It was announced this week (9 November) that Southampton has been rated the sixth top spot to live and work in the UK, beating off competition from the likes of Cardiff, Brighton and Manchester.
We love doing business in Southampton and agree it deserves all the praise it's given. We benefit from its fantastic location - less than an hour and a half from the capital with two local airports, yet surrounded by beautiful countryside and coastline. We have over 50 parks and green open spaces. Two universities, one of which is world leading, fill our vibrant city with up and coming talent.
Carswell Gould is proud to be here in Southampton to help local and regional businesses grow, do better business, and to be involved in sectors, such as marine, which are vital not only to our local economy but to the national economy as well. We are leading the digital agenda in the South and making a significant contribution to the wider community.
A quick look around us reveals many businesses, including ourselves, that are committed to the improvement of the city, investing in both our infrastructure and our people.
ABP Southampton is the UK's number one vehicle handling port, Europe's leading turnaround cruise port and the UK's most productive container port. A series of investments, including more than £150million in the past two years alone, saw the port win the prestigious Port of the Year at the National Transport Awards this year. The port not only drives a large proportion of our economy, it is also our gateway to the world, seeing a projected 1.8 million tourists pass through the cruise terminals and Southampton this year.
Driving the education agenda is the key to providing the port and other industries with highly skilled workers and apprentices. City College Southampton has been educating the young people of Southampton for over 57 years. The college recognises the very important role of work-based education as well as running acclaimed performing arts, construction, culinary and beauty therapy courses among others. Its Marine Skills Centre in Woolston is also recognised as an industry-leading institution that teaches cutting-edge marine engineering skills.
Southampton is also a perfect hub for regional offices of global and national businesses. Old Mutual Wealth, Ordnance Survey, Grant Thornton, PwC and Carnival all have chosen Southampton as base for their national branches. With easy access to the M3 and M27, a major train station and an international airport, these regional branches are some of the best connected in the country.
The ranking not only considers Southampton as a successful business hub, but as an enjoyable and pleasurable place to live. The two fantastic theatres host both West End productions and smaller shows. The O2 Guildhall attracts the biggest names in music and there are plenty of other live venues dotted around the city, including cabaret theatre The Stage Door.
Ed Gould, creative director at Carswell Gould, said:
"We are so proud to have done business in Southampton for over 20 years and see nothing but positives for the future of our city. We believe our location is a great advantage to working with us as Southampton is a thriving economy with brilliant transport links - the world is at our fingertips.
"The figures show that Southampton is well placed to deliver financial growth in the coming years and we champion the city as a place to invest in. We wouldn't want to be based anywhere else."
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