. It isimportant for Leeds to understand how its economycan both complement and compete against London’s,and where the biggest opportunities lie in the future.

There are already a number of future developmentswill further help to strengthen the connectionsbetween the two cities. When HS2 is completed,journey times between Leeds and the capital will beshortened from 2hrs 20mins to 1hr 20mins, and furtherimprovements to the office stock within Leeds willcontinue to make the city an attractive place forinward investment. This, combined with Leeds’ currentsector strengths, creates a promising future for bothcities.

4

Study Context

Population & Labour Market Connections

Investment Flows

Academic CollaborationTransport Connections

Business Connections

Summary Infographic 5

of office space in Leeds is owned by London-basedbusinesses, alongside 62% of retail space & 33%of industrial space

of Leeds employers want improved connections toLondon to help improve their business

8,500 train journeys between Leeds and London each day

+19% increase in business train travel over the last five years

3,100 passengers flying between Leeds and London each week+35% increase in passenger numbers over the last five years

Leeds

London

3,4

00

Migration in 2016

Leeds City Region has the highest concentration of highereducation institutions in the UK outside of London.

Strongest potential for sector collaboration across some ofLeeds’ targeted growth sectors:

HealthCreative &

DigitalFinance &

Professional

21%

54%

universities across the city region, with located in Leeds9 4

Most popular destinations for those travelling from Leeds to London for work are Westminster, Camden, Heathrow Airport & Canary Wharf

48 trains per day between Leeds and London, taking an average of 2hrs 12mins

new graduates in the city region each year39,000of whom move to London after graduation1,000

• Strong net inflow of people into Leeds from London aged 18-20, heading for local universities

• Net loss of people from Leeds aged between 20 and 30 of around 3,000 people each year

• Net inflow of people returning to Leeds over 30, seeking a better quality of life

Similar distribution of courses being taught in Leeds and London

Future employment growth is expected to be across similar sectors: Accommodation, food and recreation; professional and real estate; public services; and finance & insurance sectors

Leeds and London are natural trade and investment partners, with a dynamic flow of two-way expansions.

In the last two years more than ambitious businesses have moved between the two cities and established a new facility in Leeds or London.

30

4,3

00


Business Views & Growth SectorsMany businesses operating in Leeds already have close relationships with London. The Leeds City RegionBusiness Survey (2017) found that 21% of Leeds employers thought better connections with London would bebeneficial to their business, the joint highest city in the country – equal to those citing Manchester (21%). Acrossthe City Region, only 12% cited that closer connections to London would be beneficial, showing the strongrelationship Leeds has to London.

Despite this, many of Leeds’ businesses are not directly owned from London, with the same survey finding that86% of Leeds businesses being the headquarters of the business, and only 14% saying it was just abranch/subsidiary.

LEEDS’ GROWTH SECTORS

Businesses in Leeds operate across a broad range of sectors, and so to further highlight business links betweenLeeds and London, we have assessed each of Leeds’ Growth Sectors in turn, identifying the connections betweenLeeds and London, and potential opportunities for collaboration in the future. The sectors analysed are:

HEALTH, MEDICAL & THE AGEING POPULATION

FINANCIAL AND PROFESSIONAL

SERVICESCREATIVE AND

DIGITAL CONSTRUCTION

MANUFACTURINGRETAIL AND THE

VISITOR ECONOMY

SOCIAL ENTERPRISE & THE

THIRD SECTOR

Growth sectors that will help deliver Leeds’big ideas...


Leeds has ambitions to drive its economic growth through seven key sectors. These are set out in the LeedsInclusive Growth Strategy, which aims to fulfil the city’s economic potential, enhance its competitiveness andbecome more resilient. These sectors cover a large part of the Leeds economy and provide large numbers ofjobs at all levels.

Many of Leeds’ priority sectors already have a strong presence in London. The Mayor of London’s recentlylaunched Economic Development Strategy for London also aims to create ‘a fairer, more inclusive economy’and it prioritises a number of similar sectors to Leeds.

Growth Sectors

Leeds Growth SectorsLeeds Leeds City Region London

% Employ LQ % Employ LQ % Employ LQ

Construction 5% 1.0 5% 1.0 4% 0.8

Creative & Digital 4% 1.1 3% 0.7 6% 1.4

Financial & Professional Services 19% 1.3 14% 1.0 23% 1.6

Health, Medical & the Ageing Pop. 13% 1.0 15% 1.1 11% 0.8

Manufacturing 7% 0.7 11% 1.2 2% 0.3

Retail & the Visitor Economy 12% 0.7 13% 0.9 16% 1.0

Employment and Sector Specialisation (LQ) across Leeds’ Growth Sectors

Source: BRES, ONS, 2017


Strategically, Leeds and London areclosely connected, with both cities havingvery similar aspirations for theirrespective economies.

The Mayor of London has already set outaspirations to improve collaborationbetween London and the rest of the UK,with the Mayor keen to build strongerpartnerships, in particular withauthorities which are keen to exploremutual benefits arising from strategicgrowth opportunities and the realisationof corresponding employmentopportunities.

The Mayor of London has already set outambitions to look further afield to theNorthern Powerhouse so that Londonand the UK can grow successfullytogether. The Mayor will take the lead inbringing together UK cities, businessleaders and institutions to maximiseopportunities for innovation, businessgrowth and market expansion.

9

Strategic Alignment

Health, Medical & The Ageing Population

(Life Sciences)

Financial & Professional

(Business) Services

Creative & Digital (Tech & Digital)

Construction

Manufacturing

Retail & The Visitor Economy (Tourism)

Social Enterprise &

The Third Sector

London’s Growth Sectors

The Mayor’s Economic Development Strategy for

London

Leeds’ Growth Sectors

Leeds Inclusive Growth Strategy

Advanced

Urban

Services

Low Carbon

Goods &

Services


Employment forecasts for both Leeds and London suggest that both cities are likely to experience growth insimilar sectors. The visitor economy; professional and real estate; public services; and finance & insurancesectors are all set to expand in both cities. The main differences between the two is the faster rate ofdeindustrialisation taking place in London, with declines in employment expected in the manufacturing andtransport & storage sectors over the next ten years.

The complementary growth patterns across the two cities reflect the similar growth aspirations set out by LeedsCity Council and the GLA in their respective Economic Development Strategies. This close alignment means thatthere will be opportunities in the future for both economies to collaborate.

10

Future Growth Trends

13%12% 11%

9%8% 8% 7% 6%

4%

-5%

14%

19%

10%

6%

12%10%

-2%

16%

1%

-14%

-15%

-10%

-5%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

Visitor Economy Professional &

Real Estate

Public Services Finance &

insurance

Admin &

support services

Construction Transport &

Storage

ICT & Digital Wholesale &

Retail

Manufacturing

Leeds London

Future Employment Growth Projections by sector, 2017-27

Source: GLA Long Term Labour Market Projections, 2017 & REM employment forecasts for Leeds, 2017


Focus on...Health, Medical & the Ageing Population

Numbers in 000s Leeds Leeds CR London

Employment, 2016 50 165 466

Businesses, 2017 3 10 34

Recent Employ growth (2010-16)

11% 8% 21%

Employ. Specialisation 1.0 1.1 0.8

CURRENT OVERVIEW

LEEDS POSITION

SECTOR TRENDS

• One of the leading digital health sectors nationally,fostered by the Digital Health Enterprise Zone

• Home to two market leading health/IT systems EMIS andTPP

• Centre for the largest healthcare data platform in theworld NHS Spine and NHS Social Care Information Centre

• Wide ranging R&D activities across the region led by centresof excellence for medical research including the Universityof Leeds. Half of all academic research in the city is inhealth and care.

• Leeds CR accounts for 22% of digital health jobs nationally

• Forecast strong growth globally• Growing impact of an ageing population and wider reforms

to healthcare provision• Mid-tier, SME and speciality companies are driving change• Clustering around niche activities• Healthcare informatics• High skill requirements to support R&D, manufacturing and

supply

Half of all research in Leedsis in health and care

Centre for the largest dataplatform in the world

Leeds CR accounts for 1-in-5digital health jobs nationally


Focus on...Health, Medical & the Ageing Population

Opportunities:• Strong crossover exists between health sectors in Leeds and London, and the presence of the NHS in Leeds provides significant

opportunities for innovation in digital health & care. Strong academic links already exist between the two cities.

