Rising house prices help create 200,000 more millionaires in five years

Half live outside London and the South East as every region grows in prosperity, figures show

THE number of millionaires in the UK has risen by 41 per cent over the past five years because of booming house prices and stock market gains, figures show.

There are now 715,000 millionaires living in Britain compared with 508,000 in 2010. Of the new millionaires over the past five years, 48 per cent live outside London and the South East, the Barclays UK Prosperity Map shows.

Its prosperity index found that Reading, Cambridge and Birmingham are the most affluent cities outside London, while the east of England is the third most prosperous area.

Surging property prices and big re- turns in equity markets in recent years have combined with higher wages and employment rates to create more millionaires as the economy recovers.

The research shows that every UK region is now more affluent than it was five years ago, with measures including household wealth, gross domestic product (GDP), exam results, charitable donations and entrepreneurship taken into account.

Akshaya Bhargava, chief executive of Barclays Wealth and Investment Management, said: “The UK is becoming more prosperous. It is also encouraging to see that regions and cities are starting to close the gap with London in terms of prosperity; with the North East, for example, seeing business growth rates behind only London.”

London and the South East remain the most prosperous regions, while the capital also boasts the most millionaires – up 48 per cent in the past five years to 191,000, which is more than the combined millionaire population of Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and north- ern England. The east of England is ranked third of the regions, with 23,000 millionaires, as rising house prices push more wealthy Britons outside London.

Reading is listed second for prosperity among cities, according to the index, with average earnings of £30,562.

Growing numbers of entrepreneurs in the UK is also seen as another factor in increasing wealth, with Cambridge, which has emerged as a start-up hub, ranking third among cities.

The North East and Newcastle fall low on the prosperity index. But the study also showed the highest rate of growth in millionaires across the North East, alongside Wales, with a rise of 50 per cent to 12,000 since 2010.

The study said northern regions “may be on the cusp of change, with the North East leading the way”.

The research suggested that growth in millionaires is expected to return to more normal levels over the long term.