CIA Landlords

Month: October 2021

Supermarket Index: The density and price tag of Britain’s favourite chains revealed

Posted on by Chris

Every person in the UK has their favourite supermarket; one may prefer Tesco due to its well-known meal deals, whereas another may favour Waitrose because of a wider selection of fresh products. But what’s the best city to live in for an abundance of choice, and do shopping options impact the prices of real estate?

A new study by CIA Landlord Insurance set out to determine the best cities to live in for your weekly shop based on supermarket popularity, the density of chains as well as house prices around these locations.

Tesco has the most amount of shops across the UK

Supermarket England Wales Scotland Ireland Total
Tesco 2350 122 215 55 2742
Sainsbury 1269 29 97 13 1408
Nisa Local 775 77 95 84 1031
ALDI 781 56 95 – 932
Lidl 722 59 104 – 885
Morrisons 601 37 61 18 717
ASDA 514 41 61 17 633
Waitrose 345 6 7 6 364
Farmfoods 218 26 98 – 342
Simply Fresh 24 1 – – 25

 

Our research reveals that Tesco has the most stores across the UK, the majority of which are based in England. The super chain has 2,350 locations across England, as well as 122 in Wales, 215 in Scotland and 55 in Ireland, bringing their total to2,742 stores.

Coming in second is Sainsbury, with a total of 1,408 stores across the United Kingdom. The vast majority of these, 1,269 shops, are located in England in addition to the 29 Welsh, 97 Scottish and 13 Irish stores.

Surprisingly, ranking third isn’t another big name like ASDA or Waitrose, it’s actually Nisa Local that takes this place with a total of 1,031 shops including 775 locations in England, 77 in Wales, 95 in Scotland and 84 in Ireland.

Nottingham has the highest density of supermarkets

City Country No. of Tesco’s No. of Waitrose’s No of Lidl’s No. of Nisa Local’s No. of Sainsbury’s No. of Farmfoods’s No. of Aldi’s No. of Morrisons No. of ASDA’s No. of supermarkets No of supermarkets per 100,000 people
Nottingham England 30 1 7 0 22 3 5 11 7 86 55.95
Manchester England 38 0 11 14 18 5 5 13 10 114 28.82
Warwick England 1 2 1 0 3 0 0 1 0 8 25.52
Glasgow Scotland 41 2 15 12 26 22 5 12 9 144 24.34
Leeds England 30 1 8 16 23 3 5 14 9 109 23.95
Southampton England 27 3 9 0 8 1 5 2 1 56 22.75
Peterborough England 9 1 3 12 2 1 4 3 2 37 22.65
York England 6 1 2 1 14 2 3 2 2 33 21.47
Walsall England 1 0 3 11 12 2 0 2 2 33 19.17
Edinburgh Scotland 26 2 11 0 27 5 6 6 6 89 19.14
Bristol England 43 4 13 4 22 1 5 5 7 104 16.85
Oxford England 6 4 0 3 10 0 2 0 2 27 15.75
Belfast Ireland 10 0 0 14 3 0 5 0 3 35 12.74
Birmingham England 34 3 10 30 20 6 5 7 8 123 12.50
Swansea Wales 10 0 4 7 3 3 4 1 1 33 10.99
London England 304 54 72 72 277 5 7 12 12 815 10.78
Cardiff Wales 9 2 6 5 8 2 8 1 5 46 10.28
Reading England 10 3 4 2 5 0 4 1 3 32 10.06
Plymouth England 6 1 7 1 3 1 1 3 2 25 9.61
Sheffield England 8 1 5 6 16 2 7 8 7 60 8.75
Liverpool England 32 0 6 3 5 8 7 3 7 71 8.22

When looking at the highest density of each popular chain both separately and accumulated, the data reveals that Nottingham has the highest number of supermarkets per capita. With a total of 86 supermarket locations including 30 Tesco’s and 22 Sainsbury’s, the total comes down to 55.95 per 100,000 people.

Our favourite chains are represented by far fewer numbers in the city ranking second. Manchester tallies up to a total of 28.82 supermarkets per 100,000 people, which includes a whopping 38 Tesco stores and 13 Morrisons, totalling 114 shops across the city.

Whilst Warwick only has a total of 8 supermarkets, with a population of just 31,345 people this comes down to 25.52 per 100,000 inhabitants.

