21 June 2017

Following an informative Bank of England event in February 2017, The Coastal West Sussex Partnership focused its latest event on showcasing the current and future potential of the area.

Over 60 people attended the session at Ricardo's Innovation Centre, in Shoreham, on Thursday 15th June which offered a rare opportunity to hear from Simon Rubinsohn, Chief Economist at the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors.

 

A valuable insight about the area's economic potential was given by event sponsor Coast 2 Capital and Adur and Worthing Councils. The audience were also informed of recent successful investments from developers and businesses, including Glenmore Developers and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.

 

Coastal West Sussex includes the main towns of Chichester, Bognor Regis, Littlehampton, Worthing and Shoreham-by-Sea. It is an area with high ambition offering a rich and distinctive natural and built environment whilst offering some of the lowest operating costs in the South East region.

 

Our area is located between Brighton and Hove and Portsmouth, both major commercial centres with much of the area also being easily accessible to Gatwick Airport and London.

 

The business focused event provided a great opportunity for senior leaders from the public, private, development and property sectors to discover more about the area which is surrounded by the South Downs National Park and with its varied coastline, makes this area a superb location to live and work as well as a popular visitor destination.

"We have found it very easy to recruit experienced, high quality, creative and hard-working staff."

Peter Murr, Creative Director, MeLearning

A cost competitive location

Labour costs are extremely competitive for the South East region and represent potential cost savings to employers. The Coastal West Sussex property market presents diverse development opportunities with significant returns. Commercial premises and average house prices are significantly lower than the rest of the region.

"We are open for business and are actively working with, and delivering value for inward investors to attract both jobs and businesses to the local economy."

Alex Bailey, Chief Executive, Adur and Worthing Councils

 

"Such easy transport links are key to the success of our business and has assisted in us doubling our turnover in the last 5 years."

Ruth Douglas, General Manager, Heirlooms Linens

Business investment

Business investment in premises, plant, machinery and people demonstrate a commitment to the area as a location for growth and development. Recent investments include:

  • £36m investment in a new pool and leisure complex at Butlin's, Bognor Regis by Bourne Leisure
  • £70m investment in a new technology and logistics hub for Rolls-Royce Motor Cars on the Oldlands Farm Business Park just outside Bognor Regis
  • Over £100m by GlaxoSmithKline to construct a new bulk sterile building and firing line for the company's leading antibiotic medicine, Augmentin
  • £1.3bn investment in the Rampion Offshore Wind Farm
  • £38m investment by Brighton and Hove Albion football club in a new state-of-the-art training facility in Lancing

"The Coastal West Sussex area is a great place to do business and home to global companies and brands as well as innovative local businesses. Coast to Capital is focused on working to unblock challenges across the region especially in relation to infrastructure, housing and skills and we were delighted to support this event designed to showcase the potential of the region."

Jonathan Sharrock, Chief Executive, Coast to Capital

The Coastal West Sussex area is an exceptional place to live and work; it's a cost competitive location with a great natural environment.

'This makes it an excellent place to expand your business, invest in new opportunities and be located alongside other world class businesses'.

Caroline Wood, Director, Coastal West Sussex Partnership

Thank you to all that attended. To find out more about the Coastal West Sussex Partnership, email: caroline.wood@coastalwestsussex.org.uk or read more here.

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