demand for a limited supply of highly centralized space. The market drivers and
interdependencies associated with the geography of clustering in London are complex.
This suggests that public policy to promote the benefits of the financial services
concentration will be better directed at facilitating the operation of established clusters
rather than master planning new clusters.
Banks and to a lesser extent law and fund management are at the hub of the London
cluster, therefore particular weight needs to be placed on the requirements of these sub-
sectors as many others in the cluster depend on them. Access to the concentration of labor,
customers and professional and government institutions is a critical advantage of proximity
within the cluster. Maintaining London’s attractiveness as a location for these activities
should be a key policy priority. The labor market is of fundamental importance to the
cluster, therefore making the labor market attractive and fluid is a top priority. The ability
to walk to appointments in the City is seen as being highly important due to a combination
of the need to establish and build trust, the need to meet face-to-face to thrash out complex
problems quickly and the sheer convenience of being able to meet quickly without undue
loss of time. Transport and regulation are the key policy areas where businesses see a
threat to London and are urgent policy issues.
In the following, conclusions and policy recommendations specific to the main themes
of the paper are presented.
4.1 The Labor Market
The scale and depth of the labor market is a crucial advantage. The attraction of
London as a major metropolis and cultural center is important in drawing in labor,
especially international labor, hence there is a premium on keeping London’s amenity and
reputation in these areas up to scratch for the good of its commercial success.
The labor pool is embedded in the cluster and is the place where the knowledge and
expertise which give London its supreme position in financial services reside. Being near a
strong, skilled labor supply is particularly emphasized by key hub firms. A further
advantage of the labor pool which draws firms to have operations in the cluster is the
flexibility of the labor market by international standards. The policy implication is that a
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