The middle of this decade will always be remembered as a golden time in Leicester. First, there was the reinternment of King Richard III in March 2015, the legacy of which means the annual number of visitors to Leicester Cathedral has risen from around 20,000 to 200,000 per year. International attention was soon focused on the city again when Leicester City Football Club won the 2015/16 Premier League against seemingly impossible odds of 5000 to 1. The celebrations may be long over but Leicester is still proving itself as a city very much on the up.

A top European player

Reality may have settled back in for the Foxes, who finished 9th in the 2018/19 Premiership, but off the pitch, finances are looking healthy for the city’s football club, which has been ranked by KPMG as the 15th most valuable football club in Europe, with an enterprise value (EV) of £523 million. This EV, which is an indication of how much a club would cost to buy, puts it ahead of famous European clubs such as AC Milan, Everton, Inter Milan, Ajax and Roma. It also makes LCFC the seventh most valuable club in England, with a 35% increase in sterling value on last year. This is great news for a city that has been traditionally seen as an underdog when it comes to football and many other things.

A modern technology hub

A new report by Tech Nation shows that Leicester has had the biggest increase in new technology firms of any UK city in the last ten years, with a 50 per cent rise in new tech companies across the East Midlands in the past year alone. This means that the digital tech sector now turns over £750m and has generated close to 7000 jobs. A buzzing new tech hub has sprung up in the city’s cultural quarter and Leicester Tech Startups, which works to bring start-ups and universities together, has exciting plans to open a co-working space in the city centre in Autumn 2018.

The cream of the crop

With both De Montfort University and the University of Leicester long established as highly-regarded higher education institutions, Leicestershire doesn’t just attract a high calibre of graduates, it retains them as professionals too. Comparatively low rents and house prices make Leicestershire an attractive proposition to those just starting out on their careers, as do excellent motorway and railway links to London and the rest of the UK. And the universities aren’t just about learning – DMU’s Innovation Centre offers support to new businesses and the University of Leicester invested £5.1 million in the Leicester Innovation Hub last year, which offers graduates and SMEs subsidised support for tech startups.

Moving to Leicestershire

Whether you’re starting up a small company or relocating for a job, the modern hub of Leicester is the perfect place to pursue your ambitions. Not only that, it’s surrounded by beautiful countryside for those who don’t fancy city centre living. One popular town to relocate to is Market Harborough, which was recently named as one of the best places in the Midlands to live by the Sunday Times and is surrounded by picturesque villages for those who want to combine a city working life with a rural home one.

For expert advice on moving to Leicestershire, please call Naylors on 01858 450 020.