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Southampton – A city with ambition
Friday September 3rd, 2021
When thinking of a location to start up, re-locate or expand a business, what area springs to mind?
It is highly likely that London will be up there in your rankings, however you’ll be wise to take a closer look at Southampton. In the last decade Southampton has risen steadily through the league tables for growth, confirming itself as city with ambition.
The latest UK for Good Growth for Cities Index, published by PWC and Demos, which measures the performance of cities and regions, places Southampton third in their index.
The city has seen an increase in the number of new businesses, rising from 5,360 in 2016 to 6,280 in 2019; the fourth largest improvement in the new businesses score of any city in the index. That growth has continued with well-known brands and organisations such as Starling Bank, Yo Telecom, Handelsbanken, Mott McDonald and the Department of Work and Pensions setting up in the city.
Southampton is a city of ambition and has a great portfolio of new initiatives and projects including a new £55m next-generation ready cruise ship terminal, an £18.5m scheme to bring about a major makeover of the city centre and a multimillion-pound regeneration scheme in the heart of the city.
Southampton is also bidding for City of Culture 2025 and a key partner in the Solent Freeport bid to Government.
Southampton is also home to the University of Southampton, a world leader in technological advancement and research. The University was also awarded a top five Super Cluster status for technology by the EMEA, trumping Cambridge and Bristol.
Why choose Hampshire for business?
Hampshire has many attributes which make it an attractive place to establish and grow a business. It has a large and diverse economy, easy access to and from London, and a strong talent pool. Hampshire is consistently ranked as one of the best places to live in the UK. The Halifax Quality of Life Survey 2020 placed both Fareham and Hart as two of the best places in the UK to live, coming second and third in the top 50 local authority areas.
Hampshire is also the most export intensive county in England – almost 40% of the county’s economic output is exported – so if you are wanting to exploit international markets this is the place to be.
Find out more about the other locations in Hampshire and what they have to offer here.
