Edinburgh was the biggest upward mover in the latest quarterly ranking of economic momentum across 20 UK cities, rising by 10 places, while Glasgow climbed five spots.
The Scottish capital’s “faster-than-average” population growth, resilient housing market and relatively strong jobs growth were flagged by communications consultancy JPES Partners, which specialises in the property and investment management sectors and compiles the EvaluateLocate Key Cities Tracker.
Edinburgh was placed eighth in JPES Partners’ rankings of economic momentum for the third quarter, with Glasgow in 11th position.
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Asked about Glasgow’s rise, JPES Partners director and head of property Duncan Lamb said: “Glasgow’s economy has [proved] resilient in our ratings for some time and is now reaping the benefit of progressive business sectors, from banking to engineering, allied to a relatively affordable residential property market which is encouraging an influx of talent plus graduate retention.”
He added: “Combine this with a very well-developed university population and a lively arts scene and it’s clear that, even in these difficult times, Glasgow’s economy is progressive.”
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Greater London retained first position in the rankings of economic momentum, with Oxford remaining in second place and Cambridge continuing to occupy third spot.
JPES Partners said of Oxford and Cambridge: “The proliferation of the life science sector and major residential development around both university cities are underpinning this performance.”
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Leeds is in fourth spot, Birmingham in fifth place, Wolverhampton in sixth position, and Cardiff ranked seventh.
Mr Lamb noted the “vitality index” rating for each UK location “responds to a blend of 97 economic and demographic metrics”.
He observed that movements in the rankings of the 20 cities “encompass changed metrics around the number of active businesses, people, earnings, jobs and household finances”.
The economic momentum rankings for each quarter are based on movements in the vitality index for each city over the previous 12 months. All of the index changes are negative over the last 12 months in the latest quarterly tracker, with Greater London seeing the least-steep fall in its vitality index, of 3.6%, and Edinburgh down 6.6%, Glasgow 6.7% lower, and Aberdeen seeing a deterioration of 8.6%.
Detailing Edinburgh’s climb up the table, as a result of many other cities having suffered greater falls in their vitality indices, Mr Lamb said: “In the past quarter, Edinburgh has jumped upwards as new signals have emerged that show a faster-than-average population growth as more people appear to be moving into Scotland’s capital than leaving, accompanied by a relatively resilient residential property market. Edinburgh’s jobs growth is currently relatively strong, while unemployment remains well below the UK and Scottish averages.
“As such, Edinburgh is showing signs of promise as one place that may support a renewed positivity if conditions are right in the new year.”
Aberdeen remained stuck in 19th spot in the latest rankings, with Swansea propping up the table in 20th place.
Liverpool has fallen four places to 18th position, with Belfast dropping by nine spots to 17th. Manchester is down five places to 16th.
Adam Kirby, who is head of data and insights at JPES Partners and is responsible for the development of the EvaluateLocate model, said of the latest movements in the table: “The changes in the rankings of these key cities [reflect] the ‘stop-go’ nature of the UK economy which has prevailed since 2020.
“However, the decline in economic vitality which started during the pandemic and was exacerbated by the cost-of-living crisis is now slowing. Key localised economies are showing their inherent resilience and gathering more momentum as they edge back towards positive growth.”
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