Bradford is the UK’s most improved city!

A recent study by top accountancy firm PWC and leading cross party think tank Demos, have named Bradford as the most improved city in the UK.

PWC’s Good Growth for Cities report aims to create an index for good growth in the UK by taking into account a range of factors considered important to the general public, including jobs, income, skills and health were most important factors in the eyes of the public, alongside housing, transport, income distribution, work-life balance, business start-ups and the environment.

Now covering over a decade of data, the Demos-PwC Good Growth for Cities Index measures the performance of a range of the largest UK cities, as well as Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) areas and Combined Authorities in England, against a basket of ten indicators based on what the public find most important when they think about the ‘work and money’ side of their lives.

Of the 42 cities listed in the index, Bradford comes top when ranked in terms of most improved, with an index improvement of 0.14. This is especially impressive considering that this year’s report has seen a higher number of cities’ scores decline when compared to previous years.

Why has Bradford improved so much compared to other UK cities? Data from the report indicates that the West Yorkshire city has experienced a significant reduction in its unemployment rate, measured at 4.1% in 2018 compared to 10.0% in 2015 – representing the largest improvement in the jobs score of any city in the index over this period.

Have a look at the Top 10 most improved cities according to the PWC report:

1. Bradford
2. Liverpool
3. Norwich
4. Newcastle
5. Cardiff
6. Swansea
7. Wolverhampton & Warsall
8. Brighton
9. Hull
10. Manchester

You will notice that not only does Bradford top the list but it outranks some big hitters, like Liverpool, Newcastle and Liverpool. This positive finding from PWC and Demos, paired with Bradford’s bid to become UK city of culture in 2025 really goes to show how forward thinking this once neglected city has become.

Here at Aspen Woolf, we have identified Bradford as a prime investment location thanks to excellent prices, high yields and strong growth potential.