mean business Chester and Wrexham

Chester and Wrexham set a gold standard for business and enterprise. These two places, in two different countries, are situated on either side of the River Dee. Both boast an array of landmarks and attractions that bring visitors to the area. Set in a landscape of contrasts – the Welsh Hills, the Cheshire Plain – on either side of the border, they are united in their achievements, when it comes to business endeavour and excellence.

Chester is an English city well known around the world for its history and culture, but it offers so much more than simply tourism and leisure. Chester has long been established as a centre for business, with everything from accountancy and law, to finance and retail. It’s also a hive of creative activity, with many long-established firms and start-ups making up its business demographic.

On the outskirts of the city, there’s Chester Business Park, a 175-acre landscaped business environment in the green belt, which is ideally placed for both the city itself and the transport infrastructure. Chester lies at the end of the Cheshire Science Corridor Enterprise Zone, and the business park provides a perfect work environment for Bank of America Merrill Lynch, M&S Bank, MBNA Ltd, Tetrapak, the Regus serviced offices hub and many more companies.

The city and its businesses also have great connections to the Wirral, Merseyside, Lancashire and into North Wales and beyond. As well as the many businesses in the city, there are also the necessary education and training opportunities, for young people to gain business skills and qualifications, at the university and colleges in the region.

This combination of thriving business and attractive opportunities makes Chester a place that people not only live in, but to work in too.

Chester

In 617 AD, a battle took place between the Saxons and the Welsh forces, and Roman Deva officially became known as Chester

By the 11th century, Chester had become a powerful city and bustling port

Chester Roodee has been a racecourse since 1539

A full circuit of the Chester walls is about 3 km or 2 miles

Grosvenor Park was opened in 1867

In the final year of the 19th century, the Eastgate Clock was erected

Chester Zoo opened to the public in the 1930s

Chester University earned its university status in 2005

In 2020 Chester became the first Sustainable Palm Oil City

Across the border is the Welsh town of Wrexham. This place too is steeped in history. Echoes of its industrial past are still everywhere to be seen today, from its industrial estate, to the region’s canal infrastructure – its towpaths and aqueducts more popular with walkers and sightseers than goods freighters these days.

Wrexham Industrial Estate, formerly Wrexham Trading Estate, is 1,359-acre site, which was built on the site of a former munition’s factory. The worldrenowned site, one of the largest in Europe, is home to over 300 businesses, including household names Kellogg’s, JCB and Wockhardt. The estate’s proximity to the aerospace firm Airbus UK also means it’s a popular location for affiliated businesses in the engineering sector.

The town itself it also world-renowned, thanks in part to the recent acquisition of its football team by two Hollywood stars, but also thanks to its place in North Wales as a commercial and creative hub, that hosts everything from business seminars to annual arts and music festivals,

such as FOCUS Wales

Like Chester, its business landscape is also filled with established companies and newer start-ups – including local food producers and entrepreneurs.

Chester and Wrexham both offer a wealth of opportunities to companies of all sectors and sizes. They may be divided by nationality and a border, but together they mean business.

Wrexham

In the late 14th century Wrexham became a small town

In 1391 Wrexham was given the right to hold an annual market and fair

The parish church of St Giles was built in 1492 (and the steeple completed in 1506)

Iron Mad Wilkinson opened opened Bersham Iron Foundry in 1762

By 1841

Wrexham’s population reached 5854

Gresford Colliery opened in 1911 and closed in 1973

The first Wrexham Science Festival was held in 1998

In 2012 the Olympic torch relay visited Wrexham

Hollywood stars bought Wrexham AFC in 2021