Resilient business infrastructure

Financial and professional services firms in London and the UK benefit from world-leading business infrastructure and operational resilience.

The UK’s location on the world map provides for unrivalled global connections, and the country’s strong cyber security framework and digital security measures offer firms a business environment they can operate in with trust.

To remain competitive, further investment into the UK’s digital and transport infrastructure is needed – for the country not to lose ground to financial centres in Asia.

London and the UK are not only home to the world’s business language: Its location on the world map and favourable time zone provide businesses with strong connections to any part of the world.

London has a higher international airport capacity than New York City, is home to more Fortune Global 500 headquarters than Singapore, and offers more affordable office space than Hong Kong. But to remain competitive, investment in London and the UK’s transport infrastructure is key – as well as a quick recovery from travel restrictions caused by COVID-19.

166m international travellers passed through London’s airport gates in 2019

With five major international airports in its vicinity, London is the global financial centre that is best connected to the rest of the world. The city’s high international airport capacity facilitates meetings and business travel and enables firms to do business with any part of the world. In 2019, more than 166m international travellers passed through London’s airport gates – up from 142m in 2015. This is more than double the number of international travellers at Hong Kong International Airport (71m).

At 51m, New York City’s airports have the lowest number of international travellers of all comparator global financial centres. With the pandemic grinding global travel to a halt, traveller figures dropped significantly in 2020; but London’s airport infrastructure and central location on the world map will help the city remain a financial centre with unmatched global connections. This will aid London to find new strength post-COVID: If the number of international business trips decreases, London has the potential to position itself as the must-visit destination for business travellers from around the globe.

London and the UK have one of the strongest cyber security frameworks world-wide, providing firms with a highly resilient business environment

In the latest ITU Global Cybersecurity Index, assessing a market’s cyber security initiatives covering legal, technical, and organisational areas as well as capacity building and cooperation, the UK ranks first amongst all global financial centres.

The US and Singapore follow. At city-level, London, New York City, Tokyo, and Singapore are all leading centres for digital security, with London having made the most improvement between 2015 and 2019. The rich ecosystem security created by UK government and industry, supported by the City of London Police and the City Corporation’s collaboration with business, underpins this.

Whether citizens are aware of digital threats and if cities have dedicated cyber security teams increase a centre’s cyber safety and thus operational resilience.