Generating Growth and Opportunity in London

Universities are crucial to sparking growth and opportunity, by bringing together student populations, research partners, local businesses, and employers to create vibrant communities, jobs, and opportunity across the UK. This series of briefings takes a look at how universities are generating growth and opportunity across the nine regions of England. Universities in London are situated across the city, ranging from large providers, such as University College London, to small and specialist institutions, such as University of the Arts London. Recent analysis by London Economics estimated that universities in London alone contributed £27 billion in gross output and £14.8 billion in gross value added to the UK economy. This figure includes the economic activity generated by employing people, their purchasing of goods and services, and the local spending power of staff and students. In 2021-22, universities in London spent £6.1 billion on staff. Staff spend a proportion of their income with local businesses and on local services, which supports a thriving economy.