SPOTLIGHT FOCUS - WATFORD
Spotlight on Watford and insights
from companies based in the borough
Watford is a welcoming place for businesses to invest, grow and succeed.
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atford is a fantastic place where businesses are welcomed and supported to invest, grow and succeed. It is incredibly well connected to the rest of the country by road, rail, bus and London Underground – Watford businesses can reach over half the UK economy within one hour. Today, it is home to UK and regional headquarters of UK industry leaders including: KPMG, Wickes, JD Wetherspoon, Majestic Wine and Camelot and global businesses such as TJX Europe, Beko, HCL, Hilton, Ralph Lauren and Costco. •
It has 2.3 per cent medium and large businesses (higher than the Hertfordshire average) and a £5.4 billion economy (ONS, 2019).
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42,736 GVA per head (2019) – in the top 10 per cent in the UK.
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It is the number one commuter location to London (Zoopla, 2020).
Over the next 10 to 15 years, more than £1.5 billion worth of investment will be leveraged by Watford Borough Council as part of an ambitious plan, which will create thousands of new homes and jobs.
Town Hall Quarter The Town Hall Quarter programme will transform the area around the Town Hall, with a revitalised cultural and heritage offer along with new homes, employment and public space. It includes an innovative overhaul of the Grade II listed Town Hall and the town’s premium venue, Watford Colosseum – which reopens next year under the management of world-renowned AEG Presents.
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Riverwell The council’s long-term regeneration programme, Watford Riverwell (located near Watford General Hospital), has made significant progress, with new affordable and private homes built and more underway. The ambition to support West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust’s plans for a new hospital on the existing site are also coming to fruition.
Watford and Croxley Business Parks The council’s £20 million cutting-edge redevelopment project (which includes a £5 million grant from Hertfordshire LEP) to transform Watford Business Park is underway. The 30-hectare site is one of the borough’s key employment hubs, with over 100 businesses employing 1,200 people. There will be 14 new commercial units with associated parking and landscaping, as well as a new access route into the site delivered.
Pioneering greener ways to travel In 2020, the council launched Beryl Bikes, the first bike-share scheme in Hertfordshire. Over 308,000 journeys covering over 900,000 kilometres have been taken on the 200 pedal and 100 electric bikes accessed from 59 bays across the town. The council is also continuing to roll out low-cost EV chargers across the borough and will launch the town’s first car club this summer.
Fully-funded SME support programmes The council is launching two new fully-funded SME support programmes which are funded through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.The first is a two-year programme aimed at helping SMEs measure and reduce carbon emissions which will be delivered with local social enterprise organisation Wenta (email info@wenta.co.uk).
The second is a supplier development programme aiming to help local businesses master the art of bidwriting, and to submit bids to council procurement, construction and infrastructure projects, as well as large private sector buyers and suppliers. Businesses can join the programme, which is being delivered with partner Branduin Business Support by completing the Bid Skills Assessment at www.fittobid.co.uk/watford.
Watford is an “outstanding” location for businesses With strengths in financial, professional and business services, pharmaceutical and life sciences, creative, digital and IT, and as a centre for corporate headquarters and functions, Watford offers a great combination of factors that make it an ideal business and investment location. Along with its brilliant transport connections, it has a qualified and skilled local workforce. It provides a quality commercial property offer, strong business networks and has a great track record as the business location of choice. The 2023 UK Vitality Index ranked Watford third out of the UK’s 100 largest urban areas, marking it outas an outstanding place to live and do business. The annual health assessment of the UK’s largest towns and cities outside London, (by Lambert Smith Hampton), highlighted that, “Watford is the only location to achieve a Top 10 placement in all three [assessment] pillars”, one of which is Economy and Business. Watford is home to a young, diverse and growing population who enjoy excellent employment opportunities, access to great schools, leisure activities and award-winning green spaces, including three of the nation’s favourite parks – Cassiobury, Oxhey Park and Oxhey Activity Park. From a thriving town centre ranked in the top 20 (CACI’s) for its shopping, nightclubs and restaurants to a great football team and theatres, there is something for everyone.