Exeter: a better climate for business

What can Exeter and the heart of Devon offer a relocating company? Everything you would expect from an economy that is one of the fastest growing in the UK;

• Overall, a very successful economy with credible forecasts for continued growth;
• A fast growing leading University with a national and international reputation for ground-breaking research;
• Real bottom line financial benefits based on comparative labour, property related and operational costs;
• Good access by rail, road and air;
• A loyal, flexible and highly qualified workforce;
• Proven advantages for recruitment and retention;
• Highest level of IT communications capacity and capability;
• Successful and effective working partnerships between local private and public sectors;
• An excellent quality of life.

What is Exeter?
Exeter is a cathedral city with a population of 120,000. It is a thriving regional centre which is acknowledged to be one of the most profitable locations for business in the country. It is also a popular short break destination with over one million visitors each year. The city is at the heart of a wider economic region of over 450,000 people and 18,000 businesses with 175,000 employees. Exeter and its neighbours have a combined economic strategy to maintain and enhance the competitive position of the wider area. If you are considering relocation, there are varied and real opportunities to accommodate your needs.

Major developments
Plans for the £120m Science Park to provide 68,000sq m of accommodation are well advanced. This high profile strategic employment site will have interest to those companies seeking support for innovation and incubation. There will be particular benefits for those at the forefront of technological and scientific research who are looking for that vital link with an internationally-renowned university. Plans for Sky Park – an extensive business and industrial park, close to the M5 – are well advanced as are those for a freight terminal close to Exeter’s rapidly expanding International Airport. Education in Exeter has seen huge investment. Both Exeter College and the University of Exeter have new modern buildings. These create the best possible environment for leading research as well as educational and business-related activities. The university will be investing a further £270m over the next three years. The 530,000sq ft, predominately retail, city centre redevelopment of Princesshay was completed in September 2007. This has won a number of national and international awards for design.

Exeter has an enviable reputation for academic, scientific and technical expertise
University of Exeter One of the Top 10 Universities short-listed for University of the Year three times in the last ten years and awarded University of the Year in 2008. The University is a driving force for leading edge research. Nearly 90 percent of Exeter’s research is rated as being at internationally recognised levels. Every subject was assessed as including world-leading (4*) research.

The university is funding a variety of cutting edge work in subjects ranging from renewable energy and climate change to functional materials to genomics and translational medicine. It also offers product development facilities to companies through Exeter Advanced Technologies. It has significantly expanded its Innovation Centre which provides space for small high technology companies. Investment in new research has attracted world-class scholars to Exeter. A growing number of professional staff in the City are Fellows of the British Academy of the Royal Society.

Great Western Research Exeter is leading a groundbreaking £14m research partnership of South West universities which is boosting research in areas of economic importance to the region. Great Western Research is funding 20 Research Fellowships and 130 PhD studentships. It is also establishing a South West Postgraduate Training Network. Researchers are undertaking projects in materials research, nanotechnology, sustainability, cognitive neuroscience and economic psychology.

Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry The award-winning Peninsula College of Medicine (the result of a partnership between the Universities of Exeter and Plymouth and the NHS within Devon and Cornwall) has had considerable successes in the last five years. Its reputation for innovative teaching and excellence in research now attracts global interest. Major themes are diabetes, obesity and vascular disease, and associated ageing phenomena, utilising genetic epidemiology and sophisticated phenotyping expertise, and mental health.

The Met Office As an international meteorological service, the Met Office plays a major role within the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) and other intergovernmental organisations. The Met Office is involved in many areas of research and development in the fields of atmospheric and oceanic sciences and observations.

The growing global population, poverty, access to fresh water, and food production are inextricably linked to climate change and to weather and climate-related natural disasters. Having the Met Office based in
Exeter has inevitably added another very notable dimension. This world-class organisation is actively looking to use its specialist knowledge base and its considerable computing power in new business partnerships.

Where is Exeter?
Exeter is centrally located in the South West of England and very accessible. By train London is just over two hours away and Bristol is only one hour away. The M5 motorway can be accessed from three junctions on different edges of the city. Exeter’s International Airport has experienced rapid expansion. Known as ‘the city in the country’, Exeter is close to many areas of outstanding natural beauty with Dartmoor, Exmoor, many river valleys, market towns, villages and superb coastline within easy reach.


For more information:
Contact the Economic Development team at Exeter City Council on +44 (0) 1392 265134. Please also visit: exeter.gov.uk/relocate