The number of people with £5 million (around $8.1 million) in the UK has grown by 19 per cent over the past two years, according the Barclays Wealth 2011 UK Wealth Map, a new report that provides a snapshot of the wealth landscape.

“Despite one of the deepest recessions ever experienced by this country, these findings indicate that wealth creation is starting to recover and this trend is set to continue at a steady pace. We are hopeful that this will contribute to growth in the wider economy and help boost regional expansion in the coming years,” said David Semaya, head of UK and Ireland private bank at Barclays Wealth.

The figures suggest that while competition for high net worth clients has become more difficult in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, the underlying trend of an expanding HNW customer basis is still positive.

New figures show there are 619,000 millionaires in the UK today (2008: 528,000), of which 86,000 millionaires have a wealth of £5 million or more. Unsurprisingly the majority, 46 per cent, of UK-based millionaires live in London and the South East.

The regional wealth breakdown with percentage growth between 2008-2010 is as follows: London and the South East has 287,000 millionaires (19 per cent growth); the Midlands has 92,000 millionaires (15 per cent growth); the South West and Wales has 78,000 millionaires (16 per cent growth); the North West has 64,000 millionaires (16 per cent growth); Yorkshire has 44,000 millionaires (16 per cent growth); the North East has 14,000 millionaires (17 per cent growth); Scotland has 40,000 millionaires (18 per cent growth).

The report predicts that the number of millionaires in the UK will grow by a third by 2020, meaning there will be 826,000. The growth percentage expected regionally is: London and the South East by 35 per cent; the Midlands by 30 per cent; the South West and Wales by 29 per cent; the North West by 35 per cent; Yorkshire by 28 per cent; the North East by 46 per cent; Scotland by 38 per cent.

The number of millionaires is expected to grow across all regions although the North East is likely to see the highest growth by 2020, said the report.

The report also looks at societal and lifestyle factors, such as property prices, shopping, education and philanthropy. It was created by Barclays Wealth in conjunction with Ledbury Research.