There are many cities with a global reputation but few have the power and influence of London. Having provided accommodation for travellers in the city for over 25 years, Clarendon Serviced Apartments reflects on how London has grown in stature.
Internationally, London is in a unique position. Unlike Washington, Istanbul and Milan, London combines both the political, business and financial hearts of the UK. The only international cities to compare to this are Moscow and Paris. This combination ensures that London has a global reputation and regularly attracts international visitors. A cultural melting pot it is this characteristic that truly has helped the capital stand out from the crowd.
London is a diverse city, with communities from around the world setting up home in the capital, either on a permanent or temporary basis. This gives the capital a global culture and makes it a stopping point on the map of the global population, often wealthy travellers who travel from international city to international city.
This is both a good thing and a bad thing for London. As a recent piece in the Financial Times reflected, London’s international reputation and pull on the world’s wealthy elite enables it to protect and raise living standards not just in the capital but around the UK. London’s economic growth is predicted to be 3.8% by the CEBR next year, around a third of the economic expansion of the whole country. It continues to rise and is expected to surpass the levels of growth seen before the economic crisis by 2018, a full ten years post-crash.
Yet there is a flip-side. It is harder for the UK’s regional cities to compete with London. Holding both political, business and financial power makes it difficult for the UK to emulate say Germany’s egalitarian approach for city growth in Frankfurt, Berlin and Hamburg.
The balance does need to be addressed but while London is such a global draw for business it needs to be built on to continue to foster growth, which can have a knock on effect around the country. Chinese and Middle eastern investment ensure the capital is developing relationships with the world’s fastest growing economic powerhouses meaning it will continue to grow.
While that future is assured it is worth looking for areas where improvement is needed. HS2 and improved infrastructure in the UK will make travel faster, easier and more comfortable in and out of the capital, helping to spread that wealth to cities like Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool and Leeds. Transport infrastructure in the capital itself needs to be improved and the current investment in, for example, Crossrail needs to continue. London is a worldwide attraction with iconic places to visit like Tower Bridge and Big Ben, its restaurants and bars are popular the world over and this needs to continue to ensure visitors continue to visit and stay.
Clarendon Serviced Apartments is proud of the fact that, for 25 years, we have provided both medium let and extended stay accommodation in London. As a developer we continuously look to expand within the capital because of the potential the city provides and its iconic status. The city is constantly changing and evolving which makes it such a great place to live and do business. With a secure financial status is a great place to set up business and extend commercial activity. We have apartments in south west London as well as the West End, Canary Wharf and the City, the ideal locations for those needing to conduct a range of business in the capital.