An analysis of over 580,000 properties has produced a league table of Britain’s best and worst buy to let postcodes in terms of yield.

The research, by website TotallyMoney, suggests that university cities can offer the highest yields on buy-to-let investments with Liverpool, Manchester, Middlesbrough, Newcastle upon Tyne, and Edinburgh shown to be top performers.

Liverpool postcodes L7 and L6 take first and second place, with average rental yields of 11.79 and 11.59 per cent respectively. The postcodes are close to two of Liverpool’s three universities, making it a potential hotspot for buy-to-let investors.

Middlesbrough’s TS1 town centre postcode, home to Teeside University, takes third place, with an average rental yield of 10.94 per cent. The area also has an average asking house price of just over £65,000, making it one of the most affordable buy to let hotspots.

Edinburgh postcode EH8 comes fourth, with average yields of 10.62 per cent. It’s home to the University of Edinburgh, which is the sixth best in the UK, according to the Times Higher Education World University Rankings.

With a student population of 100,000, Manchester also performs well. M14 has average rental yields of 10.08 per cent and is home to Manchester Metropolitan University.

London was one of the worst areas across Britain for buy-to-let yields, with north London faring particularly badly. Of all the London postcodes surveyed, five north London postcodes rank in the bottom 10, with rental yields as low as 1.5 per cent.

Outside of London, the worst performing area was Bournemouth’s BH14, which has average rental yields of 1.68 per cent. Crewe’s CW12 comes next, with 1.74 per cent.