survation. ← Fieldwork

Topline — London Higher Business Leaders

1004 respondents · Unweighted · 37 questions · generated 2026-09-21 13:11 UTC
Provisional: live fieldwork, 1004 interviews so far. Percentages are of each question's valid base (missing/not-asked excluded). Right-hand grey figure = count.

Quota fill from response data

Computed directly from the answers, so it stays correct even when a survey's platform quota counter is broken. ⚠ = platform counter disagrees.
Total_quota
Total
1004/1005 ⚠

Device_1 Device - ** HIDDEN QUESTION TO STORE: Store device type ** Desktop

Base: 155
Desktop
100.0%
155

Device_2 Device - ** HIDDEN QUESTION TO STORE: Store device type ** Mobile

Base: 849
Mobile
100.0%
849

Total_quota_A Total.a=Total

Base: 1004
Total.a=Total
100.0%
1004

Total_quota_B Total.a=Total

Base: 1004
Total.a=Total
100.0%
1004

quality_commit We care about the quality of our survey data. For us to get the most accurate measures of your opinions, it is important that you provide thoughtful answers to each question in this survey.Do you commit to providing thoughtful answers

Base: 1004
Yes, I will
99.8%
1002
No, I will not
0.1%
1
I cannot promise either way
0.1%
1

Sex What is your sex?

Base: 1004
Male
59.1%
593
Female
40.9%
411

Country In which country do you currently live?

Base: 1004
England
100.0%
1004

Region_B These are the regions of England. Which Region do you live in?

Base: 2
South East
100.0%
2

Region_C *** Region

Base: 2
South East
100.0%
2

Region2 These are the regions of England. Which Region do you live in?

Base: 1002
London
100.0%
1002

london_borough Which borough do you live in?

Base: 1001
City of London
35.4%
354
Westminster
5.7%
57
Tower Hamlets
4.2%
42
Camden
3.5%
35
Greenwich
3.3%
33
Islington
3.2%
32
Bromley
2.9%
29
Newham
2.8%
28
Croydon
2.7%
27
Brent
2.5%
25
Enfield
2.5%
25
Hackney
2.5%
25
Barnet
2.4%
24
Lambeth
2.3%
23
Hillingdon
2.1%
21
Southwark
2.1%
21
Waltham Forest
1.9%
19
Wandsworth
1.8%
18
Hammersmith and Fulham
1.7%
17
Lewisham
1.7%
17
Barking and Dagenham
1.6%
16
Bexley
1.6%
16
Hounslow
1.3%
13
Kensington and Chelsea
1.3%
13
Ealing
1.2%
12
Sutton
1.2%
12
Redbridge
1.0%
10
Haringey
0.9%
9
Harrow
0.8%
8
Havering
0.6%
6
Richmond upon Thames
0.6%
6
Kingston upon Thames
0.4%
4
Merton
0.4%
4

job_title Which of the following best describes your role within your business?

Base: 1001
C-Level (e.g. CTO, CFO)
37.3%
373
Director (Group Director, Sr. Director, Director etc.)
35.2%
352
President, CEO or chairperson
13.1%
131
Owner or partner
10.8%
108
Vice President (e.g. EVP, SVP, AVP, VP)
3.7%
37

business_location Where is your business primarily based?

Base: 1001
England
99.7%
998
Scotland
0.2%
2
Northern Ireland
0.1%
1

Region_1_A And in which region is your business currently based?

Base: 998
Northern Ireland
100.0%
998

Region_1_B And in which region is your business currently based?

Base: 998
London
97.5%
973
East of England
0.9%
9
South East
0.6%
6
North West
0.5%
5
North East
0.2%
2
West Midlands
0.2%
2
East Midlands
0.1%
1

Region_1_C And in which region is your business currently based?

Base: 998
Northern Ireland
100.0%
998

Sector What sector is your business in?If your company is in a group structure, please select the sector that your businessoperates in rather than the parent company.

Base: 1001
Information and communication
37.6%
376
Other service activities
13.1%
131
Financial and insurance activities
10.7%
107
Professional, scientific and technical activities
9.1%
91
Manufacturing
4.9%
49
Education
4.3%
43
Construction
4.2%
42
Human health and social work activities
3.9%
39
Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motor cycles
3.5%
35
Arts, entertainment and recreation
2.6%
26
Accommodation and food service activities
1.2%
12
Real estate activities
1.1%
11
Agriculture, forestry and fishing
1.0%
10
Electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning supply
0.8%
8
Administrative and support service activities
0.8%
8
Transport and storage
0.5%
5
Public administration and defence; compulsory social
0.5%
5
Mining and quarrying
0.2%
2
Water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation activities
0.1%
1

size What size is your business?If your company is in a group structure, please select the number of people working in your business rather than the parent company (excluding outside contractors or agency staff).

Base: 1001
250+
43.8%
438
50-249
40.3%
403
0-49
16.0%
160

years_operation How many years has your business been in operation?

Base: 1001
6-10 years
32.9%
329
11-15 years
22.1%
221
3-5 years
15.9%
159
16-20 years
11.6%
116
26+ years
7.7%
77
21-25 years
5.5%
55
1-2 years
3.3%
33
Less than a year
1.1%
11

revenue What was your revenue in the last year? Please select the appropriate range.

Base: 1001
£50,000,000+
21.0%
210
£10,000,000-£24,999,999
15.8%
158
£6,000,000 -£9,999,999
11.8%
118
Less than £500,000
8.9%
89
£1,000,000-£2,499,999
8.7%
87
£25,000,000 - £49,999,999
8.6%
86
£4,500,000-£5,999,999
7.7%
77
£500,000-£999,999
7.1%
71
£3,500,000-£4,999,999
6.8%
68
£2,500,000-£3,499,999
3.7%
37

Q1 How important or unimportant is the contribution of international talent (including international graduates and workers) to your business’s success?

