University cities crowned top places to work in the UK

Britain’s ‘golden triangle’ seen as the best areas to work in Britain

The British cities home to the country’s top universities have topped Glassdoor’s study of the best work destinations of the last year, with Cambridge and Manchester ranking second and third, with experts anticipating a continued surge as we move towards Brexit. Golden Triangle cities; Oxford, Cambridge and Milton Keynes are home to some of the UK’s largest and most esteemed universities, and the entrepreneurial skills will see the locations thrive in the next few years, according to Bidwells.

Milton Keynes ranks fourth in the UK for its start-up rate, a recent report by Centre For Cities revealed, with the fast-growing city also ranked third in the UK for having the highest number of businesses. The European Digital City Index’s analysis of the digital entrepreneurial landscape of 60 cities across Europe saw Oxford rank first for skills and Cambridge to top its own marketplace. On top of this, the two cities ranked in the top ten for business environment and top 20 in Europe for start-ups and culture.

Cambridge was found to be the home of British innovation as more patents are published there than any other destination in the country, while proving to be fertile breeding ground for start-ups as 80% remained in business three years after being established. Milton Keynes biggest strength was seen to be employment growth, responsible for adding almost 10,000 jobs in banking and finance over the last five years, ranking fourth in the country for weekly workplace wages.

In Cambridge, the UK’s most innovative city according to Centre For Cities, more than 21,645 jobs are currently available. Investments such as Granta Park will see employment expand, with this project alone set to increase jobs from 2,500 to 4,000 in the park, and workspace amounting to well over 1 million sq. ft.

Approximately 67% of Oxford jobs are centred exclusively on knowledge-intensive industries, including financial, technology, science, and biotech, making this a prime choice for employees wanting to be at the forefront of new developments in these sectors.

“The Golden Triangle is predicted to see peak growth in the next five years, due to the cluster of top talent, businesses, housing, and the development of the new varsity line expressway,” said Bidwells partner and head of Business Space Agency, Dick Wise. “Property in Cambridge, Milton Keynes, and Oxford have great growth prospects, and as supply continues to tighten, and more A-space becomes available, doing business in the Golden Triangle will see significant expansion and strong returns by 2019-2020.”