• There is potential for digi-health firms across both cities to collaborate on a more regular basis. The provision of a hub/base inLondon for Leeds-based firms would act as an important base for facilitating these links.

• Ambitions to develop the Leeds Innovation District and the Health Innovation Gateway should look to attract partners andcollaborators from Leeds and London to share ideas, especially in medical devices, wearable tech and data analytics.

• Build on the strategic aspirations within both cities to support the development of life sciences, health and medical sectors.Improve collaboration between the two cities, and use this as a platform for joint funding bids (e.g. Industrial Strategy ChallengeFund).

LONDON POSITION

• Life sciences targeted sector in the Mayor of London’sEconomic Development Strategy

• QMUL investing in a new state of the art life sciencescampus in Whitechapel

• MedCity – promoting the life science cluster inLondon/South East through facilitating and supportingcollaboration

• Francis Crick Institute - a new £650 million researchfacility in London

• DigitalHealth.London Growth Accelerator

Opportunities to increase collaboration between Leeds and London-based

businesses to support innovation within the sector, especially given the presence of NHS Digital and wider Department of

Health functions in Leeds

Build on the strategic aspirations in both cities for growth within life sciences, health

& medical sectors

What do you do?

NHS Digital is the national information and technology partner to the health and social care system. The teamruns, stores and protects the digital infrastructure which keeps the NHS functioning. Two nationally significantfunctions are based in Leeds 1) the crucial Cyber Security department safeguarding personal information andprotecting the IT systems from continuous external threats. 2) NHS Spine which allows secure sharing ofinformation from over 23,000 healthcare systems in 20,500 organisations.

Where is your business currently located?

There are 14 offices across England with four, including the head office, being located in Leeds. London andExeter are home to two offices each, with the rest being located in regional towns. The organisation currentlyemploys roughly 3,000 staff with 2,000 of these located in Leeds. The key management decisions and productdelivery services are centralised in Leeds.

Why did you choose to locate in Leeds?

Leeds’ digital economy placed it as an ideal location for the organisation to locate given the technical nature of itswork. In the field of health and life sciences Leeds is home to as a cluster of key private and public sectororganisations, with one of the strongest pulls being NHS England's presence in the city.

How has this benefitted you?

NHS Digital has seen numerous benefits of locating in Leeds, the most obvious being the supply of technical skillswithin the city, a key benefit given the national digital skills shortage. The organisation has had good success inrecent years by recruiting talented graduates from the local area, boosting technical expertise. The cluster ofdigital health firms within the City has helped the delivery of services, with major health IT system providers beinglocated within the city such as EMIS and TPP. Further, the burgeoning public sector presence in the city hasimproved our communication with auxiliary government and NHS services.

As a result of this success the organisation has committed the foreseeable future to the city by signing up to theGovernment Hub building in Leeds with central government partners. The building will be home to 6,000 civilservants taking 378,000 sq ft of office space on a 25 year lease from 2020.


NHS Digital


Focus on...Financial & Professional Services


Employment, 2016 69 163 1,013


Recent Employ. growth (2010-16)

22% 20% 33%


CURRENT OVERVIEW SECTOR TRENDS

• Rise in technology-based companies means sector will befaced with new business models and financing methods

• The rise of FinTech, with increasing levels of technologicalinnovation in the financial sector driving growth (e.g. retailbanking, investment strategies and crypto-currencies)

• Uncertainty over the future of the sector following Brexitregarding the need for EU ‘passporting’ rights to accessEuropean markets

LEEDS POSITION

• Second largest financial sector and legal sector in the UK

• National headquarters of a number of major banksincluding First Direct, CYBG plc (owner of Yorkshire andClydesdale Bank)

• Home to 30 national and international banks, and hoststhe HQs of three of the five largest building societies

• University of Leeds ranked 4th nationally for Accountingand Finance degrees

Second largest financial &legal sector nationally

Home to numerous bank &building society HQs

Strong academic background


Focus on...Financial & Professional Services

Opportunities:• Leeds’ position as the second financial and legal hub in the UK (and London as the first) means there are already strong

connections between the two cities with many companies operating in both cities and well-established relationships. Leeds’strengths in the digital economy means it is well placed to take advantage of new innovations in finance, especially if Leeds isto fulfil its ambitions to become a centre for excellence in fintech and cybersecurity.

• Improving collaboration between Leeds and London-based firms (e.g. through networking sessions and events) would help tofurther facilitate innovation across both cities.

• Leeds should look position itself in order to attract financial and professional service firms struggling with London’s high rents,with its competitive offer, and look to identify footloose fintech firms in London which may be looking for cheaper premises(especially those which may be space intensive (e.g. data centres)).

• In developing a Financial & Professional Services network with the LEP, and working alongside the already established LeedsLegal Network, opportunities within London should be promoted through these networks to Leeds-based businesses.

LONDON POSITION

• Targeted sector in the Mayor of London’s EconomicDevelopment Strategy

• Home to key FS institutions such as the Bank of Englandand FCA

• Global headquarters of many international banks andinsurance companies including Lloyds, Standard Charteredand Barclays

• Move towards ‘Open Banking’ led by the Competition andMarkets Authority invigorating London’s world leadingFinTech centre

• High office rents putting pressure on the sector

Opportunity to establish stronger business and strategic connections between the two

cities, building on sector’s growth aspirations within Leeds Growth Strategy &

London Economic Development Strategy

Attract footloose firms struggling with high costs in London, and help support firms

requiring more space to support business (HQ) functions in London (e.g. finance &

HR)

What do you do?

PwC is a multinational professional services companywith a network of firms in 158 countries with morethan 236,000 people. PwC offers industry-focusedservices including audit & assurance, tax, businessrecovery, consulting, sustainability, forensic services,transaction services, people & organisation andcorporate finance.


PwC is headquartered in London with 30 officesacross the UK. Around 770 people are currentlyemployed in the Leeds office with 23,000 peopleemployed nationally. 18 months ago, PwC moved tonew premises on Wellington Street, and is alreadyexpanding the size of the office to three floors to meetthe recent growth in their workforce.

PwC’s National Centre of Excellence in ConsumerMarkets is located within the Leeds office. The Leedsoffice also has a large and growing technology team,building on the wider strength and growth aspirationsof the Leeds digital economy, including specialists incyber security, data analytics, drones, AI and VR.Employees within the Leeds office frequently workalongside colleagues in London and other regionaloffices, with video technology helping to facilitatethese links.

Why is your business expanding the Leeds office?

Nationally, PwC have begun to consolidate theiroperations into 8 National Centres from which they willbe able to offer more expert-driven support to theirclients. Leeds has been chosen as one such office forthe Yorkshire & Humber region, given the size of theoffice and the strength of the Leeds market. It isexpected that the Leeds office will continue to build onthe business footprint generated by the existingSheffield and Hull offices, and also ensure thecompany is able to focus its investment in the latesttechnology to benefit its clients.

How are you helping to attract talent to Leeds?

PwC are looking to work with local partners to improvegraduate retention within the city, and have partneredthe In Leeds Day programme, which aims to makegraduates more aware of opportunities in the city.They have recently launched a Higher ApprenticeshipDegree with the University of Leeds which will initiallysee 40 students a year combining university life withpaid for practical work-based technology projects atPwC, based in the same city as they are studying, withthe expectation that many of these will join PwC on apermanent basis upon completing their qualification.


PwC

What do you do?

KMPG is a multinational professional service companyemploying around 189,000 people around the world.KPMG offers an array of professional services,including audit and assurance, tax, advisory,enterprise, small business accounting and businesstechnology.


KPMG is headquartered from the outskirts ofAmsterdam, with the UK headquarters located inLondon. The Leeds office is the fourth largest in theUK, employing 1,000 staff out of 15,000 nationally.Thirty partners are based in the Leeds office, offeringKPMG’s typical array of professional services. Severalnational specialisms are based in the Leeds office,including tax (capital allowances) and regulatory risk.New specialisms are being constantly developed in theLeeds office, including the recent acquisition ofCyberinc’s 24-strong cyber security team, which hasmoved into the Leeds office to meet growing demandfrom local clients.

KPMG’s Leeds office is the only office in the Yorkshireregion, with the company having consolidated itsoperations across Yorkshire into one office around 20years ago to allow for more opportunities for

specialisation in one office. Teams within KMPG’sLeeds and London offices frequently work alongsideeach other on projects, especially when particularspecialisms are required.

