Welcome by Cllr Izzi Seccombe, Leader of Warwickshire County Council

Welcome to our regular business news and information update from Warwickshire County Council.

Economic growth is a top priority for us and we have a good track record of supporting businesses who choose to make this area their home. As you will see from our story about MIPIM, we work hard to fly the flag nationally and internationally and UK Trade and Investment figures show we are the most successful area outside London in attracting inward investment.

Of course, we are very fortunate that we can boast renowned international brands such as Jaguar Land Rover, the Royal Shakespeare Company and Aston Martin who work with us to put the area on the map. But we are equally proud of our SMEs who account for over 90% of our local economy and I’d urge you to get on board with the Small Business Saturday campaign featured in this edition.

There are a host of services that the county council offers to businesses, whether you are a large multinational company needing help with infrastructure projects or a small rural enterprise trying to get off the ground.  So please open the Our Services page to make sure your business isn’t missing out.

In Warwickshire we have an exceptional mix of organisations across key sectors. We are leaders, for example, in advanced manufacturing and engineering but not everyone realises the town Leamington Spa, also known as ‘Silicon Spa’, has carved out its place as the UK’s third biggest digital media and gaming cluster which includes Codemasters and SEGA.

We recognise we can only deliver economic growth by working in partnership with a range of organisations and stakeholders in our local area. Our biggest and most important partnership for the economy is with the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership, or LEP, and I am delighted to introduce a guest column in this edition from Jonathan Browning.  A growing and prosperous sub region is good for everyone – businesses and residents alike. It gives us scale and scope to compete and collaborate on a wider stage than we could do alone and it allows us to stand with equal strength alongside our neighbouring areas.

This edition also features our new economics blog the Warwickshire Outlook, which includes positive news about Jobseekers Allowance claimant figures being at their lowest since records began in 1983. 

And finally, if you weren’t able to make the We Mean Business event back in September when the Growth Deal was signed, watch the film to see what happened.