Other UK cities
Looking at the rest of the UK, Manchester still remains on top of our ranking of regional cities, popular with 58% of UK professionals.
Our chart shows how the gap between Manchester and the ‘chasing pack’ of regional cities has increased, with the pack converging at a lower level of appeal – remaining significant options, but perhaps also reflecting a tendency to look to core locations and assets at times of greater instability.
Which of these ‘big six’ regional cities are particularly appealing as investment prospects?
The unsung hero here, though, may be Glasgow. While still the last among our six cities, it is the only one to have followed a steady upward trend since 2016. The gap between Glasgow and Manchester, 57 percentage points in 2016, has shrunk to 39 points.
Says CMS Glasgow partner Chris Rae: “Glasgow has significantly narrowed the gap with table-topper Manchester. Indeed it’s often compared with Manchester, not least because of their strong transport links and top-tier talent pool. It does suggest that there are great opportunities yet to be explored in this dynamic city.”
