Build your business here and you’ll be at the very heart of a thriving, 24-hour, global city

10 key facts about business and life in the centre of London.

• Thriving business base: Central London is home to nearly half of the capital’s businesses. It is the epicentre of London’s financial and professional services activity and the focal point for London’s tourist, leisure and entertainment industries.
• Development boom: Kings Cross is a stunning project — the 67-acre development comprises a new Eurostar terminal and cutting-edge offices, living space and leisure facilities. Paddington Basin’s network of canals and basins is being exploited — brand new office developments exist next to canals cluttered with barges that can be occupied by small businesses and Heathrow is less than half an hour away. The revitalised South Bank offers riverside views and new developments mixed with redeveloped warehouses in cobbled streets and alleys.
• Vast talent pool: some 70% of the 1.5 million people living here are of working age. Some 1.6 million people travel into Central London for work.
• Choice of office space: the total stock of office space in the West End exceeds 83 million sq ft [1] . Districts such as Mayfair, St James’ and the City of London offer prestigious addresses. Areas surrounding the City and the West End offer affordable options for those keen to exploit Central London markets while keeping a check on overheads.
• Leading financial centre: the area dominates the world in areas such as investment banking and insurance. All 20 of the world’s largest international insurance and reinsurance companies are active here.
• Media, design and fashion hub: large fashion houses and small independent fashion emporiums are based here. The district of Soho is home to one of the world’s most active media and creative clusters. The London Design Festival is the world’s most prestigious design event and a perfect tool to explore the scale of talent and ideas that exist in London 
• Best borough for your sector:
  • Camden (design, fashion, media, life sciences)
  • City of London (financial and professional services)
  • Islington (financial services, software and services, telecoms)
  • Kensington and Chelsea (HQs, design and marketing)
  • Lambeth (shared services, call centres, business services)
  • Southwark (financial services, marketing)
  • Wandsworth (architecture, media, design)
  • Westminster (HQs, professional services, business services, design, fashion and architecture, marketing, media, oil and gas, financial services, telecoms, software and services, telecoms).
• Academic base: leading institutions based here include the London School of Economics, Imperial College, Kings College, University College London and the London Business School.
• Booming culture, entertainment and heritage: this area is home to the world’s largest theatre district, two world heritage sites — The Palace of Westminster and Tower of London — and some of the world’s greatest collections of art in galleries such as National Gallery, Tate Modern and Tate Britain.
• Green space galore: London boasts one of the greenest city centres in the world. Famous parks include Hyde Park, Regents Park, Green Park and St James’s Park.

[1] CBRE (October 2005)