Featured Free Downloads

Location Leeds: a better environment for business

Essential guide to the Leeds commercial property market, showcasing the city's premier business locations. Features out of town and city centre offices, retail and industrial premises. Published in association with Yorkshire Business Insider.

Leeds:The Facts
the key facts

Statistical overview of the economy of Leeds and the city region including information on key sectors, workforce, population and output.

Business in Leeds:
the key facts

Detailed information on the Leeds economy covering everything from financial services to the media, workforce and skills also providing an overview of the Leeds lifestyle including education, leisure and healthcare.

Holbeck Urban Village: a creative location for business

A fast developing location for creative and digital media businesses close to the centre of Leeds. Includes case studies of companies based in the area.

Government departments and agencies

Detailed report is available setting out the advantages of Leeds as a location for government departments and agencies. Includes case studies.

Shared Service Centres

Detailed report on advantages of Leeds as a location for shared services centres. Includes studies of shared services operations based in Leeds.

Making it in Leeds

Detailed report on the manufacturing sector in Leeds, including case studies on some of the city's leading manufacturers.

Conference Leeds

Guide to 290 venues for conferences, seminars and training events in Leeds, Bradford, Huddersfield, Wakefield and Pennine Yorkshire.

Leeds city region

Located at the geographical centre of the UK, the Leeds city region represents a naturally functioning economy encompassing Leeds, Barnsley, Bradford, Calderdale, Craven, Harrogate, Kirklees, Selby, Wakefield and York.

In 2009, the Leeds city region was recognised by the Government as one of two pilot city regions within the UK, allowing new freedoms and flexibilities in areas such as housing, regeneration, transport, innovation and higher level skills. The aim is to create the conditions for a better business environment in which enterprise can flourish and the economy can grow, through innovation-led activity.

The Leeds city region has a population of almost 3 million, a workforce of 1.5 million and a highly diverse economy worth over £52 billion per annum, giving it the critical mass to compete on an international stage with other major European business centres.

Key assets of the Leeds city region include economic diversity, the knowledge economy and connectivity. It lies at the crossroads of the UK transportation network, and is home to over 100,000 businesses.

The Leeds city region has six universities: Leeds, Leeds Met, Bradford, Huddersfield, York and York St John, which produce 36,000 graduates every year and facilitate cutting-edge research, 36% of which is world class and 10% of which is world leading.

The University of Leeds, along with Sheffield and York, is a member of the White Rose University Consortium. The combined research power of the three universities ranks alongside Oxford and Cambridge and accounts for 86% of the region’s higher education research spend.

The Leeds city region has a highly self contained workforce – 93% of people who live in the city region also work here, and 93% of people who work in the city region also live here.

Every day over 100,000 people from the surrounding city region commute to work in Leeds.

Communications, banking, insurance, other financial services and health will feature as key areas of employment growth. Digital and creative industries, bioscience, distribution and logistics represent major opportunities for growth.

Manufacturing continues to be a key sector of the economy, accounting for around 152,000 jobs in advanced engineering, medical technology, food and drink, chemicals and printing.