Reading is entering the recession in a stronger position than almost anywhere else in the UK, according to new research.

The town has been identified as a beacon of growth which is better placed to weather the economic storm than other areas in a new study by research group Centre for Cities.

Reading was pinpointed as Britain’s most prosperous place outside London and the second least deprived area behind Aldershot. It also has the fifth highest level of employment.

The report gave Reading a ‘green’ rating – meaning it is least likely to feel the effects of the economic downturn than other areas.

Oxford and Cambridge were also singled out as being in a stronger position than the likes of Liverpool, Wigan and Hull, which were placed on ‘red’ alert for being most exposed to the fiscal conditions because of high unemployment levels.

Cities on ‘amber’ included Bristol, London and Edinburgh, which all had skilled populations but were exposed to vulnerable financial services.

Bill Gornall-King, president of Reading Chamber of Commerce, was not surprised the town figured so well.

“This is welcome news but it is not a huge surprise,” he said. “I have said before that Reading is the jewel of the Thames Valley in economic terms and one of the best performing towns in the country, and this report underlines this. It shows that there are a lot of good things happening in the town.”

And Mr Gornall-King believes Reading’s strong economic growth is due to more than just its thriving IT industry.

“Economists always point towards Reading’s strong talent pool being predominantly ICT-based but this proves there is so much more to the local economy than that,” he said.

“Reading has a large number of highly skilled graduates in its workforce across the sectors and is home to many of the biggest companies in the world.

“It is leading the way economically but we must be wary that hard work is needed to ensure it stays this way.”

And the figures will come as little surprise to the governor of the Bank of England, Mervyn King, who hailed Reading as having one of the best local economies in Europe during a recent visit to the town.

Mr King praised the town’s economic diversity, labelling it a “business hotspot” and describing its economic revival as a “real success story.”

Dermot Finch, director of the Centre for Cities, said: “Each city needs its own front-line action plan to keep jobs and retrain workers.”

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