Aberdeen’s office sector has been known to rise and fall with the fortunes of the North Sea energy sector, but there may be some more solid long-term reasons for firms to invest in bespoke office furniture.

These have been highlighted in a new report by accountancy firm PwC, which has just published its 2023 Good Growth for Cities Report. This represents an analysis of the potential that each of 50 prominent UK cities has for sustained economic growth, based on a wide variety of criteria and factors, including jobs, income, health and transport.

While much of the report’s tone is negative, noting that the UK economy has suffered a squeeze because of high inflation as well as reflecting that cities are often places of great economic inequality, it also offers ideas for the future based on more devolution of powers and spending to a local level. It also said that while 2023 will see “sluggish” growth, 2024 will be much better.

Among the cities primed to help lead this growth, Aberdeen rose up the rankings from 37th last year to 31st and was one of the cities listed in positive growth territory, whereas 13 of the 50 were not (confusingly, PwC managed to list the City of London and London’s boroughs separately). Indeed, the names of cities in negative territory also included Birmingham and Manchester.

That does not mean everything is going perfectly in Aberdeen by any means and it lags behind 15th-placed Edinburgh, However, it remains ahead of Glasgow, which is now ranked 35th, which, like Edinburgh, enjoys advantages over Aberdeen in terms of size, more central location and transport. Among its big plus points, Aberdeen is well above average for skills among those aged over 25.

With the International Monetary Fund dropping predictions of a recession and upgrading its growth forecast for the UK, PwC’s prediction that 2024 will be a better year is no idle one. Aberdeen may be in a strong position to benefit.