Newcastle - North East England Imagery area: 23.6cm wide x 9cm high “a regional powerhouse... a vigorous centre for growth industries HSBC 2011 Future for Business Report

GREAT Britain A low risk and stable environment for business. Pro-business: financial, legal and regulatory. Supportive Government. One of the quickest places across the world to become operational. Government is reducing taxes and improving access to finance. Advanced engineering powerhouse serving many sectors of industry. Home to some of the world’s most pioneering and recognisable brands. Gateway to European markets.

North East - a leading economic region Robust economy and continuing to grow. 600 multi-national companies based here. Wide and diverse business base covering growth sectors in. The only region in the UK to hold a positive balance in trade and export. Five universities home to many of the research institutes in the region. Extensive network of Centre’s of Excellence e.g. NAREC, NEPIC, PETEC. Five ports with the Port of Tyne able to take 83% of the worlds cargo vessels. Strengths in the fastest growing industry sectors. Established industries complementing emerging sectors.

Newcastle At the centre of the supply-chain. 1m working age people within a 30 minute drive time. Up to 40% lower operating costs. Home to two of the regions universities with excellence in Medical Sciences, Engineering and Built Environment, Digital & computing Sciences, Offshore & Marine. Supportive and collaborative business community. Easy to recruit and retain talent. Supportive and flexible local authorities committed to your growth. A truly unique location, providing exceptional quality of life and delivering distinctive benefits where you can make a real contribution to the sector and regional economy. “Manufacturing is currently worth £7.5bn to the local economy”

A wide catchment NewcastleGateshead

Unbeatable labour pool Professional occupations make up the largest cohort of the working age population catchment area The Newcastle catchment area also has a greater proportion than the national average working in; sales and customer services; as well as process, plant and machine operations.

Skilled and loyal people Newcastle offers investors access to a large and skilled workforce with attrition rates in the North East standing at the lowest in the UK. Average salary costs are 6% lower than the national average making Newcastle a highly competitive place to set up business.

Talented people Five universities educating over 112,000 students including almost 20,000 international students, with the UK’s 3 rd highest graduate retention rate at 46%. Newcastle and Gateshead Colleges developing JV academies such as the Skills Academy for Sustainable Manufacturing & Innovation, Autoskills Centre, The Energy Academy and The Aviation Academy at the Airport. Skills are improved by the area consistently outperforming the national average for A- level performance. Companies can benefit from a strong range of skills with over 337,000 people educated to NVQ level 4 (equivalent to first degree.) Over 4,100 engineering & technology graduates emerging annually from the North East. Highly ranked research institutes plus two Business Schools.

Key sector: Offshore Oil & Gas. Renewable energy. Subsea. Marine. Advanced manufacturing and distribution. Strong presence of Professional and Business Services based here to serve sector growth. Specialised academies working in collaboration with Universities and Colleges to support businesses in the training and recruitment of labour. “A total of 2,000 people are expected to be trained through the new wind and marine training centre at Newcastle International Airport, set up by Maersk and Advanced Industrial Solutions”

Key sector: Science & Healthcare Life Sciences. Bio-medicine. Clinical trials. Environmental Sciences. Sustainability. Professional and Business Services. Manufacturing. One of six designated UK Science Cities as a result of world class research. Investment primed from Newcastle City Council and Newcastle University to create a Knowledge Zone that will provide world class R & D facilities and capabilities for investing businesses. “Newcastle University ranks within the Top 3 for Cancer Research”

Key sector: ICT & Digital Software. Online Gaming. Digital technologies. ICT Services & Support. Advertising, Marketing & Design. Professional and Business Services. The sector has seen continuous growth and the region has seen more new technology start ups than anywhere else outside of London. “There are almost 8,000 people employed in the creative industry in Newcastle and the surrounding region, comprising 1,775 businesses”

A sustainable location

Connectivity Air 10 miles from city centre, daily connections to Asia Pacific via Dubai, extensive European and domestic route network. Rail system directly links the terminal with the city centre. Road A1(M) main arterial route, significant investment planned to improve travel times. Sea Five ports providing passenger and extensive cargo facilities. Rail Efficient rail links to all parts of the UK Metro is 2 nd largest light rail system in the UK. Digital £16m investment for super-connected broadband, including increased wireless networks and promotion of cloud computing. Wide bandwidth capabilities for secure, large data transfers.

Investing in the future Enterprise Zone Neptune Park designated enterprise zone status. Accelerated Development Zone Four key sites covering 80 hectares. Flexible development opportunities. Centre for Offshore Renewable Engineering Government designated zone, 1 of 5 in the UK based on strengths. Recent investment in 325t Hammerhead crane. Campus for Ageing & Vitality £100m investment to create a UK first and cement our world-leading status. Transportation £300m investment in to the light rail, Metro system with a direct connection to Newcastle International Airport. Rail - Central Station redevelopment. £10m road investment for the A1(M).

Science Central Key site in the Accelerated Development Zone. Science Park development of 24 acres. Newcastle city centre location. Science and innovation led. Heavily connected to world class capabilities and facilities of Universities. Investment secured to compete enabling works and make the site development ready. Unique opportunity for investors.

Sites and premises Great selection of property solutions from Grade A office spaces to industrial units, shared work spaces to design and build opportunities. Highly competitive costs. City Centre or an out of town location, value for money remains excellent. Office costs are as much as 50% lower than London / South East and 25% lower than Leeds and Manchester (DTZ.) Power capabilities in the key business districts allow for significant engineering and production. Internationally, of the 89 markets that are tracked by property consultancy DTZ, Newcastle city centre sits 22 nd in terms of cost (lower than 67 other global centres). While the business park costs around Newcastle are less expensive than all but five of the global markets listed. Costs of utilities; suppliers and support services are typically lower than other parts of the country. Domestic housing is also significantly lower with average house prices recorded as 30% lower than the UK average (ONS.)

Main business areas Newcastle Newcastle City Centre Newcastle Business Park Newburn Riverside Park North Bank of the Tyne / Enterprise Zone Great North Park Accelerated Development Zone sites Offering unique opportunities for occupiers and developers looking for bespoke premises:  Science Central  Stephenson Quarter  East Pilgrim Street “The Invest Newcastle inward investment team provide support with detailed property solutions”

Supporting your growth Pro-business environment with innovative approach to supporting investment and growth Advice on the latest funding programmes (grant and loan) Bespoke package of funded training support available to investing companies Advice on the available business support programmes UKTI Trade support to realise international growth opportunities from your UK base On-going support from the local authority to help ensure sustainable growth an optimum productivity “ A sustainable location with significant natural resources”

At your service Invest Newcastle’s inward investment team provides a range of services to potential and existing investors. Our service is bespoke and will be led by client needs but as a guide could include: Provision of research, intelligence and statistics to support the development of your business case A detailed cost analysis Employee recruitment and retention guidance Skills and training advice to support a sustainable and talented workforce Property solutions Access to finance and advice on grants and incentives Marketing & PR support Access to world-leading centre’s of excellence, cluster groups and business development networks Relocation advice, presentations and tours A single point of contact to help you establish and then grow your business (0)