London Business Survey 2014

The story of the London Business Survey

In the autumn of 2013 the GLA asked the Office for National Statistics to come up with a new design for the London Business Survey, which had last been run seven years previously. The aim was to collect evidence to help inform policies for London businesses. The survey was to be run in the spring and summer of 2014 and provide results by the autumn – a challenging schedule. The results were to be statistically representative of London businesses, specifically of private sector businesses in the main sectors of London’s economy. This paper tells the story of the London Business Survey 2014.

London Business Survey 2014: Foreign Ownership

Almost a quarter of all business units in large firms in London were foreign owned.

The financial and industrial sector had the highest share of foreign-owned business units in London (around 25 per cent).

At the time of the survey in mid-2014, around 85 per cent of foreign-owned business units said the business was planning to grow in the next 12 months.

London Business Survey 2014: Main findings

The 2014 London Business Survey (LBS) is an innovative survey designed by the Office for National Statistics, on behalf of the London Enterprise Panel and the GLA. The survey covers a wide range of topics including the profile of London business, their performance and outlook, workforce, trade, and London as a place to do business.

Over the next 12 months, 63% of business units said the firm was planning to grow; and just over half expect the economic situation in London to improve; however, less than one-quarter expected numbers of employees to increase.

Businesses rate London positively in terms of the availability of skilled staff and the international/diverse environment, while satisfaction is lower around the availability/cost of housing.

London Business Survey 2014: Exports

Around a third of business units in London were exporters.

The importance of export sales for small and medium sized enterprises in the capital nearly double that for large firms.

Net exports from London business units worth around £28 billion in the year to mid-2014.

London Business Survey 2014: Methodology The Methodology Report describes how the survey was designed and carried out by ONS. It includes information on the questionnaire development, sample design, data collection, results processing and quality issues.

London Business Survey 2014 data to Datastore The LBS data is freely available on the London Datastore