Sunday September 8 2024
Swindon & Wiltshire News
Swindon has been named as one of the fastest-growing economic centres in the UK outside of London in a new report.
Grant Thornton’s High Growth Index of Places in the UK also highlights the town in the table of areas with the most vibrant and dynamic economies.
The report ranks economic centres according to their recent growth and potential for further, sustainable expansion.
Swindon’s high growth score of 137 places it joint seventh with Leicester. The table is topped with powerhouses including Manchester (205), Birmingham (165), Milton Keynes (153), Bristol (150), Brighton and Hove (144) and Nottingham (142).
Swindon is smaller than all of the cities ranked above it.
The high growth index combines the economic growth indices (in which Swindon is ranked 13th) and population growth indices (in which Swindon is ninth), and identifies those places that have grown fastest – both in terms of population and size of the economy – in the last eight years.
Meanwhile, the town is ranked joint 10th in the Dynamism Index, with focuses on the quality of growth to identify areas with a vibrant and dynamic economy.
The index is topped by Cambridge (176), Reading (146), Manchester (131) and Bristol (129). Swindon shares 10th places with Nottingham, Norwich, and Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
The report also identifies nine growth corridors in the UK. A functional, large scale, economic area spans across Swindon and Wiltshire between London and Bristol, further highlighting the area’s potential for growth.
The findings of the report have been welcomed by the Swindon and Wiltshire Local Enterprise Partnership. Director Isobel Brown said: “We’re delighted with Swindon’s ranking in Grant Thornton’s High Growth Index of Places. It is further proof that Swindon and Wiltshire is an area of high growth and that it is an ideal place for businesses and people to thrive.”
The full report can be downloaded from http://www.grant-thornton.co.uk/Global/Publication_pdf/Where-growth-happens-the-high-growth-index-of-places.pdf
