Birmingham – perfect for business


Why we came to Birmingham


It’s not surprising businesses want to move to Birmingham – outside of London, the city has the largest city economy in the UK, and has a growing reputation as a location of international business. And things are set to improve further with the arrival of HS2, the high-speed rail network. Chamberlink talks to a cross section of businesses who established themselves in Birmingham, or are about to.


The train arriving at platform one in 2026 will be the high-speed service from London – but it won’t take that long to attract new businesses to the fastest growing city in the UK. Apart from its geographical


location, the city’s economy is growing at a faster rate than its rivals – its rate of growth, at 5.2 per cent, is well ahead of other UK cities (average 3.7 per cent) and double the UK rate of 2.6 per cent. The city’s economic push


includes being at the forefront of high-level engineering – the region is home to more than 6,000 advanced engineering firms, and more than £1bn worth of automotive research and design is carried out locally (60 per cent of the UK total). Birmingham remains a key financial and professional services centre (and has the largest concentration of such firms outside of London) and the city is also a key location for technology, creative and digital firms. The city is also a key location for


start-ups – in 2015, StartUp Britain recorded that Birmingham had the highest number of start-ups, with


6 CHAMBERLINK July/August 2017


nearly twice as many as nearest rival Manchester. Birmingham’s position as the


most entrepreneurial UK city outside London, was cemented a year later when 17,473 new businesses were registered in Birmingham– an increase of 25 per cent on the previous year, and more than any other city outside the capital. Birmingham has now retained its


position as the number one regional destination for start-ups for four consecutive years. The number of new businesses is almost double that of Manchester’s, which follows in second place with 9,416 companies registered during 2016, whilst Glasgow is third with 7,845.


Birmingham also surpassed


London to become the country’s leading city for business growth rates in 2016, according to the Office for National Statistics’ business counts data. Nicola Hewitt, commercial


director of inward investment agency Business Birmingham, said: “Birmingham is repeatedly ranked as the UK’s number one regional city for quality of life.


Mark Pinder: Birmingham is ‘the place to be’


‘Birmingham is repeatedly ranked as the UK’s number one regional city for quality of life’


“This, combined with lower living


costs, is tempting more and more people to come live in Birmingham. For businesses; from ambitious start-ups to global names like HSBC and PwC, the city’s burgeoning economy and talented workforce is providing a long-term, sustainable location to do business and compete internationally. “The city is equipping itself to


meet this increased demand, with office construction in the area now reaching a 13-year high. Expansion plans for Birmingham Airport and the city’s Metro lines, and the major plans surrounding the city’s High Speed Two line, are also improving Birmingham’s connectivity, making the city an even more attractive proposition now and for the future.” One of the biggest arrivals in Birmingham will be HSBC, which is locating its retail arm in the city, at a new base in Broad Street. This is due to open in 2018. More than 1,000 employees will be based at the Arena Central


complex, in a move which will see the bank’s retail arm physically separate itself from its investment arm, something which has been brought about by government legislation. The move brings HSBC back to


the city where it was founded, as Midland Bank, in 1836. Antonio Simoes, CEO of HSBC


Bank, said: “The creation of HSBC UK’s new head office in Birmingham provides us with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to build a new and better bank for our customers and people. “It’s important that our new head


office reflects our brand, culture and heritage and we have been working hard to create the right infrastructure and environment. “Birmingham is a vibrant,


growing city that has the expertise and infrastructure to support our ring-fenced bank and brings us a step closer to our ambition of being the bank of choice in the UK. “We’re proud that our new head office will be one of the greenest


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