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Slough Business Directory
2018
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www.slough.gov.ukSlough - the Berkshire town with the excitement and dynamism of a London borough, the most diverse
population in the UK and the economic powerhouse of the south east.
Our Economy
We are attracting new business at a faster rate than
anywhere else in the UK, with a 29 percent growth in
corporate presence in the five years to 2014 (Centre for
Cities, 2016). We also rank in the top three most productive
towns in the UK, with a £9billion economy representing a
GDP of more than £2.5million per hectare.
We have the highest concentration of corporate headquarters
in the country outside London and Slough Estates Group
(SEGRO) owns the largest privately owned industrial estate
in Europe.
We
’
re In Good Company
Sitting at the entrance to the thriving Thames Valley,
Slough is home to globally renowned companies including
SEGRO, O2, UCB, HTC, Akzo Nobel and Lonza. In 2015 alone
we welcomed at least another nine major corporations,
including food manufacturer KP Snacks and Chinese
telecommunications giant ZTE.
Home of the Mars Bar for nearly 80 years, Slough has
pharma, finance, telecoms and technology clusters as
well as R&D companies and a strong knowledge economy.
There are 88,000 jobs in approximately 4,000 businesses
and an average weekly salary that is above the south east
and UK average.
We
’
re Well Connected
It is all about location, location, location in Slough, with
easy access to Heathrow airport seven minutes away, three
motorways (M4, M25 and M40), and mainline rail taking
people direct into London Paddington in just 15 minutes.
Crossrail is coming to Slough by 2019, transforming journey
times into London and the east of the capital with times to
the city of just 37 minutes.
Western Rail Link to Heathrow.
Slough is a key part of the successful campaign by
Thames Valley Berkshire LEP for a western rail link to
Heathrow. Now Network Rail is delivering the project,
which by 2024 will bring direct access to T5 from Slough,
via a 4.8km tunnelled route, slashing journey times from
the town to just seven minutes.
The benefits of the link aren
’
t just for Slough - it will reduce
journey times across a full 20 percent of the UK population
including the Thames Valley, the South West, the West
Midlands, South Wales and the South Coast.
Our People
With a population of an estimated 143,000, the wealth of
jobs and opportunities in Slough has fuelled a population
growth of great diversity and aspiration.
High levels of migration from more than 70 countries means
one third of Slough
’
s population is people born outside the
UK with one fifth born outside the EU.
Our population is young and growing, with an estimated
93,000 people over the age of 16 currently living in the
town and the sixth highest fertility rate in the country.
It
’
s a talented group, with GCSE results in the top ten of
local authority areas nationally, more than half the
population being educated to NVQ level 2 and above and
more than 43 percent educated to NVQ level 3 and above.
Slough Means Business