Camden Town, London » City Info » Economy

Camden Town is the artistic centre of the London Borough of Camden, located in London, England. London is the capital and largest urban area of both England as well as United Kingdom. Therefore it is not only the most important business and financial hub in United Kingdom, but also one of the three ‘command centres’ of the world along with New York and Tokyo. It is the world largest financial centre and sixth largest economy after cities such as Tokyo, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Paris. In Europe, it is the second largest economy after Paris and accounting to about 20% of UK’s GDP.

London was one of the first cities to shift its economy to a service based one than other European countries after the end of World War II. It’s success in service and business sector can be credited to factors such as its native language English which is the world’s business language, formerly being the capital of British Empire, good relations with US and other Asian countries, location in a time zone that acts as a medium between US and Asian markets, low taxes, business friendly settings, excellent infrastructure and no unneeded government intervention.

More than 85% of Greater London residents work in the service sector dominant industries while the remaining work in other industries such as manufacturing, construction, etc. Five major business centers of London are The City, Westminster, Canary Wharf, Camden & Islington and Lambeth & Southwark. While The City mostly concentrates in finance, broking, insurance, legal sectors. Westminster gives attention to businesses related to head offices, real estate, private banking, hedge funds and government. Camden & Islington are known for its art and fashion industry. Canary Wharf and Lambeth & Southwark mostly focus on money matters related to banking, accountancy, media, legal and consultancy.

The Finance industry of London contributes a lot to UK’s balance of payments. Many accounting firms, banks, insurance firms have their headquarters stationed in The City. The developing financial district of Canary Wharf has global headquarters of companies such as HSBC, Reuters, Barclays, etc. More than UK’s 100 top companies (FTSE 100) and 100 of Europe’s 500 companies are headquartered in London. 75% of Fortune 500 companies have their offices in London. Along with the financial and service sector, the media industry is the third largest industry in London. While the BBC is most prominent media broadcaster, many more companies have their headquarters in the city.

Tourism is a major part of the economy of London. More than £15bn is spent by the tourists in London every year. After Paris, London is the most preferred tourist destination attracting over 27 million visitors every year.

The offshore industry in the form of Port of London cannot be ignored in anyways. It is the third largest port in United Kingdom and handles 50 million tones of cargo every year.