With a workforce of 380,000 people and excellent road and rail links to London, the West Country, the ports of Southampton and Portsmouth and the Midlands, Andover is perfectly placed to connect your business.
If you are thinking of expanding or relocating your business, you’ll find yourself in very good company.
Andover has flourished in recent years and is now one of the most sought-after logistics locations in the UK and is home to some well-known established brands including Co-operative Group, Rich Products, Travelodge, Stannah Lifts, Ocado, Twining, and Costa.
More people are moving to Andover; the borough has good quality housing, an abundance of leisure provision with a good number of indoor and outdoor sport facilities, and host well-located public open spaces creating opportunities for walking, cycling, and exercise.
Home to global brands like Sony, Eli Lilly, Fujitsu, Lenovo and Bombay Sapphire alongside more than 7,900 other businesses, the borough has all the ingredients for businesses to succeed: a supportive environment, plenty of networking opportunities, affordable and flexible space and excellent road, rail, sea and air connections within the UK and internationally.
Surrounded by beautiful Hampshire countryside Basingstoke also has an outstanding quality of life with a vibrant cultural offer and great places to socialise and shop.
The town continues to capitalise on major multi-million-pound investments already made including Basing View, a designated Enterprise Zone, which offers sustainable Grade A office space just minutes from the rail station, town centre and the M3.
Aiming to become a carbon neutral borough by 2030 and with a vision for growth that includes £60 million investment in local road infrastructure, a new £300 million leisure park and 15,000 new homes by 2029, Basingstoke continues to be dynamic and ambitious as it grows into the future.
East Hampshire is an economically successful area at the heart of South East of England. Its assets include quality housing, first class schools, active communities, good health facilities, a diverse range of leisure and recreational opportunities, and the beautiful countryside of the South Downs.
The district is conveniently located between London and the South Coast, and so offers easy access to national and international markets. East Hampshire has strengths in advanced manufacturing, engineering, information technology and business services. The district also has a strong tourism sector and rural economy.
Major transformation is being delivered through the Whitehill & Bordon regeneration programme. This represents a £1 billion, 20-year scheme in response to the Army’s departure from the town after more than 100 years in the area. The regeneration programme is already underway and includes new homes, new infrastructure and employment opportunities including the ‘Tech Forest’ Enterprise Zone.
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Synonymous throughout the world with aviation. Farnborough has embraced its links with aerospace to become a world-leading centre of technological development, being home to the likes of BAE Systems, Airbus, Qinetiq and Fluor.
Only 35 minutes from London by train, Farnborough has also attracted leading corporates such as Time Inc and BMW.
Every other year, the world-famous Farnborough International Airshow attracts more than 80,000 trade visitors representing 112 countries. At the 2018 show, deals worth $192bn were announced. And 2018 was the first year that the show was staged in the new £33M conference and exhibition centre.
And Farnborough Airport is a key economic asset for Hampshire and the UK, being Europe’s premier business aviation airport. It was announced in 2018 that leading US executive jet manufacturer Gulfstream is to invest in a new £50M European service centre at the airport.
Farnborough Sixth Form College is one of the highest performing colleges in the UK with an outstanding registered a 99.2% A level pass rate.
Gosport is home to round the world yacht racer Alex Thomson (Hugo Boss) and a diverse range of local, national and multi-national companies such as Boeing, Huhtamaki, North Sails, QinetiQ, Selden, StandardAero and STS Defence.
Its naval heritage helped create the infrastructure, facilities and skills base that attracts engineering and manufacturing companies. Consequently significant marine and aerospace clusters have developed, with local SMEs supplying into one or both of the sectors.
Whilst still large the military presence is contracting. Therefore key sites including waterfront ones are being redeveloped providing new space for businesses, as well as residents and amenities. Each of these sites has heritage assets that help give Gosport its distinctive character. Therefore the council has partnered with Historic England to assist developers in creating modern day uses for these assets that include buildings and forts.
For residents and relocating employees Gosport provides an affordable Solent living solution. Although an urban centre its 39 kilometres of coastline, two beaches and the 200 hectare Alver Valley Country Park mean that residents enjoy waterfront, beach and countryside living, often literally on their doorstep.
Hart is a small but very strong performing economy in the north-east corner of Hampshire.
The district is well known for its exceptional quality of life and some businesses confirm that they located here for that reason. Doing business in the district is made easier by excellent air, road and rail connections and there are some very attractive village high streets. The district performs well on key measures of enterprise, and local businesses report strong local business networks.
So, whether you are starting up a business, developing your company or thinking of relocating to Hart, the Council’s ‘Hart for Business’ service provides a range of information to help you.
The borough of Havant is not only nestled between a National Park and a stunning coastline of international importance, it is also beautifully connected by land, sea and air to customers, resources and labour.