How has the Leeds economy been performing inrecent years?

The Leeds office has been performing well in recentyears, reflecting the wider growth experienced inLeeds’ economy. Demand within several specialismshas increased strongly in recent years, including cybersecurity, financial services and digital, reflecting widergrowth trends across the Leeds economy.

How easy is it to attract talent to Leeds?

Generally recruiting across all roles is not an issue,although it can be harder to recruit specialists inLeeds than in London (especially at graduate level).Transfers between the Leeds and London office arecommon, and there is a growing trend of senior stafflooking to move to the Leeds office in their 30s-50s.Poor east-west transport connections have made ithard to attract talent from the North West to the Leedsoffice, especially those at a more senior level.


KPMG


Focus on...Creative & Digital


Employment, 2016 32 91 247



42% 31% 32%


CURRENT OVERVIEW

LEEDS POSITION

• Home to node of the Open Data Institute, one of 15 in 22countries

• Headquarters of Rockstar Leeds, leading video gameproduction firm

• Collaboration platform IX Leeds - 1 of 3 UK internetexchanges

• Centre for the largest healthcare data platform in theworld NHS Spine and NHS Social Care Information Centre

• Digital catapult - University of Bradford• Digital Delivery Plan launched in Leeds• Futurelabs tech start-up community• University of Leeds ranked 1st for Big Data (Leeds

Institute for Data Analytics)

SECTOR TRENDS

• Rapidly developing sector and a key focus for nationalgovernment

• E-commerce• Technological change• Increasing number of technology users• 5G Technology• The digital sector, is highly mobile, and can easily relocate

nationally and internationally. Brexit may lead to digital firmsrelocating overseas to continue access to the EU market

Hosts a number of digital keyinstitutions (e.g. ODI, IX,NHS Spine)

Large amounts of supportavailable and networkingopportunities

Strong academic presencewithin the sector


Focus on...Creative & Digital

Opportunities:• The highly collaborative nature of the sector presents significant opportunities for future growth together. Leeds’ strengths in

big data and data analytics have a large market in London, which should be captialised upon.

• The promotion of events such as the Leeds Digital Festival are a good platform from which Leeds can display its digital abilities. When promoting these events, efforts should be made to attract firms, investors and workers from London (and elsewhere) to showcase Leeds’s offer.

• Efforts should be made (alongside regional partners including Tech North and the Leeds Digital Board) to identify footloose creative and digital firms in London which may be looking for cheaper premises (especially those which may be space intensive). This includes promoting the Tech Hub Fund to potential businesses looking to move between the two cities.

• Continue building Leeds’ specialism in digital sector, through continued council support for digital skills (e.g. Leeds Digital Skills Action Plan)

LONDON POSITION

• Targeted sector in the Mayor of London’s EconomicDevelopment Strategy and cyber & digital securitystrategies

• Mayor launched a vision for the Thames EstuaryProduction Corridor, a network of large scale productionfacilities

• Alan Turing Institute - a national hub for data science• Microsoft and Telefonica launched tech growth

accelerators to foster innovation• Open data policies; TfL, London datastore• High office and industrial rents putting pressure on

businesses

Work to develop stronger business and strategic connections, building on sector’s growth aspirations, and understand the key

sub-sectors in which Leeds could complement London’s current offer

Attract footloose firms struggling with high costs in London with our competitive offer, and firms requiring more space to support

business (HQ) functions in London (e.g. data storage, data analytics and cyber security)


Focus on...Tech SectorCURRENT OVERVIEW

LEEDS POSITION

LONDON POSITION

• There are currently 12,100 jobs in digital tech in Leeds, with over £1bn digital tech turnover in2017. There has been strong digital business growth, with a 138% increase over the last fiveyears

• Numerous success stories in Leeds including RockStar Games and Cooperative Innovations.• Sky Betting and Gaming has continued to invest in the area, creating 230 more jobs in 2017/17• Leeds Digital Festival is the largest digital festival in the North, with 20,000 attendees and 170

events in 2018• Leeds City Council’s Tech Hub Fund has helped support several local businesses in supporting

the development of the digital sector in Leeds• Numerous networking opportunities, including LeedsTechHub (1,580 members), Leeds JS

(1,230) and Leeds Hackspace (1,100).

• Tech sector currently employs over 250,000 people across London, generating £64bn inturnover in 2017. Relative to the size of the sector, employment growth has been relativelymodest over the last five years, with 10,000 new jobs created across the sector.

• The capital continues to be the focal point for tech in the UK, with a multitude of industriescollaborating across the spectrum of tech activities, including creative, fashion, finance andmuch more. London currently attracts 80% of all UK venture capital and raises moreinvestment than any other European city

• Well-established and active networks exist across the city, including London New Tech (13,800members) and Silicon Roundabout (12,900 members)

• Home to some of the most recognisable tech firms in the world, including Facebook and Google

• There is a thriving tech scene in both Leeds and London.• Both cities have strategic ambitions to grow the tech sector in the future.• The sector cuts across many other sector strengths of both cities, with the tech sector playing

an important role in the creative, finance, professional services, construction andmanufacturing sectors.

What do you do?

BJSS is one of the largest IT consultancy’s in the UK.They work predominantly with major blue-chiporganisations to help them build their IT systems andsoftware. BJSS have a broad range of clients fromglobal investment banks to high-street retailers andgovernmental departments. The company has over 25years experience and has expanded into the US, nowemploying over 1,000 staff.


The business was founded in Leeds in 1993 but hasexpanded to offices throughout the UK, includingLondon, Manchester and Edinburgh as well as twooffices in the US, New York and Houston. The twolargest offices are located in Leeds and London, with420 and 280 staff in each office respectively. Boardlevel decisions are not centralised in one particularoffice, rather shared around the locations. The Leedsoffice primary function serves as a project centrewhere businesses from around the country get theirsoftware developed. The model for the Leeds officehas been followed in other major cities, such asManchester.

What are the benefits of being located in Leeds?

BJSS perceive three key benefits to being located inLeeds. Firstly, it is relatively easy to recruit, and

crucially, retain highly skilled staff at the company.The city’s strong university offer combined with itsgravitational pull as a large urban hub ensures there isan ever growing talent pool to recruit from. BJSS findsit easier to recruit and retain staff in Leeds thanLondon, as the London jobs market is extremely fluidresulting in higher competition on salaries. Thiscontributes to Leeds' second key benefit, being able tooffer lower costs through its Leeds office without acompromise on the quality of the work. The third keybenefit is the proximity to the emerging digitaleconomy, which gives a local client base across thecities professional services and healthcare sectors.

How do you think the future of the Leeds economywill help your business?

BJSS sees the Leeds digital economy in its embryonicstages and an exciting and vibrant environment toconduct business in its sector. The digital economy inLeeds stemmed from its existing industries, such asprofessional services and healthcare, placing greaterimportance on their digital infrastructure. The FinTechscene and employment of big data in the running oforganisations is growing at a fast rate, providing newopportunities for BJSS. The digital economy in Leeds isjust getting started with fantastic ideas emerging allthe time.


BJSS


Focus on...Construction


Employment, 2016 19 58 247



14% 8% 32%


CURRENT OVERVIEW

LEEDS POSITION

• Mass infrastructure investment projects including a floodrisk reduction programme

• Large scale rail infrastructure investment including 40% inrail capacity (2016-19), Trans Pennine electrification,Northern Powerhouse Rail and HS2

• Council’s ambition that all premises can access gigabitcapable connectivity by working alongside infrastructureproviders

• Strong construction economy with a number of large firmsincluding Wates, and emerging specialisms in 3D modelling& VR

SECTOR TRENDS

• Government ambition to build more homes (e.g. £3bnHome Building Fund)

• Modular building design, with more off-site construction• Use of drones for surveying, safety inspections• 3D modelling in building design, and VR products for

showcasing• Labour market concerns, especially given dependency on

EU labour• Increasing focus on the environment – move towards

recycling and reusing

Upcoming mass infrastructureprojects and investment

Ambitions to provide gigabitcapable connectivity to allpremises

Strong existing constructioneconomy


Focus on...Construction

Opportunities:• Future large-scale housing and infrastructure projects, and growing demand for office space in Leeds city centre means there

will continue to be strong demand for construction activities and the services that support these.

