New research from JLL suggests that London has the highest concentration of talent in the world, due to its leading universities and a highly educated workforce - although the UK capital is the only European city to feature in the global survey's top five.
Places two to six in the talent charts are occupied by the North American cities of San Francisco, Washington DC, San Jose, Seattle and Boston. Sydney comes in seventh place, with Paris, Oslo and Melbourne at eight, nine and 10.
In the global research report, Innovation Geographies, JLL analysed over 100 cities worldwide to quantify their innovation and talent attributes, and examine how this links with real estate performance.
'The link between innovation and talent-rich cities and real estate performance is evident. JLL’s research confirms that innovative cities have a strong competitive advantage when attracting real estate investment and corporate occupiers,' said Chris Ireland, CEO, JLL UK.
'By creating more jobs and attracting more talent, demand for real estate follows. Identifying talent hotspots and cities with strong innovation potential is now an important part of real estate investment strategies for our clients.'
A parallel ranking, on innovation, sees San Francisco take the top spot, while London comes in at number five. Paris is the only other European city to feature in this top 10, ranked seventh in the world. At 13th, 18th, 19th and 20th are Munich, Berlin, Amsterdam and Stockholm.
According to JLL, findings show that top-performing cities in both innovation and talent not only outperform in economic activity over the long term, but have also recorded the fastest office rental growth over the past decade and are attracting a higher proportion of real estate capital.
London leading
The report shows that London is the leading global talent hub, with the best-educated workforce of any city globally – nearly 59% have a tertiary education, compared to the global average of just 34%.
London also scores high on a range of innovation markers. Nearly 15% of London’s workforce is employed in high-tech sectors and venture capital funding for technology start-ups is amongst the highest in the world, at around US$25 bn between 2016-2018.
Of the 109 cities analysed, the nine leading global markets – London, Boston, New York, Paris, San Francisco, Seattle, San Jose, Sydney and Tokyo – accounted for around 37% of total annual real estate investment volumes over the past decade with London attracting the largest share of real estate capital over this period.
Concluded Neil Prime, head of London office markets and UK office agency at JLL UK, said: 'Despite Brexit uncertainty, London leads the pack in terms of talent concentration, showing that in addition to world-class universities, and robust levels of investment in R&D and high-tech industries, London is a city that is resilient and remains perennially attractive to both workers and investors.'
