What’s The Buzz With Bradford?

Property prices in Bradford, West Yorkshire, were around 35% cheaper than the UK average a year ago in December 2009. Today, as Bradford booms as an investor hotspot, we are seeing properties being advertised at 32% ABOVE market value. Bradford property is still very reasonable compared to London and the south and we at Axis are still able to obtain 23% Below Market Value deals for our clients. However, Bradford property is definitely on the up - both in value and in popularity. So, what's the buzz about Bradford?

Location, location, location

Kirstie Allsopp, presenter of the ‘Location, Location, Location' TV show, is said to be a big fan of the city. Speaking about reasons to live in Bradford at a seminar in London, she commented: "Bradford has a lot to be proud of: nine million visitors a year, the most visited museum outside London, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and award-winning schools and universities. It was birthplace to world-famous artists, authors and playwrights, it has unrivalled cultural diversity and was recently named as one of the top six cities in the UK for potential growth by OMIS. Not many cities can claim that."

Certainly, Bradford is a city on the rise since the terminal decline of its textiles industry in the mid 20th century, but what is it about Bradford which is making the area so fashionable for both work and residence?

Booming population of working age

The City of Bradford is a metropolitan borough situated in the foothills of the Pennines, under 10 miles from Leeds. It has a growing population in excess of 500,000 (over 300,000 of whom are of working age), making it the fourth largest metropolitan district in the UK.

The median age is 34.8 and the population is split into almost 50/50 male and female. Bradford was ranked 63rd out of 342 local authorities for percentage growth in England and Wales.

£7 billion economy

It has an economy valued at £7 billion, with over 3,600 financial and business service companies in the area, which employ more than 33,000 people. Major companies headquartered in Bradford include: Yorkshire Building Society, Bradford & Bingley and Provident Financial. The number of people employed in the financial services in the region is expected to grow by 10% by 2016.

Bradford is also a major headquarters location counting Morrisons, Hallmark UK and Yorkshire Water (Kelda Group) holding HQs in the area and employing 7,000 people within the district. Further employment in the area comes from contact centre and home shopping operations, including Thomas Cook, Loop, Abbey (Banco Santander), Redcats, Norwich Union and Accord (part of Yorkshire Building Society).

Research group OMIS forecast Bradford as one of the six cities in the UK best equipped for industrial growth. Bradford is also predicted to have the fastest growing BPFS sector within the Leeds City Region, which already has the highest employment in the sector outside London.

Award winning education institutions

Within the Bradford district there are seven nursery schools, one hundred and fifty nine primary schools, twenty eight secondary schools and twelve special schools.

There are twelve higher education institutions in Yorkshire and Humber (nine universities and three colleges), in addition to twenty seven colleges which teach higher education courses. In total, there are over 206,000 higher education students in the region, with around 55% of Bradford's students entering local employment after graduation.

Bradford School of Management is regularly ranked as one of Europe's leading business schools by the Financial Times.

Safe streets

Bradford has its own Safer Communities Partnership, chaired by West Yorkshire Police and Bradford Metropolitan District Council. The partnership brings together many organisations across the district in order to develop and implement strategies to make Bradford a safe place to live. This has resulted in a significant reduction in crime, with car crime down by 43%, graffiti and vandalism down by 32% and burglary down by 24%.

Tourism and culture

Bradford is also a thriving cultural and tourist destination. It is also cited as the "UK capital for film, photography and television", with the National Media Museum exhibiting over 3.5 million items of historical significance and looking after the national photography, cinematography, television and new media collections across eight floors of traditional and interactive exhibitions. The National Media Museum alone receives 60,000 visitors per year and Bradford tourism, in general, accounts for £409 million of the local economy, employing over 10,000 people.

The city has stunning Victorian architecture which illustrates Bradford's history, particularly in the Little Germany and Wool Exchange areas. Architectural attractions include the Alhambra Theatre, the grand Italianate City Hall and Bradford Cathedral.

The surrounding area offers the UNESCO World Heritage Site Saltaire, a perfectly preserved Victorian village and home to salts Mill. Nearby is the former spa town of Ilkley, set in the Yorkshire Dales and hugely popular with walkers. Another nearby village is Haworth, the former home of the Brontes and location of the Bronte Parsonage Museum.

Investment opportunities

Upon considering all the facts and the figures, it becomes clear just why Bradford is currently so popular. It also becomes clear that now is the time to invest in the area, before property prices begin their inevitable climb.
We currently have a portfolio of six, modern, tenanted apartments in a much sought after development just outside Bradford city centre. They are at 23% Below Market Value and 32% below the highest asking price we have seen for units in this development.

To find out more about these properties or others and/or have a no obligation chat about our property investment strategies, call Russell Bonner on our UK hotline 0333 444 0034 or email him at russell@axiscontact.com

Live with Abundance

Rod Thomas FCA   

Posted in UK Property News

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