The cost of locating 100 staff in London is 25% cheaper than in New York, according to Knight Frank’s 2018 Global Cities report.

For the first time, Knight Frank has compared the total cost of employing 100 people in the world’s leading cities based on the cost of workspace and average salaries. Knight Frank estimates that employing 100 staff in conventional office space in London costs companies on average $5,228,140 per year, significantly less than rival financial centres New York ($6,938,000) and Hong Kong ($5,964,990).

Despite being one of the world’s pre-eminent business locations, London is ranked only sixth most expensive on the list overall.

The list is topped by Zurich where high salary costs in the banking and asset management sectors mean companies would pay $7,947,260 to locate 100 staff in the city per year. Zurich is followed by New York, and then San Francisco ($6,696,700), where the cost of employing a highly-skilled tech workforce drives up total occupancy costs.

The top five is completed by Hong Kong, where office rents are the highest in the world, and Boston ($5,936,820).