roundtable: investment 61
the established professional service firms and the multinational companies that have located here.
“That’s very important, because there is also a government focus trying to rebalance the UK economy. We’ve got the right offer, but we haven’t been given the bags and balloons that the Government is providing to the other regions.”
He mentioned that companies, such as Cisco and Microsoft, were very keen to endorse the benefits of the Thames Valley, the reasons that they had chosen it, and why they continue to invest in the region. And, it was important that the professional services fraternity echoed those plaudits.
strength of the LEP, which is primarily business- focused.
“We have got some great traction now and some serious intellectual horse-power around the table and on the sub groups. Top people now want to be at that table. Also, from minimal initial funding we’ve now secured some serious money to spend in our region.”
Wilson also stressed that a big message of global advantage for the Thames Valley today was its economic stability and security. “We need to ensure we give companies the absolute certainty, wherever possible, that we can provide them with a very stable and secure environment in which to work and prosper. We only need to think back to some of the horrors of the last 30 years to see the adverse impact of terrorism in our country and in our business and wider community.”
Do we project the
right image? Murray pointed out that there are more manufacturing companies in the south-east than in any other region in the country, and yet the Thames Valley is still known by many as the UK’s Silicon Valley.
Paul Lewis
“I’m not talking here about competing head to head with those regions looking to place market their ‘brands’ supported by public money or city campaigns. We can be effective by offering all Thames Valley companies dealing with foreign-owned companies or potential inward investors a common song sheet, that is what the new inward investment portal www.
thamesvalley.co.uk is all about”
Are we all singing from
the same song sheet? Murray queried if the differing agendas of the Chambers of Commerce, Thames Valley Berkshire LEP, professional bodies and commercial sectors would make this ‘one voice’ approach viable.
Local Enterprise Partnership member Ross Wilson answered: “The LEP IS making excellent progress. The LEP has representation on it from the Chambers of Commerce, the Federation of Small Businesses, CBI, Institute of Directors (Wilson is ambassador for the IOD southern region), SMEs, major multinationals and includes key players representing education, employment and skills as well as local authorities and the community sector all working together on the plan to deliver economic prosperity for the next 20 to 30 years. This wide variety of representatives is a major
THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – THAMES VALLEY – MAY 2013
Britton: “A lot of the messages we give out about the Thames Valley are actually UK level messages because this is an international location.
Our counterparts abroad tend to concentrate on place-marketing, but for us that pitch is further down the line.”
Lewis: “There is work to be done on attracting new inward investors, but the key thing is promoting the Thames Valley by concentrating on the great cluster of well-known companies that we have got here – and ensure we keep them. Such companies have always got costs under the microscope. We need to be competitive at all times and constantly promoting our advantages.
the funding of other cities and regions. That was all about places, whereas we know for inward investors it matters more about the chosen community being proven, tried and tested, and has the right business environment. Just imagine being the company CEO responsible for setting up a business in another country. There is enormous comfort in knowing that experience around the business table is there from the moment you get off the plane. Their relief is almost palpable when you can show them that the global brands and start-ups at the same stage of growth are already here.”
Warwick: “We do trip ourselves up on our pure mapped geography, when all we really have to do is draw quite a big circle around the Thames Valley, paint it all blue or red and say to people: ‘Here is a big block of really good stuff and it’s just left of Heathrow.’ The problem is we start segmenting it ourselves.”
Ross Wilson
“Encouraging them to continue to invest here should be our most productive way forward and if we can top it up with some new inward investments, then we have got something quite powerful happening.”
Devall queried if the Thames Valley, being a ‘patchwork’ of varied geography, cultures, business sectors and authorities, was a concern for inward investors.
Lewis replied that prospective inbound companies were aware of this but businesses in the south-east needed to work together to promote regional unity through their LEPs and Chambers of Commerce, particularly as the Thames Valley does not have the strong public sector support as many other UK regions.
Britton: “The Government missed a trick with
Britton agreed that ‘eyes just glaze over’ if inward investors get too much detail about political or administrative boundaries. “Their primary focus is about: ‘Is there a supply chain? Is there a good business community here? Can I get a workforce?’ They don’t need to know the Thames Valley boundaries, just that if they turn left at Heathrow and see Computer Associates HQ on the right and Windsor Castle on the left then everywhere within one hour is a tried and tested international business location."
Brattesani pointed out that to Americans, the Thames Valley is a very small business area, making it convenient to them for collaboration and access.
Warwick reminded the Roundtable that Silicon Valley in the US is actually more a concept name than an actual defined business area.
Continued overleaf ...
www.businessmag.co.uk
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68