Base: 1001
Very important – essential to our operations
62.0%
621
Quite important – important but not essential
27.5%
275
Not very important – limited relevance to our success
6.0%
60
Not at all important – we don’t employ international talent
4.0%
40
Don't know
0.5%
5

Q2 Thinking about critical skills gaps in your industry (for example, digital skills, adaptability, teamwork or knowledge of languages), to what extent does international talent help address skills gaps in your industry?

Base: 1001
Quite important - they provide valuable additional talent
47.8%
478
Very positively – they fill skills gaps we can't fill domestically
45.1%
451
Don't know/Not applicable
3.4%
34
Somewhat negatively – reduces opportunities for domestic workers
2.6%
26
Very negatively – makes it harder to prioritise UK talent
1.2%
12

Q3 What percentage of your workforce consists of international talent (employees who were born outside the UK)?

Base: 1001
11-25%
44.4%
444
26-50%
24.8%
248
1-10%
17.9%
179
Over 50%
6.8%
68
0%
4.2%
42
Don't know
2.0%
20

Q4 Which of the following best describes your company's financial performance compared to competitors?

Base: 1001
Somewhat outperforming competitors
39.7%
397
Significantly outperforming competitors
28.5%
285
About the same as competitors
20.6%
206
Somewhat underperforming competitors
6.0%
60
Significantly underperforming competitors
3.0%
30
Don't know
2.3%
23

Q5 Does international talent have a positive or negative impact in driving innovation in your business?

Base: 1001
Very positive impact – essential for innovation
52.9%
530
Somewhat positive impact – significantly helps innovation
36.1%
361
Don't know/Not applicable
5.3%
53
Somewhat negative impact – reduces opportunities for domestic-led innovation
4.6%
46
Very negative impact – hinders our ability to innovate
1.1%
11

Q6 If government policies significantly reduced the number of international students coming to the UK, would this have a positive or negative impact on your business's ability to recruit talent?

Base: 1001
Somewhat negative impact – would make recruitment more difficult
36.4%
364
Somewhat positive impact – would make recruitment somewhat easier with domestic talent
24.6%
246
Very positive impact – would strongly improve recruitment opportunities for domestic workers
21.8%
218
Very negative impact – would seriously harm our recruitment
9.4%
94
Don’t know / Not applicable
7.9%
79

red_herring_1 To confirm you are paying attention, please select ‘Strongly disagree’ for this question.

Base: 1001
Strongly disagree
99.9%
1000
Agree
0.1%
1

Q7 How important or unimportant is it for your business that international students can transition to work visas after completing their studies in the UK?

Base: 1001
Quite important - helpful for recruitment
46.4%
464
Very important - essential for our talent pipeline
41.3%
413
Not very important - has limited relevance to our recruitment
6.6%
66
Not at all important - we don't recruit international graduates
4.4%
44
Don't know
1.4%
14

Q8 How important or unimportant is access to international talent for London’s competitiveness against other global cities (such as New York, Singapore, or Paris)?

Base: 1001
Very important – essential for London to remain competitive
47.3%
473
Quite important – gives London a significant advantage
43.9%
439
Not very important – has limited relevance for competitiveness
4.1%
41
Not at all important – other factors are more important
3.1%
31
Don't know
1.7%
17

Q9 Would restrictions on international student numbers damage or improve your industry's growth prospects?

Base: 1001
Somewhat damage growth prospects
34.9%
349
No impact on growth prospects
20.1%
201
Significantly improve growth prospects
16.7%
167
Somewhat improve growth prospects
16.5%
165
Significantly damage growth prospects
9.8%
98
Don't know
2.1%
21

Q10 Compared to 5 years ago, how has the availability of skilled workers in your industry changed?

Base: 1001
Somewhat easier to find skilled workers
30.4%
304
Much easier to find skilled workers
27.4%
274
Somewhat more difficult to find skilled workers
18.9%
189
About the same
17.7%
177
Much more difficult to find skilled workers
4.1%
41
Don't know
1.6%
16

Q11 If the UK made it significantly more difficult to access international talent, how likely or unlikely would it be for your business to consider relocating operations elsewhere?

Base: 1001
Not very likely
34.4%
344
Quite likely
31.2%
312
Very likely
17.9%
179
Not at all likely
14.2%
142
Don't know
2.4%
24

Q12 Which statement best reflects your view on international student immigration policy?

Base: 1001
The UK should make it easier for international students to come and then stay after graduation
58.7%
588
Current policies are about right
28.3%
283
The UK should make it more difficult for international students to come and stay
9.9%
99
Don't know/No opinion
3.1%
31

human_check Thank you for your responses. Please prove your humanity by selecting "I am a human" below

Base: 1001
I am a human
99.5%
996
I am not a human
0.5%
5

SurveyFeedback_1 SurveyFeedback - Thank you for taking this survey. If you wish, you can leave any feedback you may have about the survey here, or click 'Next' to complete the survey.

Base: 395
100.0%
395

SurveyFeedback_2 SurveyFeedback - Thank you for taking this survey. If you wish, you can leave any feedback you may have about the survey here, or click 'Next' to complete the survey. No feedback

Base: 606
No feedback
100.0%
606

QStatus *Hidden* to store all statuses for tracking and ease of redirecting.

Base: 1004
Completed
100.0%
1004