Relocating to regional UK cities could save companies up to 45% over ten years, property consultant Cushman & Wakefield has revealed.

The report Cost Implications of Decentralisation, published today, said relocating business to Belfast or Cardiff would save more than 40% over ten years compared to the cost of being located in London. Councils could use the data as an argument to help attract companies concerned about the cost of locating in London to their areas.

Cushman & Wakefield analysed 14 UK cities outside London: Birmingham, Manchester, Newcastle, Leeds, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Cardiff, Southampton, Liverpool, Reading, Sheffield, Nottingham, Bristol and Belfast.

It said Belfast was the best value of these cities, with property cuts just 35% of London’s. The most expensive location – Edinburgh – was still one third cheaper than London.

Ben Cullen, head of Cushman & Wakefield’s national office agency team, said he was seeing a lot of corporate occupiers looking to relocate some of their business to regional locations.

“We expect that this trend will continue as businesses maintain a tight rein on costs through a slow economic recovery,” he said.

To read the full report click here: Cushman and Wakefield report on decentralisation

• Cushman & Wakefield on office costs in UK cities
• Centre for Cities Outlook 2010 report
• Smith to give clarity on civil service relocations
• Heseltine panel to allocate £1bn Regional Growth Fund
• Funding squeeze to stall north’s regeneration