Reading's reputation as a top business destination has been strengthened by new research showing London firms could save £74 million over 10 years by relocating here.

Big City players could slash their office costs by a third and knock 20 per cent off their staff wage bill by ditching the capital’s bright lights for our town.

But despite these benefits, Reading is the most expensive place to run a business outside London according to a study by real estate consultant Cushman & Wakefield. It assessed the potential cost savings of relocating from London to 14 regional centres, including Edinburgh, Birmingham and Manchester.

It found that new arrivals to Reading could expect to save around £74.2 million (or 20.3 per cent) over a decade – less than anywhere else. Belfast offered the highest saving of £170.4 million (46.7 per cent).

Office expenses in Reading are just 66 per cent of London’s, meaning companies could save £10 million in rent and running costs over 10 years.

However Reading is the priciest, with average property costs across the UK just 52 per cent of the City.

Bosses could also save a tidy penny on labour costs, with the average manager’s salary in Reading 18 per cent less than their London counterparts. Again Reading is the highest of the 14 cities studied.

Tim Smith, executive director of Reading UK CIC, said: “Reading is cheaper to do business than London, but conversely it’s very accessible.

“So having your business here offers all the benefits of London, but less of the hassle.

“Reading is the most connected town in England. You can get in and out of the capital very quickly.

“However, having these benefits makes Reading more expensive than other places. So I would strongly caveat the claims that we are the most expensive area outside London with the fact that we offer all the good things but it costs less.”

The research revealed the practical cost of upping sticks to Reading is £5.5 million – again the highest in the UK, followed by Southampton and Edinburgh.

This is based on a combination of fit-out costs, project management fees and the cost of losing, retraining and recruiting staff.

Ben Cullen, head of Cushman & Wakefield’s agency team, said: “Despite the fall in occupational costs in Central London, we are seeing a growing number of London-based corporate occupiers considering relocating some of their business functions to regional locations that can provide lower labour and occupational costs.

“We expect that this trend will continue as businesses maintain a tight rein on costs through a slow economic recovery.”

The research was based on a London firm with a 50,000 sq ft building and 500 staff looking for a regional equivalent.

paul.robins@reading-epost.co.uk

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