A quarter of middle-market firms in the UK are considering bringing some business activities back to the UK over the next three years, a study by GE Capital and Warwick Business School has found.

The research found that 26% of mid-market firms are looking to re-shore at least some of their activities, potentially creating 378,000 jobs.

According to the report re-shoring could:

1. Increase annual revenues by £3.8 million per firm.
2. Increase total revenues by £27.6 billion per year.  However, not all regions will benefit evenly from re-shoring.
3. 42% of surveyed businesses will re-shore to either London or the South East.
4. London is the most popular destination with 28%.
5. In contrast, Wales (1%) and Northern Ireland (2%) are the least popular.

The top three reasons for businesses wanting to re-shore business operations were:

1. Management or control issues.
2. The UK business culture.
3. Levels of productivity in the UK.

Professor Stephen Roper of Warwick Business School said:

"Historically, re-shoring activity has focused on regions outside London, yet our research indicates that mid-market firms see the value of being active in the capital, despite the high costs associated with doing business there".