Covering 20.6 square miles, and with a population of over 125,000, Havant is uniquely placed. Its strategic location is enviable – placed at the interchange between the A3(M) / A27, M27 corridor with strong connections to Portsmouth, Southampton and London – means that it can flawlessly connect with the south east and beyond. Located close to two powerhouse docks, Havant is internationally connected too.
The strong business sense in investing in Havant is well recognised by many industries and international companies. Havant not only has pronounced strengths in the advanced manufacturing, marine, defence / IT and engineering sectors, it is predicted to grow as people invest into the borough’s many benefits.
Probably best known as a holiday destination the island has a long maritime and industrial tradition the Isle of Wight boasts some of the world’s most innovative and high-tech solutions in the marine and aerospace environments. Flying boats, the world’s first hovercraft and the testing and development of Britain’s space rockets are part of its legacy.
Innovation continues with the likes of GKN, a global aerospace company, who design and manufactures winglets used on every modern fleet of aircraft to reduce noise and pollution. Other notable business includes Mitsubishi, BAE Systems, Gurit and Vestas, the energy industry’s global partner on sustainable energy solutions and innovators in offshore wind turbine blades.
The breadth of activity spans a whole range of sectors including the advanced engineering, marine, aerospace, business services, environmental technologies, tourism, and leisure. With a new major regeneration programme on the horizon, the Isle of Wight focus is on providing more jobs and boosting the local economy.
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The New Forest economy is hugely diverse; diverse in terms of the businesses located within, the geographical landscape of the district and the workforce which shapes the local economy. It is this diversity which makes the New Forest such an attractive place in which to do business.
Ninety minutes from London and well connected by land, air and sea; New Forest boasts a stunning natural landscape yet is home to 9000 businesses, more than any local authority area in Hampshire. Of these businesses there is high concentration of businesses within the visitor economy and marine sector with strong growth in sectors including communication and business services.
Although the New Forest is predominantly rural, it does not mean that it cannot and is not ambitious in striving for higher value jobs, ensuring a skilled workforce and benefit from greater connectivity. Many areas of the New Forest, including but not limited to the Waterside will see high value growth in the coming years ensuring that New Forest is a great place to do business.
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Predicted to be one of the UK’s top 10 cities for economic growth over £48.75m is being invested into Portsmouth to unlock key strategic sites for employment and housing with the aim to attract further investment of £830m, 2300 new homes and create more than 3,500 new jobs.
Portsmouth is a leading location and growth hub for advanced manufacturing and engineering (marine, aerospace, renewable energy, environmental technologies, and composites), transport and logistics, the low carbon sector and the creative sector. Key businesses based here include BAE Systems, IBM, Airbus, and Ben Ainslie Racing.
Strategically positioned in relation to London, mainland Europe, Portsmouth is just 20 nautical miles from the key Shanghai to Rotterdam shipping superhighway.
The city is bordered by two national parks and with a natural geography comprising three islands and two peninsulas, it has renowned heritage, countryside, and coastline. Portsmouth also has a very proud naval and maritime heritage and is home to the British Navy.
With a proud maritime heritage, Southampton is a major commercial centre for Hampshire. Major investment by Hammerson in the city’s retail offer has transformed the city centre, and significant future development of prime office space is the next phase of the emerging vision.
Major employers such as Old Mutual and Carnival have made Southampton their home, alongside key professional firms such as Ernst & Young, Irwin Mitchell, and PWC.
Southampton Port, owned and managed by ABP, is the UK’s leading export port, handling £40bn of manufactured goods for export every year, of which 90% is destined for non-EU markets. Southampton is also Northern Europe’s cruise capital, handling around 5 million passengers a year. On the port, the most productive container terminal in the UK is operated by DP World.
The city is home to both the University of Southampton, part of the UK’s Russell Group, and Solent University, which has specialisms including creative media and maritime. The combined student population is around 38,000.
Boasting one of the strongest economies in the south of England and the UK’s highest employment rate, 15% above the UK average, Winchester has some of the best schools in the country and is a vibrant and profitable location for leisure and business.
It is a city steeped in history, the ancient capital of England and the former seat of King Alfred the Great and is now home to some high-profile employers including Arqiva, Simply Health, IBM, HSBC, NATS, and Zurich.
Download the Invest in Winchester brochure here.
Hampshire has a compelling story to tell of growing places, businesses, brands, people and minds. The Hampshire Story articulates the distinctiveness, character and characteristics of Hampshire, and key elements for the development and promotion of the place.
This overarching view consists of themes which are chapters of the story, and they represent what need to be the focal points for Hampshire as it grows and develops. The theme areas combine elements that are already important in the place alongside new opportunities and less known ingredients of the Hampshire experience.