Budapest moves up one place

Budapest reasserted its position and became an even more appealing future location for international businesses, according to European Cities Monitor (ECM), the annual location survey of Europe?s leading companies carried out by global real estate consultant Cushman & Wakefield (C&W).

European Cities Monitor is based on interviews with Senior Managers and Board Directors of 507 top European companies. It looks at factors regarded as important by companies when deciding where to locate, and then compares the performance of 33 of Europe?s leading business cities on each factor. Communication factors are seen as the most important, followed by cost and then quality of life.

?Budapest is an improving businesses location, with increased availability and quality of office accommodation, whilst the property cost base remains very attractive. The cost of labour is likewise attractive. With an increased number of companies indicating they will expand to Budapest in the next 5 years, this is all good news for the local property market.? according to Charles Taylor, Partner and Managing Director of C&W.

The most attractive Central European city to locate a business today is Prague, followed by Warsaw and Budapest. The familiarity with the Hungarian capital as a business location is far ahead of Prague, but is passed by Warsaw.

London has increased its margin over Paris as Europe?s leading city to locate a business today. The UK capital is now the top-rated city for seven out of the 12 factors that are ranked to then give the overall league table.

James Young, Head of the City of London office of Cushman & Wakefield, comments: ?With the current trend towards globalisation, London has consolidated its position as part of the elite group of global cities, together with New York and Tokyo, and in all likelihood Shanghai in the near future. This puts London in a league apart when comparing it with other European cities.?

This year, Barcelona takes one more upward step to leapfrog Brussels and take 4th position. It has been one of the fastest risers in the ranking since ECM was first launched in 1990. In addition, Barcelona comes top in terms of doing the most to improve itself as a business location, which goes to support the view that the more a city is perceived to promote itself, the more it will be perceived as a good business location.
Budapest is an attractive business location, which has been doing a lot to improve itself. Real strength of the city are the business climate created by the government through tax policies and financial incentives, combined with the attractive labour costs and the significant growth in terms of availability and quality of office accommodation. However internal and external transport and telecommunication are still real weaknesses of Budapest.

Five of the cities in the top 16 business locations are in Germany. Hamburg is the biggest riser in the ranking, up three places to 16th, while Düsseldorf is up two to 14th. The figures indicate the consistent growth in Germany?s general attractiveness, which shows the aptitude of individual cities in Germany in raising their profiles as excellent locations.

This year the ranking has included three new cities: Birmingham (in 19th place), Leeds (28th) and Bucharest (29th). Meanwhile, Turin, Luxembourg and Valencia head the ?familiarity with other European cities? list.

Europe?s Best Cities to locate a Business ? ECM 2006

2006 2005 City

1 1 London
2 2 Paris
3 3 Frankfurt
4 5 Barcelona
5 4 Brussels
6 6 Amsterdam
7 7 Madrid
8 8 Berlin
9 9 Munich
10 10 Zurich
11 12 Dublin
12 11 Milan
13 13 Prague
14 16 Düsseldorf
15 14 Lisbon
16 19 Hamburg
17 17 Stockholm
18 20 Warsaw
19 – Birmingham
20 18 Geneva
21 15 Manchester
22 21 Budapest
23 23 Vienna
24 24 Lyons
25 22 Glasgow
26 26 Rome
27 25 Copenhagen
28 – Leeds
29 – Bucharest
30 27 Helsinki
31 28 Moscow
32 30 Athens
33 29 Oslo

THE CHANGES IN THE TOP 20:

Up three places ? Hamburg.

Up two places ? Düsseldorf, Warsaw.

Up one ? Barcelona, Dublin.

Down one ? Brussels, Milan, Lisbon,

Down two ? Geneva.

No 1 positions for …

Easy access to markets London
Qualified staff London
External transport links London
Telecommunications London
Cost of staff Warsaw
Climate governments create Dublin
Value for money of office space Warsaw
Availability of office space London
Languages spoken London
Internal transport London
Quality of life Barcelona
Freedom from pollution Stockholm

ADDITIONAL HIGHLIGHTS:

Impact on business

– The ?growth of China as a market for products/services? will have the greatest impact on companies? business over the next ten years. At the bottom of the list of nine factors comes ?conflict/terrorism?.
– Moscow is the city seen as providing the greatest business opportunities in the eastern cities outside the European Union (EU), followed by Istanbul and Bucharest.

Relocation/outsourcing
– Nearly a fifth (19 per cent) of companies have relocated/outsourced to another country in the past 12 months, with new EU members, and China and India as favoured destinations.

– More than a fifth (21 per cent) of companies plant to relocate/outsource to another country in the next two years (up from 17 per cent in last year?s survey). Again, new EU members are the favoured destinations, along with China and India.

Company expansion
– Warsaw can expect the biggest influx of new companies over the next five years, with
50 of the 507 sampled companies expected to locate there, whether offices, manufacturing or sales outlets.
– Paris is No 1 for existing representation.

City promotion
– London and Paris remain the best-known cities as business locations.
– Barcelona, Madrid and Prague are seen as the cities doing the most to improve themselves as business locations, with Berlin making great strides this year, leapfrogging Budapest, Warsaw and London to take fourth place.
NOTES TO EDITORS:

1.The underlying data for European Cities Monitor was researched independently for Cushman & Wakefield by TNS.
2.Cushman & Wakefield is the world?s largest privately held real estate services firm. Founded in 1917, the firm has 195 offices in 55 countries around the globe, and
11,000+ talented professionals. Cushman & Wakefield delivers integrated solutions by actively advising, implementing and managing on behalf of landlords, tenants, and investors through every stage of the real estate process. These solutions include helping clients to buy, sell, finance, lease, and manage assets. C&W also provides valuation advice, strategic planning and research, portfolio analysis, and site selection and space location assistance, among many other advisory services. To find out more about Cushman & Wakefield, please visit the firm?s web site at www.cushmanwakefield.com.