Majority of City employees would choose working in Home Counties over London

Seven out of 10 City of London workers would rather work in the country than the capital’s Square Mile, according to research.

The survey by recruitment company Robert Walters found that increasing numbers of financial services companies were relocating to the Home Counties and setting up offices in Surrey and Sussex.

Daniel Ladd-Hudson, director of Robert Walters Surrey & Sussex division, said: “Over the last eight months, Surrey and Sussex have witnessed a number of large corporations relocate to the area to reduce costs and increase office space.”

Robert Walters, which has 1,200 UK staff and recruits for many FTSE 100 firms, said working outside the City no longer meant taking a significant salary cut and that many London workers were seeking a better work-life balance.

Companies in other sectors have already made the move: construction firm Berkeley Group, security company Group 4 Securicor and food producer Dairy Crest all have head offices in Surrey and Sussex.

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Oil giant ExxonMobil is also set to relocate its operations from London to Leatherhead, Surrey, early next year.