More Information
Close to London and its international airports, the Thames Valley is ideally situated to access European and global markets. Excellent road, rail, air and sea links make it easy to travel across the region and overseas.
COMMUNICATIONS
The Thames Valley is ideally placed for quick and simple access to European and global markets. Excellent road, rail, and air links make it easy to travel across the country and abroad. The technological infrastructure associated with a high concentration of ICT firms means that good quality broadband access is guaranteed.
Air Travel
Heathrow Airport is a major asset for businesses in the Thames Valley and has underpinned the economic growth enjoyed by the area over the last few years. It has helped to attract the high value firms that have made this one of Europe's most important and dynamic economies. Heathrow is a magnet for multi-nationals and headquarters, offering a vital asset to companies that rely on the national and transnational flow of personnel and goods for their efficient operation.
Planned expansion at Heathrow with the addition of a new terminal will increase capacity by around 30 million passengers a year. This will further help business growth across the region. It will also safeguard the airport's position as the number one gateway to Europe while ensuring that the Thames Valley continues to reap the economic advantages offered by proximity to the world's busiest airport.
Travel to Heathrow takes less than an hour from nearly all of the Thames Valley by either train or road. Other airports including London Gatwick, London Stansted and Luton as well as East Midlands are also all within easy reach of the Thames Valley.
Road Travel
The Thames Valley benefits from an excellent road network and easy access to motorways, with close proximity to the M4, M25, M3 and M40. This means that travelling around the region by car couldn't be easier.
Rail Travel
The region boasts an excellent rail network, which means rail travel around the region is fast and hassle-free. Central London is quickly and easily accessible from all stations and is only 25 minutes by train from Reading and 55 minutes from Oxford. Journeys can then be continued on into Europe using the Channel Tunnel. The rail network links up with the rest of the country, providing a quick and efficient means of travel.
Broadband
The electronic infrastructure is also critical to the success of the Thames Valley and the region has extensive broadband capacity, both for large and small firms. BT has launched a family of products for its 1.2 million small and business sized customers called 'Digital Business' which, through collaboration with Cisco Systems, Dell, Microsoft and O2, offers end-to-end digital and broadband technology. Some 84% of businesses are already connected to an exchange, offering ADSL broadband, comfortably above the national average.
Don't take it from us! A snapshot of why businesses have chosen to make the Thames Valley their UK location because of the excellent Communications.
-Electronic communication forms the backbone of our operations, so access to high speed Internet links were essential to our requirements. For Companies like ours, finding we could easily link up to established broadband connections was a major influencing factor in our decision to relocate to the Thames Valley.- Phil Smith, Business Development Director, Cisco UK
-We regularly have around 50% of our staff travelling at any one time, so being close to major motorways and to the world's premier international airport was a key factor in our decision to set up our base in the Thames Valley. As a result, we've managed to keep travelling times and costs down to an absolute minimum. This is essential to us as an international business with clients right across the globe.- Steve Harvey, Group Director of People, Profit and Culture, Microsoft UK
-For us, the Thames Valley is the ideal location. Good communication links are vital, since most of Renarc's work is based internationally and we need to be close to an airport. In addition, an increasing number of our client's are British small to medium-sized firms, most based in the corridor between the M4 motorway and Birmingham. Henley-on Thames has easy access to all the major nationwide motorways, so for us it was the perfect choice.- Trevor O'Hara, Managing Partner, Renard which is a consulting and training company specialising in helping firms and their executive teams with international expansion.
HR + SKILLS
Firms in the Thames Valley are fortunate that they can attract large numbers of high quality staff who quickly make a real difference to their performance and success. This is due to the region's excellent communication links, encouraging people to commute significant distances into the Thames Valley. Also the attractiveness of the firms already located in the region (many of whom feature in the Sunday Times '100 Best Companies to Work For' poll) is a redeeming feature when attracting staff. An ongoing pool of talented employees is ensured through the high quality universities and educational centres within the Thames Valley, including one of the country's leading academic establishments at the University of Reading and the prestigious Henley Management Centre. These institutions are building strong links with local businesses; both in sharing their expertise and making sure that the local workforce is boosted by a constant flow of high calibre graduates.
The Thames Valley workforce is widely regarded as very skilled, with qualification levels consistently ahead of the rest of the UK. The workforce is flexible and adaptable; due in part to many Thames Valley Companies' progressive human resources policies that encourage teleworking, part-time working and regular training programmes.
