Advanced Engineering & Manufacturing
Sectors
The Thames Valley is a trult unique, truly global world-class business location, home to a community of established and aspiring global brands.
Creative Industries
Digital Technologies
Environment, Energy & Infrastructure
Financial & Professional Services
Life Sciences & Healthcare
Thriving businesses from truly global sectors
A range of sectors are focusing on the Thames Valley as “the place to be”. From motorsport to life sciences, from the space industry to energy, and from IT to finance, you will find countless global leading businesses creating clusters which are centres of excellence, making the Thames Valley the number one destination for other businesses in their sector.
Advanced Engineering & Manufacturing
Global leadership in Space and Motorsport help make the Thames Valley a key destination for engineering and innovation businesses across the sector
Automotive
Oxbotica, at the heart of software development for autonomous vehicles, finds its home in the Thames Valley, alongside BMW mini.
Read MoreMotorsport
Centred on the Silverstone F1 circuit with most F1 teams based in the Thames Valley encouraging the growth of countless businesses in the F1 supply chain
Read MoreSpace
The Thames Valley is home to Harwell – the world’s leading science, innovation, technology and business campus – the UK Space Agency, and the European Space Agency.
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Creative Industries
Film, Gaming, Digital Media and other facets of the sector have global leaders based across the Thames Valley
Film
Pinewood Studios and iconic brands including James Bond and Star Wars are just the start of a huge sector of global importance
Read MoreGaming
Home to many of the world's leading computer game companies who have produced some of the world's most popular content
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The UK’s digital technology industry has grown rapidly in recent years. In 2015 the sector grew 50% faster than the wider economy and in 2016 digital technology investment reached £6.8 billion – 50% higher than any other European country.
This growth is helping to strengthen the Thames Valley’s already very strong tech-based local economy, making it one of the UK’s most dynamic and productive regions. More than 8,000 technology-led companies are based in the region, making ‘the UK’s Silicon Valley’ one of Europe’s strongest knowledge economies. The appeal of Reading (Greater) and Oxford is providing a driving force behind the region’s growth and showcasing a unique cluster of businesses in globally significant, world leading sub-sectors including:
Communications
The M4 corridor boasts three of the world’s top-10 communication giants – Telefonica, Verizon and Vodafone. They are at the pinnacle of a dynamic cluster of businesses.
Information Technology
Famed for the global brands that call the region ‘home’, major businesses including Microsoft, Dell, Canon, HP and Oracle are joined by 600+ digital tech start-ups each year.
Data Centres
The Thames Valley is home to the largest data centre conurbation in Europe. These centres are concentrated on the Slough Industrial Estate, which is home to 22 of them, totalling over 2,000,000 sqft (over 185,800 sqm) of operational space.
Cyber Security
Oxfordshire’s clear strength in this sub-sector ripples across the wider region. Key centres and learning institutions include the Huawei Cyber Security Evaluation Centre and the University of Oxford’s Global Cyber Security Capacity Centre (GCSCC).
Environment, Energy and Infrastructure
Global players across a range of sub-sectors including oil and gas, agri-tech, biopharma, green energy smart grids, climate change and environmental engineering
Financial and Professional services
Close to the City of London but without the high costs
Home to over 150 major companies in the sector, the Thames Valley is located at the heart of a world-famous LSH cluster known as the “golden triangle”. At the centre of the cluster is the University of Oxford, which claimed the top spot in the Times Higher Education World Rankings (2018) for the second consecutive year.
Healthcare
A number of highly regarded healthcare providers which seek to utilise innovative research can be found in the Thames Valley. These include the Royal Berkshire Hospital, the National Spinal Injuries Centre at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, Oxford University Hospitals and Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.
Read MoreResearch
The LSH cluster within the Thames Valley is supported by a range of academic institutions and R&D centres of excellence. These include the University of Oxford, Oxford Brookes University, the University of Reading and Imperial College London.
Read MoreInnovation Hubs
A number of science innovation ‘hubs’ and centres of excellence find their home in the Thames Valley, including Harwell, with its world class facilities such as the Diamond Light Source Synchotron.
Read MoreMedical Technology
A close proximity to both national and international markets has drawn many world-renowned drugs and delivery technology companies to the Thames Valley.
Read MorePharmaceuticals
Many of the leading pharmaceutical companies have chosen to locate or relocate into the region and enjoy the benefits to being part of a major cluster of companies in the sector.
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