• Major construction projects including HS2 provides an opportunity to showcase Leeds-based businesses, and an opportunity tocollaborate with London-based businesses. Networking and showcasing events should be held around HS2’s development tohelp increase awareness of current construction specialisms based in Leeds.

• Having a platform in London where these can be strengths can be shared with a national and international market will helpbring awareness of Leeds’ strengths in the sector.

• An important role for the (soon to be created) infrastructure group of major firms in the city, will be creating this platform and to

promote Leeds’ strengths. Leeds’ strengths in the digital sector should be showcased (especially activities related to 3Dmodelling and VR) alongside those in infrastructure and advanced urban sciences.

LONDON POSITION

• Closely aligned to one of London’s key sectors identified inthe Mayor of London’s Economic Development Strategy“advanced urban services”

• Smart London Plan implemented to incorporate smarttechnology with new developments and infrastructure

• TfL undertaking an extensive programme of modernisationof existing tube lines

• Mass water and energy infrastructure upgrading including Thames Tideway Tunnel

Work to provide better platforms for Leeds-based construction businesses to develop

innovative approaches to construction tools, by collaborating with emerging firms within

London’s “advanced urban services” (a targeted sector within the London Economic

Development Strategy)

Particularly focus on collaboration between tech and construction sector, building on Leeds’ strengths in 3D modelling and VR

What do you do?

Arup is an independent firm of designers, planners,engineers, consultants and specialists working in thebuilt environment. Arup provides technical advice onthe planning and construction of buildings andinfrastructure including transport systems, citymaster-plans and digital smart city networks. Arup isan employee owned company and employs more than13,000 people, in more than 35 countries.


Arup has several offices across the UK and its Leedsoffice employs 450 people. The Leeds team offers afull range of Arup services and is the global centre ofexcellence for Arup’s water business which focuses onwater infrastructure, water treatment, flood preventionand hydrology. Arup’s Global lead for water is based inthe Leeds office alongside their Head of VisualCommunications, Head of Press/PR for Africa, Europe& the Middle East as well as the head of digitaltransformation and the UK lead for their citiespractice.


Leeds is a prime cultural centre and an engine forgrowth and employment at the heart of an increasinglyprosperous region. The city centre is set for majorchanges over the next few years with HS2 being thecatalyst for visionary developments. From the Leedsoffice, Arup can support clients right across the UKand offer its employees an attractive place to bring uptheir families. A number of Arup’s competitors are alsobased in the city which means they have a wider poolof skilled engineers to target for recruitment. Leeds isa also a ideal location to recruit new graduates lookingto embark upon a global career in engineering designin the built environment. The Leeds office has anumber of collaborative projects underway with LeedsUniversity.

How has this benefitted you?

Arup’s Leeds office works closely with the CityCouncil, The University of Leeds, the CombinedAuthority and Network Rail. As well as working onmajor local projects like flood alleviation for YorkshireWater, the First Direct Arena, the HS2 station and theTetley Refurbishment, the Leeds team worksnationally for a number of London based clients. Thereare a growing number of senior staff looking tooperate out of the Leeds office.


Arup

What do you do?CEG (Commercial Estates Group) is an estatesmanagement company, with a development arm,established in 1989. They have a capital value of£800m, with their portfolio being two-thirds officespace and one-third industrial sites. Their flagshipdevelopment project is Kirkstall Forge in North WestLeeds which is a multi-use development areaencompassing over 1,000 new homes, 300,000 sq ftof office space, 100,000 sq ft of retail and leisurespace.

Where is your business currently located?The company is headquartered in London with theLeeds office being the second largest office,alongside two smaller offices in Birmingham andCornwall. CEG employ approximately 150 staffwhere 30-40 are building managers located acrossthe UK with 110 office staff, of which 60 are locatedin London and 50 in Leeds. The London office hoststhe executive functions of the business, below thislevel the two offices serve mirror functions.

Why did you choose to locate in Leeds?The company made significant investments in Leedsin the mid-1990’s and as a result they set up anoffice in Harrogate to act as a base for thisinvestment in 1998. CEG eventually relocated toLeeds in the early 2000s as it provided a morefruitful place to do business due to the hub ofprofessional services within the city. This Leedsoffice became the management hub for CEG’sportfolio stretching from Leicester to Scotland, withLondon mirroring these functions for the South ofEngland. Leeds is the ideal setting for this due to itslocation in the centre of the North and its goodquality transport links.What are the benefits of being located in Leeds?In terms of the property market Leeds is no differentto the rest of the UK, bar London, having anextremely tight property market. CEG felt the Leedsmarket offered a more stable business communitythan other major northern cities, such asManchester, which is conducive to rational decisionmaking, vital for a company such as CEG dealing inhuge investments. Further, the location of Leeds onthe door step to the Yorkshire Dales and otherworld-class amenities gives employees a highquality of life.


CEG


Focus on...Manufacturing


Employment, 2016 25 123 105



-18% -6% -1%


CURRENT OVERVIEW

LEEDS POSITION

• World leading engineering firm LBBC Technologiesrecently relocated to Leeds

• A proposed Vocational Higher Education Institution forDigital Manufacturing and Leeds Enterprise Zone

• Home to national/ international manufacturing brandsGolden-fry Foods, Arla & Northern Foods

• Leeds City Region has the largest number of STEMgraduates outside of London

• Strong R&D institutions such as the 3M BuckleyInnovation Centre

• Location of only National Measurement Agency facilityoutside London

SECTOR TRENDS

• The increasing digital transformation of manufacturing,including robotics, AI and data analytics - Made SmarterReview

• Circular economy principles - recycling and reusingmaterials to improve output and lessen environmentalimpact

• 3D printing will change the way products are made andsamples created

• Augmented reality provides real-time info & guidance atthe point of use.

• Uncertainty around Brexit and future competitiveness ofthe sector in the UK

Home to national &international manufacturingbrands

Largest number of STEMgraduated outside London

Strong R&D institutions


Focus on...Manufacturing

Opportunities:• Both cities have emerging strengths and key assets relating to advanced manufacturing and engineering. Enabling collaboration

between these will be important in helping to foster more innovation opportunities between the two cities.

• It will be important to promote the Leeds Enterprise Zone to London-based businesses, highlighting the benefits of being basedin Leeds and the surrounding infrastructure and key assets available.

• By working in partnership with the Manufacturing Forum (working the Chamber of Commerce), Leeds should be activelypromoted to the London market.

• Build on the strategic aspirations within both cities to support the development of life sciences, health and medical sectors.Improve collaboration between the two cities, and use this as a platform for joint funding bids (e.g. Industrial Strategy ChallengeFund).

LONDON POSITION

• Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park Innovation District, a clusterof academic institutions and business engaged in research,design, development and manufacture

• High Speed Sustainable Manufacturing Institute

• UCL robotics, Digital Engineering and Test Centre

• Applied machine learning lab at UCL

• The knowledge quarter – 92 academic, cultural, research,scientific and media organisations

• Pressure on industrial land for residential pushing firms outof city

Provide a better platform for advanced manufacturing and engineering to

collaborate across both cities based on growing aspirations within the

Industrial Strategy for growth within these sectors and the unique assets

available in both cities


Focus on...Retail and the Visitor Economy


Employment, 2016 43 152 697



-8% -5% 20%


CURRENT OVERVIEW

LEEDS POSITION

• Home to a number of top end brands HQs/retail outlets withBurberry recently relocating functions to the area

• A word renowned landscape in the region including theYorkshire Dales National Park and Saltaire World HeritageSite

• Future development within the sector and proposedredevelopment of Headingly Stadium

• Extensive redevelopment of Leeds city centre includingredevelopment of the Majestic building into high-classoffices

• Ranked fifth on Lonely Planet’s ‘Best in Europe 2017’ list

SECTOR TRENDS

• E-Commerce• On-demand retail• Recent rise of the leisure sector (especially food)• Restrained consumer confidence as interest rates rise• Changing retail mix, with a move back towards

independent shops• Need for improved in-store experience• Weaker £ attracts foreign tourists to the UK

Presence of top-end brands /HQs in the city

World renowned landscapeand tourist attractions

5th on Lonely Planet’s ‘Bestin Europe’ list


Focus on...Retail and the Visitor Economy

Opportunities:• Leeds’ prominence as a retail destination in Yorkshire (and beyond) means that the council should be looking to attract

international retailers to the city, especially those already settled in London, but who might be looking to expand operationsnationally.

