Blog

It wasn’t too long ago that arranging property viewings and orientation sessions involved oversized A-Z maps, reams of printed materials and paper diaries bulging with a myriad of appointments*.

Cardiff is the capital of Wales and the country’s economic hub. It’s a city selling itself on affordability and connections, with its bold claims well substantiated. Recent research from the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (Nesta) revealed that Cardiff has one of the highest levels of ‘gazelle’ firms of any city in the UK (gazelle being a high-growth company that is increasing its revenues by at least 20% annually for four years or more). There’s also a supportive Government and local council, with a £100m Wales Life Sciences Investment Fund and a £150m fund from Finance Wales to support micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises.

Budgeting is a big part of relocation and when it comes to finding a property for clients – especially in London – rents can mean the difference between straying into the red or keeping in the black.

Cambridge is a city with a global reputation, thanks to its world-leading university that has seen the likes of William Wordsworth, Oliver Cromwell, Christopher Marlowe and countless monarchs and royals pass through its doors. Cambridge’s academic status has spawned a thriving postgraduate and academic business landscape that positions the city as a major employer outside of London. 

Edinburgh’s cultural riches, royal connections, festival scene and world-class universities make the city a premier destination among a wide variety of people. In fact, Edinburgh was voted as the fourth most beautiful city in the world in a 2015 poll of Rough Guide readers, and the city also featured highly (6th) in a list of the dozen most dynamic cities in Europe, compiled by commercial property specialist Jones Lang LaSalle.

Newcastle is the North East’s tour de force, with a thriving economy, successful regeneration projects and a lively cultural scene. In fact, the city’s economy contributes around £13 billion to the UK’s gross value added.

Relocating a professional is a tough job as it is, but add into the mix a family facing a complex school admissions process and finding the right property for your client becomes a different ball game.

Leeds is the third-largest city in the UK, with a population of over 726,000. Located in West Yorkshire, with Harrogate to the north, Bradford to west, Sheffield to the south and Hull to the east, Leeds is a bustling metropolis surrounded by approximately 25 attractive suburbs and steeped in industrial heritage.

Stratford – the new jewel in the East London crown. This town in the Borough of Newham stepped into the spotlight when confirmed as the location of the 2012 Olympic stadium. The rush of associated investment brought with it improved public transport links in the shape of Stratford International – the station with its high-speed train line running to St Pancras in one direction and mainland Europe in the other. Also in time for the Olympics was the mega Westfield shopping mall and a future legacy plan is in place to ensure E15 doesn’t become an expensive ‘white elephant.’

It’s been a momentous year in the world of UK lettings, with a raft of new laws and legislations that will shape tenant accommodation moving into 2016. The biggest change, however, was saved for the end of the year when Chancellor George Osborne announced a new way of taxing buy-to-let property investment purchases.

Aberdeen is the energy capital of Europe, with a growing oil and gas industry that attracts a global workforce. There’s also a burgeoning life sciences industry, with one of the biggest concentrations of scientists outside of Cambridge, two universities – the University of Aberdeen and the Robert Gordon University (which draws up to 60,000 students every year), and the £183million mixed-use Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre (AECC).

In fact, Aberdeen has been ranked as one of the UK’s most competitive cities. 33 of Scotland’s top 100 companies are based in Aberdeen and GVA (gross value added) sits at £17,573m – 15% of the Scottish total.