NW has 64,000 millionaires, says Barclays

AN extra 9,000 people living in the North West have become millionaires over the past two years.

A report carried out by Barclays Wealth, in conjunction with Ledbury Research, found that the number of millionaires in the region has grew by 16% to 64,000.

Some 9,000 of these have a wealth of more than £5m and the research suggests that the number of millionaires in the region will grow by a third to 86,000 in the next 10 years.

In the bank’s league table of UK millionaires the North West is beaten by London and the South East, where there are 287,000; the Midlands which has 92,000 and the South West and Wales which has 78,000. As measured per 1,000 residents the North West is also fourth on 1.3 after Yorkshire with 1.32, Scotland with 1.34 and London and the South East on 2.12.

The report shows that the overall number of millionaires in the UK fell by 15% to 528,000 by the end of 2008 as a result of the economic downturn. But this figure has since grown by 17% to 619,000.

Alan Edwards, head of Barclays Wealth’s in Manchester, said: “Despite one of the deepest recessions ever experienced by this country, these findings indicate that wealth creation is starting to recover in the North West and this trend is set to continue at a steady pace. We are hopeful that this will help contribute to the wider economy, and boost regional growth in and around Manchester in the coming years.”