• Attracting these internationally recognised brands, will further secure Leeds’ reputation as an attractive place to do business,both within the retail sector and beyond.

• For a city of this size, Leeds itself does not have a strong cultural or visitor economy profile internationally, or even nationally,despite its many strengths.

• In partnership with VisitLeeds, Leeds should be promoted (alongside the wider Yorkshire region) to Londoners (e.g. adverts inthe Evening Standard, TimeOut) and international tourists in London (e.g. through leaflets in tourist information centres) wouldposition the city as a viable day/weekend trip from London.

LONDON POSITION

• Third most visited city in the world, overseas tourism grown25% since 2011

• A number of world class visitor attractions including Towerof London, Buckingham Palace and sporting facilities (e.g.Wembley)

• Tourism is a targeted sector in the Mayor of London’sEconomic Development Strategy - promoted as a 24hr City

• Enhancing Wi-Fi connectivity for the benefit of visitors

• Home to top end brands HQs/retail outlets alongsideLondon fashion show

Work to attract retailers already established in London who are looking to expand operations

outside the capital. We will also work alongside retailers looking to establish back office functions outside of London, following

the recent example of Burberry

Establish Leeds as a stronger secondary destination within London’s international tourism market and promote the city as a

weekend destination for Londoners

What do you do?

Asda is the third largest national supermarket firm inthe UK, with more than 165,000 colleagues servingmore than 18 million customers across in over 600stores. Asda is currently based in Asda House close toLeeds railway station having moved from Castleford in1988.

How does your business currently operate?

There are around 3,000 people employed across twohead office sites in Leeds and a further 2,400 retailcolleagues in stores across the city. All of Asda’sexecutive team is currently based in Leeds, withstrategic decisions undertaken from this office. Asdadoes have an office in London (where fewer than 10people are based), which hosts those who need to bein London (e.g. local property and governmentrelations teams). There are currently 15 main Asdadistribution centres in the UK, with two of theselocated around London (Enfield and East London).


Asda has chosen to remain in Leeds, for three corereasons: it can remain in touch with its heritage andstay close to the business’s traditional heartland; havestrong communication links with customers andstores; and have relatively easy access to talent. The

majority of hiring into Asda House is through localtalent already living within the Yorkshire region.However Asda has noticed an increasing number of‘regional returners’ - typically people originally fromLeeds/Yorkshire, or with family in the local area, whohave worked away for a number of years, typically inthe South. For this, Leeds is seen as an excellentchoice of location due to the wide range of businessopportunities based centrally. Asda also attracts manygraduates to the area, with many relocating to Leedsafter obtaining a place on the Asda graduateprogramme. The combination of working for a largeemployer based in central Leeds is an attractive sell,with Asda’s graduate programme being particularlypopular.

How easy you find it to attract clients/producers toLeeds to conduct business?

Leeds’ accessibility to the rail and motorwaysnetworks is a major benefit for the business in termsof staff being able to get to stores and clients beingable to travel to Leeds. Improvements to some routes,particularly rail west-east connections would helpimprove connectivity to markets.


Asda


Focus on...Social Enterprise & the Third SectorCURRENT OVERVIEW

LEEDS POSITION

LONDON POSITION

• The third sector is estimated to employ around 13,000 people, and is fueled by200,000 volunteers

• There are a number of strong local organisations working to support the sector,including the Leeds Community Foundation and Voluntary Action Leeds.

• Many well-known social businesses based in the city, including John Lewis andLeeds Building Society.

• Home to the headquarters of many large multi-national charities and socialenterprises, including Save the Children, NSPCC, WaterAid UK and CancerResearch UK.

• It is estimated that around 30% of the UK’s voluntary sector workers live in eitherLondon or the South East.

• Given large number of firm’s headquartered in London, there is an active CSRmovement, with many firms in the City supporting initiatives.

Opportunities: Attract national social enterprises & third sector organisations looking to establish back office functions outsideof London, to benefit from cheaper premises/running costs outside of LondonWork alongside companies based in London to ensure that CSR opportunities are available in the Leeds offices, and thatfundraising can benefit Leeds-based charities.

• There is a strong tradition of social enterprise and third sector organisations inboth Leeds and London. These will range from locally-based self-help groups andco-operatives, right through to multi-national charities

• Research from Social Enterprise UK found that around a third of social enterprisesin the UK are locally based, with a further quarter working across several localauthorities or a region. Nearly a fifth of social enterprise are working acrossEurope or internationally.

Area of Social Enterprise Operations

Source: State of Social Enterprise Survey, 2017

What do you do?

SHINE is registered charity who provide funding andsupport to schools and teachers to help them raiseattainment for children from low income families. Theytrial out new ideas to improve teaching and learning inschools and help the best ideas grow to scale. SinceAugust 2000, SHINE has invested more than £25million in projects helping more than 400,000 childrenfrom 6,000 schools.


In the summer of 2017, after a wide-ranging review ofits grant making, SHINE decided to move its officebase and focus to Leeds to carry out a new strategyfor the North of England. This move has enabled themto be closer to its new focus areas, in the North East,North West, and Yorkshire and Humber regions, andtake advantage of some of the opportunities presentedwithin the Northern Powerhouse. The movenorthwards was supported by SHINE’s patrons,including Sir Alex Ferguson and Lord Jim O’Neill(board member of the Northern Powerhouse).


SHINE’s relocation to Leeds was influenced by thecity’s transport connections to all parts of the NorthernPowerhouse area, enabling them to access theschools and teachers requiring funding and support.SHINE has been able to take advantage of theopportunities generated by the Northern Powerhouse,and ensure it is able to reach its target audience.

The vibrant culture of Leeds, and the large number ofgraduates coming from the city has also helped tosupport the development of SHINE, with the currentCEO, Fiona Spellman, being a former University ofLeeds graduate.

What challenges still remain for the development ofLeeds’ CVS sector?

Although SHINE has benefitted from being located inLeeds, it is acknowledged there are still challenges ingrowing the sector locally. With many of the city’slargest firms being headquartered in London, CSRopportunities are less developed in Leeds. More workneeds to be done to ensure that local charities areable to benefit from CSR activities taking place withinthe city.


SHINE Trust


Leeds and London’s business connections are partly reflected in commercial property ownership, with London-based businesses and investors having a strong presence in Leeds’ commercial property market. Consultationswith local commercial property agents shows there is increasing attention being placed in the Leeds marketnationally and internationally. Higher yields are primarily a reason for this (with typically units in Leeds having a 5-6% yield compared to 3.5-4% in London), as is the increasing policy focus brought about by the NorthernPowerhouse.

33

Commercial Property

London-owned Leeds-owned Other or N/A

Size of bubble is proportional to the amount of space

% London-owned % Leeds-owned

Office54%

7,070,000 sqft

27%

3,560,000 sqft

Industrial33%

6,130,000 sqft

33%

6,090,000 sqft

Retail62%

5,100,000 sqft

14%

1,160,000 sqft

Office

Location of Commercial Property Owners in Leeds

Source: CoStar, 2018

Note: Only considers space where the owner is known.

Over half of Leeds’ office space is currently ownedby businesses/investors in London, as is nearly two-thirds of retail space. Around a third of Leeds’industrial space is owned by London-basedbusinesses, with a similar proportion owned byLeeds-based owners.


Data on the ownership of office, industrial and retail space in Leeds, suggests that London-based businesses/investors tend to prefer space in the city centre, with peripheral sites less likely to be owned by London-basedbusinesses.

34

Commercial Property

Industrial

London-owned Leeds-owned Other or N/A

Size of bubble is proportional to the amount of space


Retail

Short term – in the next year

• Continue Leeds in London programme with focus onattracting large multinationals to establish ‘2nd’ UKbase in Leeds

• Target businesses within key growth sectors, whichhave strong overlaps with London’s economy,primarily focusing on:

• Crossovers between digital and health sectors

• London’s life sciences sector and opportunitiesfor collaboration with Leeds digital sector

• Digital handling of data, including links to thefinancial sector

• Begin discussions with the Mayor of London andLondon & Partners over the role Leeds can play insupporting London’s growth (especially given thecurrent development of the Mayor’s EconomicDevelopment Strategy). Work with the Mayor ofLondon to support ambitions to bring together UKcities, business leaders and institutions to maximiseopportunities for innovation, business growth andmarket expansion.

