Based on office space consultants officebroker.com's enquiry figures for virtual offices, between January and June 2009, we can conclude that - outside of the most popular location of London, with the prestigious SW postcode claiming the most enquiries - the most popular UK virtual office locations are located in the West Midlands and the North.

Birmingham, the UK's second city, came in with the most enquiries outside of London. Virtual offices in Manchester followed in 2nd with Leeds in 3rd position.

Below is a graph showing the top ten most popular virtual office locations, outside of London (note that the percentages are based on enquiries for these ten locations only):

Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds, the top three most popular virtual locations outside of London, were among the UK's most business friendly cities in last year's UK Cities Monitor. The report, carried out by commercial property advisors Cushman & Wakefield, seeks views from top company executives to find out what they think of essential factors such as transport links, office accommodation and quality of life. Manchester finished second overall in the report, behind London, followed closely by Birmingham and Leeds.

Many locations within our virtual office top ten, such as Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds and Scottish capital Edinburgh, are major cities that typically attract enquiries for both physical and virtual enquiries.

We compared the above virtual office enquiries with that of the physical office, for the first half of 2009. Unsurprisingly, some results are fairly similar - for example Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds were again in the top three for physical office space enquiries. But Edinburgh and Glasgow literally traded places, making Edinburgh more popular out of the two Scottish cities for virtual office space. In addition, popular virtual office locations Sheffield, Watford and Gloucester lost out to Reading, Bristol, and Liverpool.

However, while physical office space take-up has suffered since the start of the decline, partly due to many businesses seeking to downsize or reduce overheads by finding cheaper office space, the virtual office has held its own and sustained healthy growth over the last 6 months. Factors assisting this rise in virtual office take-up are low costs and flexibility, along with the added bonus that businesses can literally sign up to a virtual office anywhere in the UK - and are not just confined to locations that are within a commutable distance.

How do the regions compare for businesses seeking virtual offices?

With two West Midlands cities in the top five of our most popular virtual office locations, one of which in the top spot, this region appears to be the most popular at the conclusion of the first half of 2009. Nick Raynsford, Minister for Regeneration, said that "Birmingham has undergone an 'amazing' urban renaissance which has transformed the city."

It's no surprise that more businesses choose Birmingham virtual offices over any other location in the UK outside of London. Known as the UK's second city, Birmingham is a major landmark with a central location that provides easy and efficient access to many regions around the country, by road, rail or air.

There is a high concentration of financial and law services in Birmingham, with many research and development facilities which are helping to shape future investment in the city, such as the high-spec Aston Science Park and the University of Birmingham’s Research Park.

However the Northern counties are also enjoying sustained interest - both the North West, represented by Manchester virtual offices, and Yorkshire and Humberside's prime virtual office location of Leeds are featured in the top three most popular virtual office locations.

A massive number of businesses now choose Manchester as their prime location, backed up by the city's high level of virtual office enquiries. In addition, according to the 2008 UK Cities Monitor by Cushman & Wakefield, the report finds that:

"Manchester in particular performs well with executives ranking the city as their preferred choice as both a new headquarters location and as a new back office function. It is also ranked first as the city doing the most to improve itself and the city doing the most to promote itself."

The city's excellent transport links add to the list of business factors. The M62 and M6 offer prime routes from east to west and north to south, while the location of Manchester provides a convenient spot for reaching other major cities including Liverpool, Leeds and Sheffield.

In fact, Cushman & Wakefield's report highlights that "Easy access to markets, customers or clients" is considered the most important factor by 50% of respondents - a requirement that is well catered for by Manchester, as well as many cities within the virtual office top ten.

Overall our virtual office figures show that, while London is still the prime spot for businesses searching for a virtual office, there are many other alternatives in the UK that can offer high spec business services. Additionally, we've found that the most popular spots are not based in the South alongside the capital - but instead are located in more northern regions, including the Midlands, the North-West and Yorkshire and Humberside.

Adrian Hill, head of business space at Cushman & Wakefield, said in their UK Cities Monitor:

"Many UK cities have seen a renaissance over the last few years with major regeneration projects delivering world class business and leisure environments. This investment, along with commitment from visionary councils, has helped to encourage major corporates to look outside of London when deciding where to locate their business."

If you're a business considering or searching for virtual offices in the UK, visit virtualofficeworld.com and speak to one of our office space consultants for free expert advice.