Track Capital has crunched the numbers for 1,350 postcode districts across the nation and says Nottingham currently offers the best return on investment for buy-to-let landlords.

Its December data snapshot shows that two postcodes within the Midlands city offered just over an 11% gross yield – NG7 and NG1 – followed by the BD1 postcode in Bradford (10.6%), M14 in Manchester (10.10%), NE6 in Newcastle upon Tyne (9.8%), YO10 in York (9.8%), SA1 in Swansea (9.2%), CF37 in Cardiff (9.2%), SO17 in Southampton (9.2%) and YO31 also in York (9.10%).

This hotspot Top 10 compares favourably with the average gross yield per property in the UK, which currently stands at 3.63%, according to the firm.

Nick Hyland, founder of Track Capital, said: “Student-dense cities such as Manchester, Leeds and Nottingham feature highly and are responsible for much of the high yields in those cities. London can still achieve above-average yields, especially a little further out in the commuter belt, such as 5.2% in Dartford, but it also has the lowest-performing areas in the country.”

But the research also suggests where not to invest. The worst places for yield in the UK are GU10 in Guildford (1.9%), HP9 in Hemel Hempstead (2%), IG4 in Ilford (2%), WD7 in Watford (2.1%), CM4 in Chelmsford (2.2%), B93 in Birmingham (2.2%), AL4 in St Albans (2.2%), KT13 in Kingston (2.3%), W1 in central London (2.3%) and also SL9 in Slough (2.4%).