• Continue promoting Leeds to a wider audience byhosting international events and conferences (e.g.Leeds International Festival, Leeds Digital Festival,Leeds International Piano Competition)

Medium term – 1 to 3 years

• Work alongside the Manufacturing Forum, DigitalBoard, Leeds Legal Network, and the developingFinancial & Professional Service Network andInfrastructure Group, to develop platforms fromwhich opportunities in London can be advertised,and promotion can be done to attract businesses toLeeds.

• With the increasing recognition of the regions, Leedsmust needs to ensure enough commercial space issupplied to meet growing demand.

Further opportunities within each growth sector arepresented below.


Overarching Key Opportunities

Academic Collaboration


Leeds City Region has the highest concentration of higher education institutions in the UK outside of London.The region offers nine universities, each of which has their own unique specialisms and strengths. Many of theseuniversities have close connections with London, either through their research programmes, alumni or teachingprogrammes. None of them yet has a physical presence in London, unlike some universities who have recentlyestablished campuses (e.g. Liverpool, Warwick, Loughborough, Coventry).

The University of Leeds is a part of the White Rose Consortium (along Universities of York and Sheffield). It is astrategic partnership which builds on each university’s strengths through collaboration. It works with a range ofpartners in the UK and EU (using its Brussels office to influence EU policy) and has secured over £160m infunding since its establishment in 1997.

37

Universities


Health Business Creative & Digital Construction & Manufacturing

Total Students(all courses)

No % No % No % No % No

The University of Bradford 5,020 46% 1,545 14% 740 7% 1,435 13% 10,960

Leeds Arts University - 0% - 0% 1,425 100% - 0% 1,425

Leeds Beckett University 6,415 26% 5,315 21% 3,420 14% 945 4% 24,885

Leeds Trinity University 795 22% 270 7% 485 13% - 0% 3,625

The University of Leeds 7,930 24% 3,700 11% 3,300 10% 3,340 10% 33,300

York St John University 1,605 27% 725 12% 955 16% - 0% 5,940

The University of York 3,445 19% 1,165 7% 1,690 9% 610 3% 17,900

The University of Huddersfield 3,945 22% 3,015 16% 3,755 21% 1,810 10% 18,280

Leeds Total: 29,155 25% 15,735 14% 15,770 14% 8,140 7% 116,315

London Total: 91,020 25% 53,645 15% 60,995 17% 21,585 6% 358,900

38

Subjects

Source: HESA, HE student enrolments by HE provider and subject of study, 2016/17.

The student population within the Leeds City Region closely complements its target sectors. This is supplying the digital economy with the skills required to thrive and grow amid a national shortage of such skills. The region has the second largest number of STEM graduates, after London, but the range of talent is not limited to these disciplines. Dedicated ‘arts’ universities and specialisms in health, such as the University of Bradford, ensure a vibrant and dynamic future graduate pool. The distribution of subjects studied within London mirrors that of Leeds City Region helping to foster close academic ties and collaboration.

Subjects Studied in Leeds City Region & London Universities (selected Growth Sectors), 2016/17


Examples of Academic Collaboration

Coherent Terahertz Systems (COTS) Study for Widespread Application - £7m from 2012-2017

Academic Partners include: University of Leeds; UCL; University of Cambridge

Business Partners include: European Space Agency; AIRBUS UK; IBM

• Study focusing on the terahertz (THz) frequency for scientific and commercial applications.The University of Leeds is home to state-of-the-art THz quantum cascade laser which ispart of the key infrastructure driving the project.

• Researchers from London and Leeds, with other institutions, will help develop applicationsincluding short-range high-data-rate wireless communications, information processing,materials detection and high resolution imaging in three dimensions.

UKCRIC–Advanced Infrastructure Materials Lab £10m from 2016-2021

Academic partners include: University of Leeds; Imperial College London; University ofManchester

Business partners: UK Collaboratorium for Research in Infrastructure and Cities

• The University of Leeds was selected, as one of three universities, for the creation of a newsuite of laboratories, the Advanced Infrastructure Materials Lab, designed to build a worldclass national infrastructure research capability

• The focus of the research using these facilities will be to develop better materials fornational infrastructure; materials with enhanced technical performance, longer life, andreduced greenhouse gas footprint, which will be more easily recycled and will contribute tolower capital- and recurrent- cost infrastructure.


UK Transport Research Centre £5m from 2009 to 2011

Academic partners: University of Leeds; Imperial College London; UCL

Business partners: Scottish Government, Department for Transport

• The Research Centre was designed to be a national collaborative research centre toencourage a much greater involvement of social scientists in addressing majortransport problems

• Further, it aims to broaden the skills base among postgraduate students and youngresearchers; and to stimulate dialogue between academics, practitioners, policymakers and other key stakeholders

• The University of Leeds represents the only non-London based outlet of the ResearchCentre and a key contributor to studies on the consequences of IT developmentsacross the economy on future demand for transport


Future Liquid Metal Engineering Hub - £50m from 2015-2022

Academic partners include: University of Leeds; Brunel University; Imperial College London

Business partners include: Primetals Technologies (London); Lotus Engineering; Jaguar L-R;

• Leeds academics are playing a leading role in developing the technologies driving the Hub a businessacademic research collaboration

• The Hub aims to develop technologies which supply the global demand for metallic materials through fullcirculation of secondary metals. To be achieved by reduced usage, reuse, remanufacture, closed-looprecycling and effective recovery and refining of secondary metals.

• This will not only address the environmental cost of metal extraction but increase the competitiveness of UKfirms in this market, a cornerstone of the wider manufacturing economy


Emulsion Structure: A Study into Diet Control £0.5m from 2011-2015

University Partners: Imperial College London; University of Leeds

• Experimental research into understanding the link between fatty acids and satiety withinthe human digestion process

• The study utilises medical scientists from Imperial in collaboration with the worldrenowned department of psychology at the University of Leeds to build a solid researchdesign

• Evidence to be used to inform the growing market into high satiety foods and supporthealth claims for new food products

• The generic design principles established will allow the design of a wide range of food andbeverages to influence appetite and body weight.

41


Retail Business Datasafe - £7m 2017-2020

University partners: University of Leeds; University of Liverpool; University College London; University ofOxford

Business partners: Virgin Media; British Gas; Tesco; GSK; O2; M&S; EasyJet

• The vision of the Retail Business Datasafe (RBDS) is to create a service that will open up the dataresources routinely collected by the retail business sector to academic research, training and capacitybuilding

• This will benefit anyone who needs retail data for their research activities, whether interested in theform and function of the retail sector itself or its wider impacts upon society, for example in health,planning, transport or education provision

• The public face of the work will be developed in association with the Leeds University Consumer Data Research Support Service.

What recent collaborations have you had with Leeds-based universities?

Major collaborations which Imperial College are currently engaging on with the University of Leeds includesUKCRIC–Advanced Infrastructure Materials Lab and the Future Liquid Metal Engineering Hub.

How have these collaborations come about?

Many of these collaborations have come about through peer-to-peer networks and research specialisms. A largenumber of Imperial’s staff and researchers are former graduates from the Leeds region, and so relationshipsbetween the two universities can be maintained through their existing connections.

What are you doing to encourage academic collaborations elsewhere?

Imperial College actively encourages collaborations which other academic and research institutions. Recently ithas set up a number of seed funds which aim to increase collaboration and innovation between Imperial and otheruniversities as described below.


Imperial College London

MIT-Imperial Seed FundA seed fund developed between MIT and Imperial CollegeLondon, which aims to help kick-start early stage, risky and‘blue skies’ research ideas that might not otherwise bepursued. The Fund promotes and supports early-stagecollaboration among academics, researchers and students atMIT and Imperial by facilitating exchange betweenparticipating research groups through provision of grants tocover travel, workshops, meetings, hackathons, networks andother activities to explore research directions. The Seed Fund’sindicative overall annual budget is up to a total of $100,000 /£66,000.