Facts and Figures
- The region has a workforce of over 750,000 with more than 53% qualified to degree level or equivalent (compared to a national average of 45%). - There are 1.1 million people of working age in the Thames Valley, 82% of whom are working which is the highest rate in the UK. - There are only 11300 people claiming unemployment benefit in the region and only 31000 unemployed in total, which are less than 1% and 3% of the population respectively of the working age population. - Workers are 50% more productive per head of population than the UK average. Graduates form 18% of the labour market in Berkshire, 19% in Buckinghamshire and 24% in Oxfordshire, which are all well above the national average of 14%.
PROPERTY
Good quality business accommodation is a critical factor in deciding where to locate your company and the Thames Valley can offer more than its fair share of first class premises throughout the region.
The Thames Valley has many opportunities for businesses in terms of commercial property for companies of all shapes and sizes. There are many locations that offer:
- Flexibility and Choice - Easy Access - Well-established environment - Nearby amenities - Occupier Support
There is a substantial array of business parks in the region, including:
Thames Valley Park - located in the heart of the Thames Valley, just East of Reading City Centre with on site amenities, including a leisure centre, creche and excellent communication links. This is currently occupied by the likes of Oracle Corporation, Microsoft and JD Edwards. International Business Park and Green Park - two new business parks located just to the South of Reading with easy access to the M4 as well as the national rail network, via a shuttle bus to Reading City Centre. These parks are home to Cisco Systems, Veritas, and Worldcom. Forbury Square - new offices in the heart of Reading due for completion in Spring 2003 offering 148,000 sq. ft of office space. Arlington Business Park - located in one of the most successful positions in the Thames Valley to the west of Reading next to the M4. This houses KPMG, Natwest, Walker Snack Foods and Vodafone. Slough Trading Estate - located in Slough, with easy access to London and close to the M4, M40 and M25 as well as Heathrow Airport. This is owned by Slough Estates and is occupied by Masterfoods, Lonza Group plc, Celltech Group plc and mmO2. Amen Corner Business Park - located in Bracknell and is currently being developed but is already home to Dell Computer Corporation and Hewlett-Packard. Windsor Office Park - 14 acre development on the road between Maidenhead and Windsor, built in 2001, housing Centrica plc. Winnersh Triangle - located between Reading and Wokingham, with easy access to both towns. This site is currently the home of Intel and Sage. Globe Park - located in Marlow with quick access to the M4 and M40 where Saab is a current occupier. Maidenhead Office Park - close to the M4, west of London. This is where Nortel Networks and Iomega UK Ltd are currently located. New Greenham Park - 150 acre business park near Newbury which is in the west of the Thames Valley and is home to Bayer, BT and T-Mobile. Kingsmead Park - located in High Wycombe close to the M40 and presently home to National Starch and Chemical, part of the ICI group. All of these business parks have a wide range of accommodation, offering various rentals and floor spaces, making them ideal for firms of all sizes wanting to locate in the Thames Valley.
QUALITY OF LIFE
The Thames Valley is home to a number of picturesque villages and historic towns providing a wide range of leisure and tourism attractions as well as a full range of choice of housing from rambling estates and thatched cottages to terraced town houses, semi detached and detached period and modern homes. With also 46% of the Thames Valley designated as areas of outstanding natural beauty, the region is an excellent choice to both live and work in. The River Thames runs through the heart of the Thames Valley. It is one of the most popular rivers in the country and the second longest river in England; approximately 2 million people live in the adjoining districts and boroughs. The Thames is home to important wildlife habitats. The Thames Path follows the river for 184 miles and offers a wonderful walk through contrasting and beautiful countryside. It is one of only 13 national Trails in England.
Tourism is a vital economic activity of the Thames Valley generating around £2 billion per year in expenditure. Over £ 0.25 billion is contributed by visits to the Chilterns alone while Berkshire attracted half a million visits from overseas visitors in 1999, spending a staggering £191 million.
Generally the Housing market in the Thames Valley has been booming for the past five years or so. Due to the Thames valley being such a popular place to live, the house prices will continue to rise. Approximately 75% of people in the UK own their own home as it is deemed to be cheaper than renting. However this very much depends on the location and the size of the property. A number of excellent relocation services are on hand to help with all the important and necessary arrangements.
