London attracts companies from around the globe for a number of reasons: political stability, culture and heritage, the English language and the tax regime among many others.

The location of London is critical to its success. Situated in between America and Asia, London is able to conduct business with both the East and West. The time zone plays a key part in this, with London’s office hours overlapping with countries that collectively generate 99% of the world’s GDP.

As a result, international companies are able to open an office in London and remain in good contact with their colleagues, no matter where they are situated.

We have examined three further top attractions for international businesses, all of which have impacts on the corporate rental market, in more detail.

Industry leaders


London attracts more international companies in the financial services, ICT, electronics and creative industries than any other European city and is home to the highest number of corporate headquarters.

London is famous for its financial industry, which vies with New York City as the financial capital of the world. Across the key central London employment boroughs of Tower Hamlets, City of London and City of Westminster, the financial and insurance sector is the biggest industry, accounting for 21.2% of employees.

However, over the next five years this will change. Oxford Economics forecast that while the financial and insurance industry will experience almost no growth, employees in the professional, scientific and tech industry will increase by 15.6% to become the largest industry in central London. This follows London establishing itself as a leader in the tech industry with growth in the sector across England outstripping California’s Silicon Valley.

We have already seen a 
similar shift in the profile of the corporate tenants moving to London and examine the effects further here.

Improving infrastructure


To arrive in London from overseas is simple. There is a choice of six international airports and several smaller airports, together forming the busiest airport system in the world by passenger numbers.

Once in London, the choice of transport is extensive. The city is home to the oldest underground system in the world, a complex bus network and the national mainline railway links.

The traditional tube network now includes the Docklands Light Railway and the London Overground, both of which are responsible for opening 
up large areas of east London, including Canary Wharf. The arrival of Crossrail in 2018 will benefit Canary Wharf further, decreasing the travel time to the West End (Bond Street) from 18 to just 13 minutes.

ABP, the future business district at the Royal Albert Docks, sits one stop further east along the Crossrail line and reduced travel times to central London and Heathrow airport will 
be key to attracting companies 
to the location.

As London’s population and workforce continue to grow, the transport system needs to keep up. There are already plans in place for the Northern Line extension to Battersea, together with increasing the capacity on the current lines. Proposals for Crossrail 2 are in consultation and there are proposals for Crossrail 3.

International schools
For families relocating to London, 
a good international school is critical to their search. 


In the sales market we know 
that a good school commands 
an average house price premium 
of 29% in London, and strong demand for properties in nearby locations is also seen in the rental market, particularly around international schools.

Many parents begin their search in locations around one particular school, with the hope their child will be given a place. However, if that school falls through they will move their search to the next school on their list regardless, even if it is the other side of London. 


London is fortunate to be home to a number of highly regarded international schools, giving tenants a wide range of options. The Good Schools Guide International has provided us with a list of 50 popular international schools in and around London, see Map 1 below.

While there is no rigid definition of an international school, there will usually be a wide range of nationalities, a certain amount of mobility amongst families, and an emphasis on change, adaptability and multi-language learning. Above all, they are schools used by the international community.

Just under half of these schools follow the UK national curriculum but are popular with families from overseas and with mobile British families. There are 11 international schools on the list and they are the most widely spread across London and the home counties. The nine French schools are all clustered in inner London, and the remainder of schools on the list are from a range of locations, including America, Japan and Sweden.

Taken from
Spotlight: Corporate Lettings 2014