Future looks bright for economic growth in Peterborough

 

Report reveals strong recent performance and predicts further good news for the city

THE East of England is home to some of the best performing city economies in the UK, according to a new report which also hints the region is set for a bright future across the next decade.

The UK Powerhouse study is produced by Irwin Mitchell and the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr) and provides an estimate of GVA* growth and job creation within 45 of the UK’s largest cities 12 months ahead of the government’s official figures.

Published this month, the latest report revealed that Peterborough is among the top ten fastest growing city economies in the UK in the final quarter of 2017, with latter’s year-on-year rate of GVA growth rate of 2.0% in Q4 2017 taking it to the top spot of the Powerhouse table. Peterborough is also expected to perform strongly in Q4 2018.

 

 

GVA Q4 2018, £mn (annualised, constant 2013 prices)

Growth (YoY)
Cambridge                     9,500 2.2%
Milton Keynes                   12,100 1.9%
Oxford                     8,800 1.8%
Reading                     6,800 1.8%
Ipswich                     4,700 1.7%
Southampton                     6,100 1.6%
Norwich                     2,800 1.6%
Brighton                     7,400 1.6%
Peterborough                     5,600 1.5%

 

The GVA growth of each city is forecast to slow by Q4 2028 however, with Peterborough’s growth rate slipping to 1.1%.

In terms of employment growth, all of the cities are expected to maintain stable growth rates across the near and long-term future with the forecasts predicting that Peterborough will be in the top 15 best performing cities in the UK in terms of job creation by Q4 2028.

Victoria Brackett, chief executive of Irwin Mitchell’s Business Legal Services division said at Irwin Mitchell, said: “Our latest report makes very positive reading for the East of England, with all of its major cities enjoying strong growth in recent months and this trend also expected to continue.”

* Gross value added – the total value of goods and services produced

You can download a copy of the full UK Powerhouse report here (click).