Price Adjustment by Location/Supermarket

Region Lidl Aldi Morrisons ASDA Waitrose Marks & Spencer Sainsbury’s Co-op Tesco Iceland AVERAGE
Birmingham £1,024.35 £488.19 £341.14 £399.20 £7,366.95 £3,781.77 £569.39 £282.53 £342.06 £911.33 £1,550.69
Bristol £2,052.04 £1,747.71 £1,827.44 £1,462.96 £5,002.43 £6,896.77 £1,285.04 £643.88 £972.29 £2,517.82 £2,440.84
Edinburgh £1,583.96 £1,575.51 £483.72 £1,299.16 £14,531.35 £323.99 £770.23 £386.83 £575.41 £1,652.21 £2,318.24
Glasgow £484.48 £452.64 £142.22 £399.42 £6,362.72 £14,270.84 £881.13 £149.07 £245.33 £535.57 £2,392.34
Leeds £2,792.11 £1,257.42 £494.87 £772.56 £5,378.44 £1,106.95 £394.80 £1,158.32 £1,017.65 £1,597.01
Leicester £4,071.09 £2,385.43 £1,834.76 £1,756.79 £9,147.93 £15,114.12 £1,747.29 £772.53 £1,525.76 £6,439.47 £4,479.52
London* £2,511.57 £3,356.26 £1,864.17 £1,676.79 £4,424.59 £62,945.05 £349,343.45 £699.50 £1,621.54 £1,608.75 £43,005.17
Manchester £174.40 £82.17 £75.78 £39.43 -£158.21 £2,661.88 £35.26 £23.09 £40.11 £63.09 £303.70
Sheffield £1,272.58 £454.44 £212.32 £586.22 £9,568.44 £25,329.95 £416.61 £143.53 £330.81 £963.89 £3,927.88
AVERAGE £1,774.06 £1,311.09 £808.49 £932.50 £6,847.18 £16,415.55 £39,572.82 £388.42 £756.85 £1,745.53 £6,950.08

Whilst we usually don’t give our daily or weekly shop much more thought beyond what’s for dinner and if we have any loo rolls left, some of us do take the availability of our favourite supermarkets into account when hunting for a new house or flat. What is more commonly known as “The Waitrose Effect”, is a reflection of supermarket density on the prices of real estate across cities in the UK.

Our research found that based on postcodes associated with each location, the local house price and the quantity of each supermarket in the surrounding area shows a difference in price from the average for that city divided by the number of supermarkets to show the average price difference per local supermarket.

In regard to the average increase of price tags per supermarket, most chains cause an increase of about £1,000. However, two of the most well-known higher-tier supermarkets such as Waitrose and Mark’s & Spencers, see property prices in the same postcode skyrocket. For instance, locations in the same postcode as a Waitrose in Edinburgh will see property prices increase by £14,531.35 on average whilst wanting to live nearby a Sainsbury’s in Sheffield sees buyers pay £25,329.95 more for a home.

Having a supermarket in the same postcode as your home address will see the value of properties in Leicester rise by £4,479.5 on average, £2,440.84 in Bristol, and £2,392.34 in Glasgow.

* Disclaimer for London results: this data is based on the average London house price however the postcodes we could get data for ended up only providing data for central London, where the values were higher. Property prices in central London are generally a lot higher than the national average, resulting in a bigger price difference.

Methodology and Sources

A list of all locations per supermarket per city was compiled. The total population was divided by the number of supermarkets in the area by 100,000 people.

Housing price adjustments were determined by a preselected list of postcodes associated with each location, the local house price, and the quantity of each supermarket in the surrounding area. The price adjustment is then the difference in price from the average for that city divided by the number of supermarkets to show the average price difference per local supermarket.

Sources:

The European Locations Most Likely to be Impacted by the Climate Crisis

Posted on by Chris

Climate change has always been a big topic. However, it is becoming increasingly debated in the news, with campaigns and awareness around the crisis on the rise, as well as documentaries from the likes of Sir David Attenborough and Prince William himself to encourage people to do more to save our planet before time runs out.

Through lockdown, we saw the positive effects people staying at home and the lessened use of transport had on sea and air pollution around the world – but which countries have the best climates, and where are the best cities to visit, or move to, for a big gulp of fresh air?

The team at CIA Landlord have researched which countries and cities in Europe have the best and worst climate stability. We have ranked the countries based on a number of different factors – including air pollution score and the percentage of forest area to find out which European cities and countries have the most stable climates – especially useful for those looking for a change of scenery.

Would you still want to invest in a property if you knew that climate change was affecting the area in the future significantly?

Europe’s Best And Worst Climate Hotspots

Data reveals Sweden as the best country in Europe for climate stability.

Our data found that the best country in Europe for a healthy climate is Scandinavian nation, Sweden. The country boasts the best air quality out of the countries analysed scoring a low 2.8, along with having a large percentage of the country taken up by forest.