Tsinghua-Imperial Research and Innovation FundDeveloped a join seed fund which aims to kick-start innovative research projects and concepts that are showing signs of promise but are at an early stage in development and need funding to progress.The awards are expected to cover small-scale experiments, the development of prototypes, and will enable academics and students from both institutions to collaborate and exchange ideas more easily. Imperial and Tsinghua have invested an initial $300,000 into the programme over three years.


A number of non-London based universities haverecently established campuses in London. None ofLeeds City Region’s universities have currently donethis to date. These campuses typically help toimprove and access networks within London,especially with London-based universities,businesses and the international market.

43

Academic Presence in London

Case Study:

University of Liverpool in London

The University of Liverpool were the first non-Londonbased Russell Group university to open a campus inLondon, providing a range of postgraduate coursesaround Finance, Accounting, Business andCommunication.

In addition to providing space for teaching, thecampus in London places the university well fortaking advantage of networks with the professionalcommunity both nationally and internationally. It notonly opens doors to students wanting to study in theCapital, but also opens doors for businesses wantingto develop mutually beneficial partnerships alongsidethe university’s academic offer.

The university’s facilities can also be hired byLiverpool-based companies wanting a short-termbase in London, or a venue for hosting meetings. Thisallows for a ‘stepping stone’ into London forcompanies wishing to expand their operations.

Case Study:

Anglia Ruskin University in London

Anglia Ruskin’s University campus in London offers abusiness-orientated education for students, with akey focus on employability through placements withcompanies in London.

The campus currently helps over 400 businesses ayear deliver educational and commercial projects, andis helping develop key networks between students,the university and London-based businesses. In total,over 900 London-based businesses have partneredwork placements or internships for Anglia Ruskinstudents.


• Understand how the White Rose Consortium will attract fundingand influence policy in the future. The Consortium currently hasan office in Brussels to influence EU research policy, althoughthis approach may need to be refined following Brexit, with moreof a focus on London.


• Work alongside Leeds universities to promote collaborationopportunities between the two cities. Use the combined strengthof the White Rose University Consortium, to help promote theresearch strengths of the three universities (Leeds, Sheffield &York) to London.

• Understand how existing links between the two cities can betaken advantage of (e.g. the President and Provost of UCL,Professor Michael Arthur, was the Vice-Chancellor of theUniversity of Leeds (2004-13)).

Long term – 4+ years

• Look to establish a university presence in London, providing aplatform for Leeds-based businesses in London (similar toUniversity of Liverpool in London) alongside desk and meetingspace for Leeds businesses looking to connect in London.


Key Opportunities

Transport Connections


Rail & Air Connections

British Airways offers two flights in each directionbetween Leeds Bradford Airport and LondonHeathrow everyday.

This service was used by 160,000 passengers lastyear, an increase of 35% over the last 5 years. Leeds’connection to Heathrow provides global connectionsto the rest of the world, but it also helps provide animportant link to London, with 30% of journeys beingpoint-to-point. Recently BA has announced areduction in the number of flights between the twocities, citing low demand.

Virgin Trains East Coast provide around 48 trainjourneys per day between Leeds and London, takingan average of 2 hours and 12 minutes. This carriersover 8,500 people between the two cities each day,accounting for over a third of journeys on the EastCoast network.

Demand for services has been increasing over the lastfive years, with a 14% in all journeys, and a 19%increase in business train travel over the sameperiod. This has been a higher real increase thanexperienced across all other cities on the VirginTrains East Coast network.

8,500train journeys between Leeds and London each day

+19%increase in business train travel over the last five years

3,100passengers flying between Leeds and London each week

+35% increase in passenger numbers over the last five years


Working PatternsCensus data gives an indication as to the volume of peoplecommuting between the two cities, the age of these people andhow they commute.

Those aged between 25 and 34 are most likely to commutebetween Leeds and London (based on unequal age groupings),with the numbers doing so reducing as people age.

A third of people commuting from Leeds to London arecommuting to Westminster, with other popular destinationsincluding Camden, Heathrow Airport and Canary Wharf.

Journey* Number of Commuters

Leeds to London 1,200

London to Leeds 800

*Based on 2011 census merged local authority districts – 32 constituent LAs for London and Leeds for Leeds

Travel to work patterns, 2011

Travel to work patterns by age and mode of travel, 2011

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

Aged 16-24 Aged 25-34 Aged 35-49 Aged 50-64 Train Coach Driving a car or van

London to Leeds Leeds to London


• Build the case for increasing the number of flights betweenLeeds and London following the recent reduction in BA’sflights between the two cities.


• Work alongside current train operators to ensure continuedcapacity to support future growth in business & leisuretravel.

• Look to attract other airlines which may be able to offerroutes between the two cities (using other London airports,e.g. Flybe from Manchester to London Southend).


• Better understand how improved connections between thetwo cities (through HS2) will impact on economicconnections. Examine how this opportunity can best beexploited, and how it will impact on labour market andbusiness connections (with journey times to Londonreduced by nearly an hour)


Key Opportunities


Data on migration between Leeds and London shows there is astrong connection between the two cities. There is a strong netinflow of people into Leeds from London aged 18-20, headingfor local universities. However, there is a net loss of peopleaged between 20 and 30 of around 3,000 people each year.

After the age of 30, there is a net inflow of people into Leedsfrom London, presumably those seeking to raise their familiesout of London, or a better quality of life.

50

Migration

Net Migration between Leeds and London in 2016

Leeds London

4,300 people

3,400 people

Migration in 2016

-800

-600

-400

-200

0

200

400

600

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70

Net Leeds CC Net Leeds City Region

Source: ONS Migration Flows, 2017


Migration flows between Leeds and London have been changing over the last five years, with an amplification ofthe current migration flows between the two cities. More people aged over 25 moved from London to Leedscompared to five years ago, with more people moving in the other direction at university age.

With rising living costs in London expected to continue into the future, it can be expected that this trend is likely tocontinue going forward.

51

Migration

-200

-150

-100

-50

0

50

100

150

200

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70

Change in Net Flow to/from Leeds and London (2011-16) Change in Net Flow to/from Leeds City Region and London (2011-16)

Change in Net Migration between Leeds and London between 2011 and 2016

Source: ONS Migration Flows, 2017


Leeds benefits from a large number of universities withinthe local area, and this presents local businesses with astrong network of graduates. The high concentration ofhigher education institutions produces 38,900 graduatesa year, with over 15,000 of these in STEM subjects. Leedsitself is home to four universities. Although many of thesegraduates come from within the local area, the migrationdata shows a significant net inflow from London forpeople of student age. Data from HESA on the domicile ofstudents based in Yorkshire & Humber, shows thataround 8,600 students have moved from London toYorkshire & Humber. By comparison, around 1,900students from West Yorkshire went to London-baseduniversities.

After graduation, many of these graduates choose toremain in the Leeds (and Yorkshire & Humber) area. Ofthose studying at universities in Yorkshire & Humber in2014/15, 10,450 were employed in the local area, whereas 1,010 were employed in London. Those who originallylived in London before moving to Yorkshire & Humber foruniversity were far more likely to return to London forwork, with 740 returning to London (compared to only 170who stayed in Yorkshire & Humber). When speaking withlocal businesses, many commented that Leeds graduateswere unaware of the opportunities available in Leeds,with many assuming that they would have to move toLondon to secure jobs (this was particularly prominent inthe Big 4).

52

Graduate Retention

Home Region

Region of University

Region of Employment

Y&H London

Yorkshire & Humber (Y&H)

Y&H 10,280 270

London 210 415

LondonY&H 170 740

London 70 19,660

Source: HESA Destinations of Leavers Survey 2014/15

Home

Region of Study

LondonYorkshire &

Humber

Greater London 158,350 8,600

West Yorkshire 1,900 34,160

Source: HESA Student enrolment by domicile and region of HE provider, 2016/17.

Home Region of Newly-Registered Students, 2016/17

Destinations of Graduates, 2014/15


• Work alongside local employers to improve levelsof graduate retention within Leeds. Recentschemes such as the In Leeds Day programmehave improved awareness amongst localgraduates of the opportunities available in the city(without the need to move to London.


• Increase promotion of Leeds’ key selling points toLondon-based businesses and potential returners(e.g. high quality of life and low cost of living). UseLondon-based publications (e.g. EveningStandard, TimeOut, Balance Magazine) topublicise Leeds in a positive manner.

• Work with Leeds-based employers to advertisekey opportunities/sectors to London graduates atopen days, promoting the quality of life and cost ofliving in Leeds.

