1. London Business Survey 2014 Outcome and Impact
Joel Marsden
Economist
September 2015

2. GLAE has released further supplements to accompany the main findings report
The findings were published on 10 November 2014 – just 2.5 months after the end of the fieldwork.
Data tables available to all on the London Datastore:
Released during ‘Export week’

3. The LBS covered a wide range of topics…
Business profile
London as a place to do business
Workforce
Business performance and outlook
International trade
Business support
Access to finance
Innovation
Skills and training

4. …that can help build the evidence base to deliver change .
Supporting economic development
Improving London’s competitiveness
Opportunity for all
Investing in London’s future
A world capital of business
Skills & employment
Digital, science & technology
SMEs
Infrastructure

5. How many businesses are there in London?
Size of enterprise
Business units
Employees
Turnover
Micro (0-9)
81%
20%
12%
Other SME (10-249)
11%
33%
24%
Large (250+) 8%
47%
64%
Sources: IDBR, May 2014 and LBS 2014

6. Why have they chosen London - and what keeps them here?
The LBS asked businesses:
How would you rate Greater London as a location for this business in each of the following areas?
Skilled staff
International environment
Proximity to customers
Proximity to businesses
Transport (within)
Transport (into/out of)
Digital infrastructure
Affordable workspace
Housing
Other living costs
Safety & security

7. A world capital of business…1
International environment 76 2
Proximity to customers 75
Good or excellent! 3
Proximity to other businesses 73 4
Skilled staff & transport (within) 70 5
Transport (into/out of) 69 6
Digital infrastructure 67

8. …with areas for improvement1
Other living costs 90
Adequate or poor! 2
Availability/cost of housing 89 3
Suitable & affordable workspace 77 4
Safety & security 67
Notes:
Percentages are calculated excluding non-response.
Confidence intervals are roughly ± 3

9. How much do London businesses export?
Source: GLA Economics calculations based on London Business Survey
Notes:
1. The results under-estimate the true value of total exports due to instances of non-response or misreporting by some respondents.

10. Can SMEs get enough finance?
35%
Unsuccessful/ unresolved
Partial finance
All the money
Attempted to access external finance
lep.london/growthhub

11. What is the outlook for business growth?
Notes:
1. Respondents who did not answer the ‘planning to grow’ question were assumed to have responded "no".
2. For other two questions, percentages were calculated excluding non response.

12. Was the effort worthwhile?
This kind of work involves extra effort, not least for the businesses which take part in the survey.
Experimental survey design a success & produced representative and reliable results.
Potential to replicate and improve in future, in London and/or in other parts of the UK.
The findings have already had an impact on policies and business promotion in London, and the story continues.

13. And there’s a wealth of further information to be explored…
GLA Economics
economy/publications/gla-economics
GLA Intelligence Unit
assembly/mayor/publications/gla-intelligence
London Datastore: full tables