UK Powerhouse Study Reveals Strong Performance

Milton Keynes’ economy performed strongly in the second quarter of 2016 with a new study revealing that it was the second fastest growing in terms of economic output and employment growth.

Law firm Irwin Mitchell’s latest UK Powerhouse report, which has been produced with the Centre for Economic and Business Research (Cebr), provides an estimate of GVA¹ and job creation within 38 of the UK’s largest cities 12 months ahead of the Government’s official figures.

In the most recent version of the report published earlier this month, Milton Keynes recorded an impressive 2.7% respective year-on-year rise in output in Q2 2016.

The report, which attributed Milton Keynes’ growth to its relatively high share of service and knowledge-based industries, valued the city’s economy at £10.3bn and placed it in second place according to employment growth with a 3.4% annual increase in the second quarter of 2016.

It also predicts that the economy of Milton Keynes will grow by 19.1% over the next 10 years – making it the sixth fastest in the study - and that the number of people employed will go up by 3.7% over the same period.

Expert Opinion

"Like many other cities across the UK, the economy in Milton Keynes performed strongly in the second quarter of 2016. The political landscape however remains very uncertain and all eyes will no doubt be on how our city economies performed in the three months after the referendum result.” Niall Baker - Chairman of IM Asset Management & Partner

Irwin Mitchell produced its first UK Powerhouse report in October 2015. The report predicted a growing economic gap between the South East and the north of England and made nine policy recommendations along with a call for the government to radically rethink how it looks to rebalance the UK’s economy.

¹ GVA (Gross Value Added)