USA West Coast
Each year, West Coast companies are increasingly moving or expanding their operations to the Thames Valley.
Within close-proximity of London – but without the cost, and west of Heathrow Airport, which has 22 daily direct flights to the West Coast, informed investors are drawn to the UK’s ‘Silicon Valley of Europe’ as their preferred destination of choice.
Scale of investment
Cultivating and maintaining relationships are important especially as the Thames Valley and Silicon Valley are two of the world’s leading places to start and scale a business, with early-stage finance and business advice readily available. The two regions have strong synergies across several sectors, including technology, life sciences, real estate, retail and creative media.
Successes reflected in numbers:
Specific West Coast companies locating and growing in the Thames Valley
Amgen, headquartered in California, has a site situated in Abingdon, approximately 15 minutes away from the historic city of Oxford.
Microsoft chose to locate its world-famous campus at Thames Valley Park (TVP) in Reading, making that location its UK headquarters.
Oracle are also based at TVP and chose the location as its headquarters ahead of its seven other UK offices.
Penningtons Manches Cooper and the Golden Triangle: Golden Opportunities?
Britain’s Golden Triangle of London, Oxford and Cambridge – of which the Thames Valley is at the heart – is a powerhouse of ingenuity and innovation. It is therefore not surprising to see investors in Silicon Valley, and across the West Coast, pay close attention to the entrepreneurial activity on this side of the pond, particularly in the technology sector. Find out more in the report ‘Golden Triangle: Golden Opportunities?’.
Penningtons Manches Cooper is part of the region’s soft-landing team, with offices located on New Montgomery in San Francisco offering immediate access to specialist UK lawyers. The company can advise on the best ways to approach the European market. The frequently updated ‘View from the Bridge’ UK-US business update is available here.
Well-connected with the West Coast, the soft-landing team frequently acts on behalf of a diverse range of individuals and globally-ambitious businesses looking to expand their activity outside the US into the UK. The team has close ties with the UK Government representative office and US investment community based locally to act as the link between the US and the Thames Valley.
What the Thames Valley has to offer foreign-owned companies, particularly those from the West Coast.
Discover what the Thames Valley has to offer foreign-owned companies, particularly those from the West Coast from Joanne Vengadesan, Partner at Penningtons Manches Cooper.