England’s East Midlands –
a region that means business
England’s East Midlands has a fantastic reputation as a first-class location to do business.
England’s East Midlands lies at the heart of
the most successful investment economy
in Europe, with the historic cities of
Nottingham, Derby, Leicester, Northampton
and Lincoln.
The region offers a highly-skilled and flexible
labor force and is also home to eight
leading research universities.
Superb quality of life, combining beautiful
countryside, vibrant cities and housing
prices that are up to 30% lower than the
UK average.
With so much to recommend it, it is no surprise that the East Midlands is already home to 2,100 international companies, including over 550 US-owned businesses.
At the center of the action
The East Midlands is the location of choice for international businesses such as Rolls- Royce, Toyota, AstraZeneca and Experian. The region’s central location, strong business base, flexible and skilled workforce and great travel connections to the rest of the UK and Europe have proved themselves as a combination built for business success. The region is located at the hub of road and rail networks connecting to the UK and mainland Europe along with an international airport and good access to sea terminals, resulting in significant logistical advantages for companies based in the region.
A thriving economy
Historically, the region’s economy has
been based on manufacturing, which still
represents 19% of the regional Gross Value
Added (GVA) – the highest contribution
of any English region. Today, new high-tech
sectors have been established in industries
ranging from space technologies to biotechnology
and low-carbon technologies. The
region also has a thriving service economy
including financial business services, IT specialists
and creative agencies.
Some of the outstanding world-class industries in the East Midlands include:
Automotive and Motorsport – the UK is home to more vehicle manufacturers than any other EU member state. The East Midlands hosts Toyota’s European manufacturing base, and also the world’s most successful motorsport industry – including the British Formula One Grand Prix and a number of companies such as Cosworth, Mercedes-Benz High Performance Engineering and many others.
Rail – the East Midlands boasts some of the most innovative rail companies in Europe and is at the center of the UK rail industry. There are over 230 rail engineering companies around the city of Derby alone, adding up to an experienced and skilled workforce.
Bioscience and Healthcare – from genomics to medicinal chemistry, clinical trials to market entry, the East Midlands is a thriving center for this industry and the home of BioCity, the largest bioscience incubation center in Europe. The UK is the world’s second largest pharmaceutical exporter, and the third-largest import market and a major center for biopharma research. Genetic fingerprinting, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and ibuprofen were all discovered in the East Midlands.
Space Technologies – the East Midlands has significant strengths and resources for space related technologies ranging from pure space research through to testing and commercialization of spacetechnology applications. The region boasts the Space Research Centre, the National Space Centre in Leicester and the $18m Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) research center of excellence at the University of Nottingham.
Food and Drink – the UK has one of the largest and fastestgrowing food and drink markets in the world, worth $123 billion and the East Midlands is home to over 700 food and drink companies. Our rich history of research means that businesses in this sector enjoy access to the very latest technologies, including centers of excellence in food manufacturing training, business incubation units and specialist production facilities.
Low-carbon technologies – fuel cell technologies will be increasingly important as the world appreciates the need for a lowcarbon future. The East Midlands has positioned itself at the center of this growing market with a network of companies operating in this sector and industry leading research centers including CENEX and the Energy Technologies Institute (ETI).
An innovative business environment
England’s East Midlands has a strong record of innovation on a global scale. East Midlands Development Agency (emda) is responsible for economic development in the region and is investing heavily to ensure that businesses relocating to the area can develop innovative ideas and maximize their potential for growth.
Over $28 million is being invested by emda and its partners to establish and develop innovation networks (iNets) in the East Midlands. Teams of industry experts are available to help businesses; the provision of grants for companies to explore ideas; enabling collaborations with universities and also the creation of facilities for businesses involved in the iNets. The iNets are based on the principle that through sharing expertise, knowledge and ideas, businesses will develop, grow and become more innovative. This will in turn enable them to develop new services, products and processes which will give them a competitive edge.
For more details about the innovation strategy, including iNets, visit www.eminnovation.org.uk.
World-class centers of excellence
The East Midlands also boasts many world-class facilities for exploiting technologies. These are just a few of the outstanding centers of excellence that are based in the region which can help your business to gain a competitive edge:
- The Energy Technologies Institute: A £1 billion center of excellence in Loughborough, which was established to speed up the deployment of carbon technologies. It involves some of the world’s biggest companies such as BP, EDF, E.ON, Rolls-Royce, Caterpillar and Shell.
- CEMMNT: The National Centre for Excellence in Metrology for Micro and Nanotechnology, also in Loughborough, which works with partners to enable companies to accelerate their own innovations.
- The Space Research Centre: Based at the University of Leicester, it is an international leader in sensor technology, consultancy and the design and build of imaging devices.
- Sports Technology Institute: A center for world leading innovation which enables businesses to research and develop new products and design innovations in the sports industry.
- Silverstone Innovation Centre: A purpose built innovation center which provides a home for businesses providing services to the motorsports sector, which is based in the East Midlands.
- MIRA: Europe’s leading independent automotive research, design and development center. With its 50 miles of test track, MIRA is used by over 800 companies.
- CENEX: the UK’s first National Center of Excellence for low carbon and fuel cell technologies.
- GRACE: a state of the art center specializing in developing global navigation satellite systems and space technologies.
- BioCity: Europe’s largest bioscience incubation facility, providing
a home for a community of developing biotechnology
and
healthcare companies.
Support for businesess
Businesses looking to relocate to the East Midlands can benefit from an unrivaled package of help and support. Whether businesses need assistance with relocation, expansion or collaboration, the England’s East Midlands team based at emda, can help. The services are confidential, free of charge and include property and site searches, regional tours and visits, access to research centers of excellence, introductions to government and private sector companies, as well as access to financial assistance and grants. There’s also an opportunity to obtain sector-specific serviced office space with a free tenancy introductory offer. Companies can search for available properties in the East Midlands by visiting www.empod.co.uk.
The top three reasons to choose the Midlands
World-class working environment – the Midlands originally sparked the industrial revolution and it continues to lead the world in knowledge-based industries.
Gateway to Europe – the Midlands offers rapid access to European and other international markets.
Cost competitive, central location – businesses located in the East Midlands benefit from office rents and labor costs lower than the national average, plus easy access by air/sea/rail/road.
For more information, contact:
Charles G. Rowell, Vice President North America
Tel: (312) 794-7827
E-mail: crowell@eastwestuk.com
Kimberly B. Weir, Vice President North America
Tel: (703) 684-3138
E-mail: kweir@eastwestuk.com
Or contact the team in the UK:
Tel: +44 (0)115 988 8400
E-mail: locate@englandseastmidlands.com
Visit our website at www.englandseastmidlands.com
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