Too many people think London is the only place in Britain worth doing business in. It’s not immediately hard to see why: the capital towers on the global stage and is a central node in the web of world trade. But Britain has many thriving business communities outside of London and the future prosperity of the UK will depend on them.
Management Today’s “The 21 Best Towns and Cities for Business” ranks the UK’s major urban centres, barring London, on how appealing they are as places to set up shop. Focusing on the needs of mid-to-large, talent-hungry, high-productivity firms, we examined towns and cities on various metrics including, among others, productivity, the depth of the talent pool, the strength of innovation, the scale of the private sector ecosystem and the rate of growth.
Reading is in number 5 and the reasons are very simple.
Proximity to Heathrow and London is a major selling point – it’s just 25 minutes from Paddington and the future western terminus of Crossrail – but Reading is a top business location in its own right. It has an ambitious vision for its future, is one of the top 25 European cities for FDI and has long-standing clusters in IT, pharma, finance and professional services. The Reading Central Business Improvement District drives sustainable growth and the quality of life attracts talent – Reading has the highest wages outside London and 20 per cent of Reading University graduates join the local workforce.
Over £7m has been invested over the last decade in the Reading Central Business Improvement District, with another now planned for the Abbey Quarter.
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