London and Hampshire top in map of UK wealth

A new map of wealth in the UK, revealed in a White Paper from the Barclays Wealth Insights series, highlights a greater concentration of wealthy individuals in the South-East of the country. The four postcodes home to the highest proportion of the UK’s wealthy are all in London and the South-East, with London and Hampshire as the top ranked counties.

However, the north of England also features strongly with Yorkshire placed third and Lancashire sixth in the list of counties with the highest proportion of wealthy individuals. Cheshire, famous for housing some of the UK’s most high profile sports stars in Alderley Edge, is in eleventh position.

The White Paper from Barclays Wealth Insights, based on data from the Economist Intelligence Unit and Ledbury Research, has positive news for Scotland as well, with areas in Midlothian and Dunbartonshire featuring in the twenty postcodes housing the highest proportions of wealthy individuals.

TheWhite Paper also reveals that business success is now more likely than inheritance to be the number one route to riches. 71 per cent of respondents listed savings from earnings as one of their three key sources of wealth. Wealthy people in the UK also continue to profit from their property investments, with 44 per cent making money through shrewd property purchases. Inherited wealth ranks third (30 per cent) behind hard work and property as a source of wealth, demonstrating the growing democratisation of wealth in this country.

These sources of wealth will help to drive the UK ahead of its counterparts across the world, with Barclays Wealth Insights showing that the UK will have the highest concentration of high net worth households in the G7 in 10 years’ time.

However, the White Paper also shows that whilst the recent influx of high profile wealthy individuals to the UK such as Roman Abramovich and Lakshmi Mittal has made the headlines, the risk of a reciprocal exodus of the super-rich could be on the horizon. Over the next decade 14 per cent per cent of those questioned were considering moving abroad and a further 46 per cent were planning to buy a second home overseas. Current UK residents thinking about leaving cited the following reasons:

Pursuit of a better lifestyle (87 per cent)
Cheaper housing & cost of living (79 per cent)
Paying less tax (57 per cent)
Improved business & career opportunities (43 per cent)
Fear of terrorism (42 per cent)

The White Paper also provides a fascinating glimpse into the world of the UK’s wealthy population. Whilst 45 per cent were concerned about saving for their retirement, 52 per cent worry about the performance of their investments and 20 per cent were kept awake at night worrying that their children were being reckless with their inheritance.

Mark Kibblewhite, Managing Director of Barclays Wealth’s private banking division, said: “There has rarely been a better time to be living in the UK. Not only are we expected to have the highest proportion of high net worth households in the G7 in 10 years’ time, but wealth is now truly open to everyone with enterprise and endeavour the main route to riches.”

“The changing map of wealth in the UK provides a positive outlook for the future of wealth across the country. However, this Barclays Wealth Insights White Paper reveals a rising scepticism and wanderlust amongst the country’s super-rich which suggests that retaining wealth within the UK may prove more of a challenge than creating it.”

Commenting on the trends, Yolande Barnes, Head of Research at Savills, the international property consultants, says: “The growing wealthy population in the UK presents a huge opportunity for UK property purchases but also a challenge. The top end of the market for homes is becoming constricted with more and more wealthy individuals seeking new property, making it more difficult to find the perfect home in the UK. Rural and overseas purchases are increasingly common and we expect to see this trend continue.”