London pips European rivals to smart city crown

London has muscled out its continental rivals to take the top spot in Europe as the most technologically advanced city, according to research shared with City PM today.

The capital’s world-leading innovation, vibrant cultural scene and high-performing universities cemented it as one of the top performers on Z/Yen’s Smart Cities Index.

London was the top performer out of all European cities, but was pipped to the top spot by New York, which moved from second to first place in this year’s rankings.

The capital’s supportive regulatory system that allows innovation to thrive and high adoption of new technologies by firms across the City kept London near the summit of the table.

A thriving fintech scene was highlighted as one of the City’s key competitive advantages over rival cities in Europe, while its financial services industry was ranked by Z/Yen as the second best in the world, behind New York.

Zurich was the City’s closest rival in Europe, placing seventh, followed by Copenhagen, ranking eighth and Stockholm in ninth.

UK cities lined the top of the rankings, with Oxford and Cambridge coming third and fourth respectively.

The latest rankings highlight London is in a strong position to build on its reputation as a leading global finance hub.

Professor Michael Mainelli, Executive Chairman of Z/Yen, said: “More and more, the successful commercial centres in the world are those who nurture technology.”

Z/Yen’s survey is a closely watched indicator of cities’ technological credentials, serving as a barometer for investors, governments, and regulators to measure the attractiveness of cities for new technologies.

Separate research by Z/Yen shows London is not just a leader for technological innovation but also is a major player in the global finance industry.

The City’s open business environment and its deep pool of highly skilled talent put it ahead of Europe’s financial services industry on Z/Yen’s global financial centre index. Its closest European rival was Paris, ranking tenth.

The index also showed concerns about trading activity flowing out of the capital and into the continent after Brexit may not materialise. Amsterdam, which has experienced an uptick in trading activity since the UK left the EU, came 15 places below London, while Frankfurt finished 14th.