HSBC highlights Scottish cities as “hot business hubs”
29 May 09
The UK’s business landscape is set for its biggest shake up since the industrial revolution, according to HSBC’s Future of Business report, which sees Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dundee as new areas of business growth
Unveiling a new map of the nation, the report uncovers a changing landscape, which is populated with new centres for gaming, wind farms and robotics dominating the traditional map of UK industry – which was plotted with factories, power stations and livestock.
The report, from HSBC Commercial Banking and The Future Laboratory, predicts that the economic downturn, increased emphasis on internationalisation and changing demands on business will profoundly alter the UK’s “business map” as the 21st century unfolds. It is forecasting a new regional geography with the birth of five new ‘supercities’ and a map of tomorrow populated by nanotech, cybernetics and a growing emphasis on bio and tech sciences driven by new economic income streams.
According to the report’s authors, the changes are being driven by the recession, which will create an emphasis on interpersonal skills in business; technological advances; the demands of many for new and flexible ways of working; more business trade taking place across international borders, and a rise in entrepreneurship. It predicts that what the UK has been known for since the industrial revolution is set to change, and fast.
According to the research there will be a new-look UK with hot business hubs focusing on:
- Gaming (Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow)
- Robotics (Edinburgh, Birmingham, Essex, London, Manchester, Plymouth)
- Biotech (Dundee and York)
- Nanotech (Oxford, Cambridge, Newcastle, Durham, Bristol, London)
- Stem cell research (Edinburgh, London, Cambridge, Liverpool, Manchester)
- Nutraceuticals (Dundee/Southampton)
- Renewable energies (Glasgow, London, Wales, Cornwall)
- Cybernetics (Reading)
Report author, Martin Raymond said: “In the last decade, the notion of the ‘culture capital’ became a buzzword, as cities such as Cardiff, Newcastle, Gateshead, London and Liverpool worked with so-called ‘starchitects’ such as Norman Foster, Richard Rogers and Wilkinson Ayre to create business opportunities and global profiles. We are about to see innovation, technology and wireless connectivity being used in the same way, according to our panel of experts.“
They predict the rise of ‘supercities’ and regions such as Newcastle, Leeds, Liverpool and Brighton over the next 20 years. These supercities and regions will derive their status, income and prestige from new economic income streams such as biotech, stem cell research, innovation, gaming and even alternative work practices and business models.”