Population & Labour Market Connections 53

Key Opportunities

Investment Flows

Investment Flows

Leeds and London are natural trade and investment partners, with a dynamic flow of two-way expansions.

For foreign-owned companies that land in London first, find that Leeds is the perfect next step;

And for foreign firms that make Leeds their first UK city, London is a logical and easy expansion.

In the last two years more than thirty ambitious businesses have moved between the two cities and established anew facility in Leeds or London.

The example of Burberry demonstrates the clear business case for London firms to move key functions to Leedsto access a wider talent pool and to achieve considerable cost-efficiencies.

A growing number of business networking groups and events are further facilitating trade and investment linkagesbetween the two cities, with Young Entrepreneurs in Property to London Tech Week.

There are significant opportunities (and potential threats) around the proposed merger of Leeds-headquarteredASDA and London-based Sainsbury’s.

A proactive strategy of cooperation between Leeds and London investment promotion agencies can furtherenhance the positive synergies around trade and investment.

55

Natural Trade and Investment Partners

Investment Flows

In the last two years more than thirty ambitious businesses have expanded between the two cities.

These have involved firms across all sectors and industries, but with a sizeable number fromcreative and digital, and financial and business sectors.

This is a positive sign of the vibrancy and growth of the Leeds economy and the desire of its high-growth firms to remain there, whilst expanding into London to tap into wider markets.

In most cases these have been expansions rather than relocations, so provide a boost to both cities.

56

Strong Two-Way Flow of Ambitious Firms

Zeal

Quadrant Group

Brawl

Inlinkuk

Professional Security

PPB

eWe

CMS

Kwizz Bit

True North

Carter Towler

Bert & May

Research Bods

Darnton B3

Key Capital Partners

Berwin & Berwin

Audacia

TCS

Burberry

Julius Baer

Irwin Mitchell

StickyEyes

Vantage

CES

Brewin Dolphin

Ea Consulting

KPMG/Cyberinc

Perform

In 2017, fashion icon Burberry opened a majornew presence in Leeds that will see around 400new jobs created. The opening ofBurberry Business Services brings togetherstaff from Burberry’s finance, HR, procurement,customer service and IT teams to simplifyprocesses and teamwork across functions. Theexpansion includes the relocation of around 100IT roles from London.

Julie Brown, CFO and COO at Burberry, said:

"Our choice of Leedsunderlines our belief in thestrong talent available in theNorth of England and we seeit as an attractive destinationfor our business."

Burberry said connectivity between its Londonand Leeds bases will be of the utmostimportance and its head office will remain inLondon. The fashion manufacturer andretailer said that one of the considerationsduring the office location decision processwas Yorkshire's connection with universitiesand colleges. It said it needs a highly skilledworkforce which it feels that Leeds offers, withopportunities for graduate roles andapprenticeships. It added that the historicalconnection with Burberry and its trench coatmanufacturing in Yorkshire marries well withLeeds as a developing centre and a culturalhub.

Investment Flows 57

Burberry


• Leeds should actively promote the two-way flow ofambitious companies that are expanding to and fromeach city. This should be a key message in allinward investment marketing collateral with Londonbeing positioned as a partner not a competitor.

• Relationships should be enhanced with keyinvestment promotion groups in the capital likeLondon & Partners (especially through their GlobalCity to City programme) and The City UK withregular attendance at networking events and activeparticipation in their programmes.

• Host a series of targeted receptions around keybusiness areas in London including a presence atmajor events such as London Tech Week.

• Use the potential ASDA-Sainsbury’s merger tohighlight the strengths of Leeds as a headquarterslocation and the opportunities in the city for themerged business.


• Networking groups active in both cities like YoungEntrepreneurs in Property and Tech LondonAdvocates should be encouraged to promote thesynergies between the cities.

• Identify and engage Leeds alumni based in Londonwho are in key advisory roles. Linkedin lists morethan 260,000 alumni from University of Leeds andLeeds Beckett University, of which some 35,527 arecurrently based in London.


• Consider establishing a formal ‘Leeds in London’programme which would provide a serviced-officetype arrangement for Leeds firms visiting the capitaland could be used to host inward investmentmeetings and events in a Leeds-brandedenvironment. Similar models have been created byLiverpool, Derby and Nottingham with a fair degreeof success. This linked to an earlier objective to lookat creating a university base in London for Leeds’universities.

Investment Flows 58

Key Opportunities

Positioning Leeds

Positioning Leeds

Much of the evidence suggests that there alreadyexists a strong relationship between the Leeds andLondon economies, facilitated by labour market,transport and investment flows between the twocities.

Leeds provides a familiar and strong offer for London-based businesses, with the city reflecting many ofLondon’s economic characteristics and offering aquality of life and cost of doing business thatoutperforms the capital in many respects.

This section provides more detail on the strong offerthat Leeds has for prospective London-basedbusinesses looking to move to Leeds.

60

Leeds and London’s Connections

Positioning Leeds

Leeds has:

61

Business Environment

Source: Leeds Talent & Skills Plan, 2017-23

Second highest productivity levels (GVA

per hour) of the core cities

Positive wage growth, with average earnings growth of 6%

between 2014 & 2015

Highest number of fast growing firms outside London

and Cambridge

100 spin-out companies from Leeds University – 2nd highest number of any UK university

Major new industrial spaces developed in the Aire Valley

Enterprise Zone, Thorpe Arch and West Leeds

Positioning Leeds

Leeds has become an increasingly attractiveplace for businesses.

• The Business Location Index rates Leeds asthe fourth most attractive city outside ofLondon for inward investment.

• The EY Attractiveness Survey, found thatforeign direct investments into Leeds haveincreased significantly over the last twoyears. Leeds has moved from bottom of thecore cities to second place.

• Leeds’ office market has been rapidlyexpanding in recent years, with over 770,000sqft currently under construction (LeedsCrane Survey 2018).

• More than 380 hotel bedrooms weredelivered in 2017 – the highest ever recorded.

Leeds offers an attractive businessenvironment, with low rents and availableoffice, retail and industrial space available forrent, when compared with London.

62

Business Environment


£10

£20

£30

£40

£50

£60

2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 YTD

Leeds Core London Core & Canary Wharf

5%

10%

15%

20%

2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 YTD

Leeds Core London Core & Canary Wharf

Office Vacancy Rate

Office Average Rents

Positioning Leeds

Over 1.3 million people live within 10 miles of LeedsCity Centre, and 4.8 million within 30 miles. Leeds hasgood regional and national transport connections whichmake it accessible to workers from a wide area.

Leeds benefits from a strong network of graduates.The city region is home to the highest concentration ofhigher education institutions outside of London,producing 39,000 graduates a year, with over 15,000 ofthese in STEM subjects. Leeds itself is home to fouruniversities, one of the largest colleges in the countryin Leeds City College, and specialist provision throughLeeds College of Building and Leeds College of Music.

Typical salaries for employees in the city are slightlybelow the national average, with a median wage of£28,600.

Leeds’ popularity has seen house prices in the city riseover the last few years, with a 4% increase in 2017 –the fourth highest growth rate of any UK city. Theaverage house price in the city is £194,000, two-thirdslower than in London. Leeds has embarked on anambitious housing growth strategy, with over 3,300 newand converted homes developed in Leeds last year -the highest number across the Core Cities.

63

Labour Market

Source: ASHE, ONS, 2017; Centre for Cities, 2018

Leeds CC London

Median wages for full-time employees, 2017

£28,300 £33,700

Average house price, 2017

£194,000 £592,400

Housing affordability ratio

7.2 16.8

% degree-level or above 34% 51%

% homeworkers 8% 10%

Claimant count, % 2.2% 1.9%

Labour Market Statistics

Positioning Leeds

Leeds has been named as the best city in Britain for quality oflife in the Arcadis Sustainable Cities report. The large numberof cultural and sports attractions in the city combined with itsproximity to the Yorkshire Dales give the city an attractiveproposition. Key attractions within the city include:

• Art (Leeds Art Gallery)

• Carnivals (Leeds West Indian Carnival)

• Museums (the Royal Armouries, Leeds City Museum)

• Music (Opera North, Northern Ballet, Leeds Arena, LeedsFestival)

• Sport (Leeds United, Leeds Rhinos, Yorkshire Cricket

Documents

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