There is a wealth of talent and innovation in the city's media and creative industries.

Leeds is now the UK’s third largest centre for the media and communications industry, after London and Glasgow. The city’s reputation as a young, vibrant place to work, live and socialise has been vital to the rapid growth of this sector.

There are 13,600 people employed in the Leeds media industry — more than 1,600 companies in the region cover a broad spectrum that includes marketing, publishing and broadcasting.

Since 1998, the number of people working in the media in Leeds has risen by 20 per cent, and this growth looks set to continue — the sector is characterised by breadth, expansion and a willingness to embrace change. Yorkshire Post, ITV1 Yorkshire and the BBC are the foundation of the city’s media industry, whilst independent publishing is best represented by The Leeds Guide. Leeds-based agencies like england, Brahm and Poulters are leading the creative industries within the region and creating a stir nationally.

The success of any media or communications company is dependent on talent — the people that make up its workforce. Leeds Met was one of the first universities in the country to offer a dedicated PR degree course, and over the last ten years, the city’s higher and further education institutions have successfully kept pace with the industry’s need for skilled staff by producing some of the highest calibre graduates in the country.

The city also attracts communications professionals from across the UK, thanks to the excellent quality of life available in the city, which matches the needs of everyone from young ‘creatives’ to older more experienced hands.

Leeds now offers one of the UK’s best and busiest lifestyles, with high levels of city living and a centre brimming with bars, restaurants and nightclubs. The shopping is widely acknowledged as some of the best in the country.

Tony Stanton, chief executive of ‘an agency called england’, explains: “We get a lot of approaches from creative and media professionals who want to relocate to Leeds for the quality of life that the city offers, as well as the fact that an agency like england — with a diverse list of international clients — is based here doing award-winning work”.

James French relocated from London three years ago to join leading integrated creative agency Poulters as their public relations account director.

On why he decided to swap the Big Smoke for this northern metropolis, he explains: “Leeds is bursting with excellent agencies putting out fantastic work for huge brands. London firms no longer have a monopoly on the ‘big’ work — Leeds firms are producing award-winning brands and campaigns. For me, the move north was a no brainer: brilliant career progression and a superb quality of life in the most vibrant city in Britain.”

And with major national firms opening new offices in Leeds all the time — recent arrivals include Weber Shandwick and Trimedia — it's clear that this sector's rapid growth is set to continue.