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Millionaire numbers surge in the Midlands

The number of millionaires in the Midlands has shot up by more than a third over the past five years, according to new figures.

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It has been driven by booming house prices and entrepreneurial activity as more companies start up and grow.

The Barclays UK Prosperity Map shows the Midlands is now home to 57,000 millionaires, a rise of 36 per cent since 2010.

The burgeoning entrepreneurship scene in the Midlands was one of the main drivers of its prosperity, according to the prosperity index. Latest data shows that the West Midlands saw more than 25,000 new businesses registered during 2013.

Paul Keiser, regional director in the Midlands for Barclays Wealth and Investment Management, said: "It is very encouraging to see the Midlands performing well in terms of prosperity, driven by a thriving start-up scene in the area. Entrepreneurial activity in the Midlands is very strong at the moment, with the latest figures from entrepreneurship campaign showing that the city of Birmingham is second only to London in terms of the number of new start-ups.

"This effect inevitably spills over into the region as a whole, and it is great to see such a healthy number of businesses not just starting up, but thriving in the area and driving greater prosperity. To build on this, we now need to ensure we are skilling up the next generation of business leaders in the region to carry forward this legacy of entrepreneurial spirit."

Another indication of the growing prosperity of the area is its burgeoning housing market. Although the average house price in the West Midlands was found to be £152,203, separate data from property website Zoopla showed the number of homes selling for seven figures in Birmingham doubled in 2014, with a total of 34 changing hands.

Nationwide the number of millionaires across the UK has grown by 41 per cent. There are now 715,000 millionaires living in Britain compared with 508,000 in 2010 – and nearly half, or 48 per cent, of all new millionaires since 2010 live outside London and the South East.

The prosperity index found that Reading, Cambridge and Birmingham are the most affluent cities outside of London, but the West Midlands remains mid-table among the regions.

Surging property prices and big returns in stock markets in recent years have combined with higher wages and employment rates to create more millionaires as the UK economy gets back on track.

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, the chief executive of Barclays Wealth and Investment Management, added: "The results of the Barclays UK Prosperity Map give us reason for optimism. The UK is becoming more prosperous, with every region having grown in affluence since 2010. It is also encouraging to see that regions and cities are starting to close the gap with London in terms of prosperity."

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