5.2.2

The UK's Post-Industrial Economy

Test yourself

What Does the UK's Post-Industrial Economy Look Like?

The UK's post-industrial economy is more focused on the services, finance, information technology, and research industries.

Illustrative background for Service industriesIllustrative background for Service industries ?? "content

Service industries

  • Service industries include shops (retail), cinemas, entertainment venues, experiences (like Flight Club Darts or Junkyard Golf), and personal services (like hairdressers and beauticians).
  • In the UK in 2020, 80% of workers worked in the Services industry.
  • In 2019, 2.9 million people worked in Retail in the UK.
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Finance (financial services)

  • London has become a financial services hub and is in the top 3 global financial centres in the world with New York and Hong Kong.
  • Lots of hedge funds, investment banks, and pension funds operate in London, (mainly from Mayfair, Bank, and Canary Wharf).
  • Barclays and HSBC have their headquarters in London and Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan, Credit Suisse, and Citibank all have offices in Canary Wharf.
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Research

  • Oxford University, Cambridge University, UCL and Imperial College London are all in the top 10 universities in the world.
  • Great universities and well-trained university graduates create a good environment for R&D (research and development).
  • Lots of UK universities' research budgets are tied to European Union funding.
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Science and business parks

  • Science and business parks are home to lots of research that happens in quaternary industries.
  • Positioning science parks near universities and major towns allows the science parks to attract the best researchers and business people in the same place.
  • Cambridge Science Park is near Cambridge University.
  • Oxford University Sciences Innovation has sold the IP from university 'spin-outs' to investors like Lansdowne Partners.
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Information technology

  • London is the largest hub for start-ups in Europe. Lots of venture capital funds like Atomico and LocalGlobe operate in London.
  • Businesses like Microsoft, Facebook, and Google have opened new offices in the Shoreditch and Kings Cross areas of London.

Jump to other topics

1The Challenge of Natural Hazards

1.1Natural Hazards

1.2Tectonic Hazards

1.3Weather Hazards

1.4Climate Change

2The Living World

3Physical Landscapes in the UK

3.1The UK Physical Landscape

3.2Coastal Landscapes in the UK

3.3River Landscapes in the UK

3.4Glacial Landscapes in the UK

4Urban Issues & Challenges

5The Changing Economic World

6The Challenge of Resource Management

6.1Resource Management

6.2Food

6.3Water

6.4Energy

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