Furthermore, Sweden had the best score of all the countries analysed for their level of PM2.5 (fine particulate matter which reduces visibility when high), a relatively low number of active volcanoes and no recent significant flooding. The only factor the country dropped points on was their temperature index score where they scored mid-range compared to other countries in Europe. Therefore, for those who are concerned about environmental changes when looking to invest in a property in Europe, Sweden may be a little more expensive but, with the current climate, a great place to invest.

The UK ranked in 5th place for best European climate, scoring well for temperature, concentrations of PM2.5 and the lesser chance of major flooding. However, the UK scores a 4.3 for air pollution making it a mid-range country in Europe for air quality. This alongside the UK’s lack of forest (13%) compared to other European countries meant that the UK just made it to the top five.

Turkey, Italy and Czech Republic rank as some of the worst countries in Europe for their climate. Turkey scored a high 6.1 for air pollution, alongside high concentrations of PM2.5 and a low percentage of land taken up by forest. This combined with their number of active volcanoes and previous earthquakes left Turkey in the bottom spot of the rankings. As for Italy and the Czech Republic, both countries dropped points for their levels of air pollution (Italy – 4.6 and Czech Republic – 5.3) as well as a smaller percentage of land taken up by forest compared to the other European countries analysed.

However, property in Italy is notably cheaper than that of Sweden and the UK – a previous study by CIA Landlords revealed that the average property in Italy is approximately £100,000 cheaper than in Sweden.

Europe’s Best And Worst Cities For Air Quality

Our research revealed that Umea (Sweden), Tampere (Finland), and Funchal (Portugal) are the best three cities in Europe for air quality. 

Sweden actually appears three times in the top 10 cities for air quality in Europe with Umea landing first spot and Uppsala and Stockholm landing 6th and 9th spot respectively.

You can see in the table below the 10 best cities for air quality in Europe:

Rank Country City Name Air Quality (μg/m3)
1 Sweden Umea 3.7
2 Finland Tampere 3.8
3 Portugal Funchal 4.2
4 Estonia Tallinn 4.4
5 Norway Bergen 4.6
6 Sweden Uppsala 4.6
7 Estonia Narva 4.8
8 Spain Salamanca 4.9
9 Sweden Stockholm 5.0
10 Estonia Tartu 5.2

But which cities in Europe suffer from some of the worst air quality? Poland and Italy are amongst the worst ‘air offenders’ in Europe with five Polish cities (Nowy Sącz, Zqierz, Piotrków Trybunalski, Zory and Krakow) in the bottom 10 and two Italian cities (Cremona and Vicenza). It was reported at the end of 2020 that Poland has one of the highest levels of air pollution in the EU with levels of PM2.5 causing smog and affecting residents’ health.

You can see in the table below the 10 worst cities for air quality in Europe:

Rank Country City Name Air Quality (μg/m3)
1 Poland Nowy Sącz 27.3
2 Italy Cremona 25.9
3 Croatia Slavonski Brod 25.7
4 Italy Vicenza 25.6
5 Poland Zwierz 25.2
6 Poland Piotrków Trybunalski 24.9
7 Poland Zory 24.9
8 Poland Krakow 24.7
9 Italy Brescia 24.0
10 Italy Pavia 22.9

Europe’s Best and Worst Cities for Rising Sea Levels

Our data also analysed sea levels and we found that Lithuania, Latvia and Finland are among the worst affected countries in Europe by sea level changes. Lithuania has seen an increase over the past 45 years with its sea levels reportedly rising 4.46mm each year from 1970-2015.

Whilst Lithuania and Latvia are being badly affected by rising sea levels, Finland is having the opposite issue with declining sea levels 4.36mm per year.

Country Sea-Level Rise Sea-Level decrease Sea temperature Rise Precipitation (More likely to rain or snow)
Lithuania 4.6 mm/ yr – 0.73 c 20 mm/decade
Finland – 4.26 mm/yr 0.73 c 20 mm/decade
Latvia 4.02 mm/yr – 0.73 c 20 mm/decade

Luckily for other countries around Europe, their sea levels have not yet been as badly affected. Countries in the Nordic region have seen the least amount of change in their sea levels, with countries such as Iceland and Norway seeing much smaller levels of sea level rise. Greece was also in the top three countries for lowest amount of sea level changes as they have seen a small decrease in sea levels, but nothing of major significance.

Methodology and Sources

A seed list of 25 European countries was chosen to help determine the best and worst countries and cities in Europe for climate – including air quality and sea level rises.

The best-worst country ranking is based on each country’s average score out of 10 based on the following factors:

  • Air pollution

  • Forest Area

  • Annual mean concentrations of PM2.5

  • Temperature

  • Average Flood score

  • Earthquakes

  • Volcanos

  • Active Volcanoes

Sources: