Another half a million employees resident in Greater London work in manufacturing and construction, almost equally divided between the two.

[36] London has five major business districts: the City, Westminster, Canary Wharf, Camden & Islington and Lambeth & Southwark.

The least expensive commercial districts are Waterloo & Southwark and East London Tech City, a new, but growing hub of start up technology companies, also known as Silicon Roundabout – approximately £65 per sq ft per annum.

According to research by Deloitte, "London has the most internationally diverse executive community in the world, attracting business leaders from 95 nationalities and with alumni working in 134 countries".

It is the largest financial exporter in the world, and makes a significant contribution to the UK's balance of payments.

However, Britain’s exit from the EU in early 2021 (Brexit) only marginally weakened London's position as an international financial center (IFC).

[65] The combination of lax regulation and London's financial institutions providing sophisticated methods to launder proceeds from criminal activity around the world, including those from the drug trade, makes the City a global hub for illicit finance and London a safe haven for the world's malfeasants, according to research papers and reports published in the mid-2010s.

[72][73] Many different types of professional service providers are located in the city including the big four accountants and major management consulting firms.

London is the headquarters for four of the world's six largest law firms and is a leading international centre for legal services.

[81] Tourism employed the equivalent of 350,000 full-time workers in London in 2003[out of date],[82] whilst annual expenditure by tourists is around £15bn.

[out of date][84] A report by Ernst & Young highlighted the importance of London to the UK's FinTech industry in terms of availability of expertise and demand for services.

[85] London has also been named as the fastest growing technology hub in Europe, having over 100 unique tech companies with a value of $1 billion or more.

This trend continues, with the loss of the pharmaceutical manufacturing sites of Aesica (formerly Merck Sharp and Dohme) at Ponders End in 2011,[93][94] and Sanofi-Aventis (originally May & Baker) at Dagenham by 2013.

[95] Pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies in the United Kingdom have a strong presence in London, including the world headquarters of GlaxoSmithKline.

[101] A multibillion-pound 10-year construction programme has begun in Nine Elms on the South Bank of the river Thames in central London.

This will develop the area from a semi-derelict, light industrial zone into a modern residential and business district.

Transport improvement plans include two new Northern line tube stations, riverbus piers, new bus services and a network of cycle lanes and footpaths.

[106] London is a leading global educational centre, with one of the largest populations of overseas students of any city in the world.

The Royal Institution is a historic and important repository and proponent of the acquisition of scientific knowledge through research and study.

A ring of 18 main-line railway stations provides train links to cities, towns and villages around the country as well as international services to Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam via the high-speed Eurostar.

The principal argument in favour of airport expansion is to support economic growth in the UK by providing an international hub for air-transport links to fast-growing developing countries around the world.

[120] The Heathrow proposal expects to create 120,000 new jobs across the UK and bring economic benefits of more than £100 billion.

[123] The port is not located in one area – it stretches along the tidal Thames, including central London, with many individual wharfs, docks, terminals and facilities built incrementally over the centuries.