East of England

The East of England

There is broad consensus across the political spectrum to increase total investment in UK research and development. With its universities, science and technology parks, business incubators and accelerators, this is a region that is developing at high-speed, cementing it as one of the foremost areas to start, grow and develop businesses in life science, technology, bio-tech, agri-tech and plant science.

Essex

Essex is a magnet for the IT, creative, media and other technologically innovative industries which are now key to its economy. Expertise in cutting edge areas such as artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality, machine learning, data analytics, the Internet of Things, robotics and drone technology is placing the county at the leading edge of the information revolution.

Colchester

Described as the best-connected city in the East of England, Colchester is rapidly becoming a strategic location for the tech economy with aspirations to become the next “Tech City” in the UK.

Today, Colchester has many of the ingredients fundamental to a successful tech cluster: a strong University majoring in computer science, data analytics, artificial intelligence, business leadership and incubation facilities for start-ups and a burgeoning creative sector.

With multi-million investment already in place and more planned through Colchester’s Digital Strategy, there is a real ambition to improve infrastructure and increase investment taking place to secure added-value employment.

Colchester has a number of key areas for growth.

These include:

• Creative and digital
• Construction
• Financial and professional business support services
• Advanced manufacturing
• Health and care
• Logistics
• Alternative energy
• Retail
• Tourism

Named one of the top places to live in the UK in 2021* and with an average family home costing between £350,00 and £650,000, Colchester offers good value in the housing market and is a strong investment area. Ranked highly for quality of life, nature and architectural beauty Colchester also boasts an outstanding collection of schools and educational establishments to support the City’s young people to learn and develop.

Boasting a real kindness and community mindedness amongst residents there is a genuine desire to make the most of Colchester’s unique assets and to look after the people who live here. Cultural attractions are amongst the finest within the UK with arts, heritage, theatre and performance venues, including the award-winning Firstsite, that provide fantastic entertainment and enrichment for residents plus visitors from further afield.

With plenty of green space including popular parks and country and coastline walks as well as Colchester Zoo there is plenty of open space to enjoy. With the popular Culver Square and Lion Walk shopping centres as well as independent shops the retail experience is everything you would expect from an up and coming city and Colchester is also a city of fantastic food, provided by a range of pubs, cafés, restaurants (including Michelin-starred) and bars.

Colchester is now ranked in the list of the top five places outside London to start a business in** and attracts a significant number of workers from outside the City and is an employment hub for North Essex and South Suffolk. With the opening of Crossrail journey times to central London will shorten, making Colchester a tempting location for London tech companies as they look for affordable grow-on space.

* Garrington Property Finders UK. **Research by Tide.co

Named one of the top places to live in the UK in 2021* and with an average family home costing between £350,00 and £650,000, Colchester offers good value in the housing market and is a strong investment area. Ranked highly for quality of life, nature and architectural beauty Colchester also boasts an outstanding collection of schools and educational establishments to support the City’s young people to learn and develop.

Boasting a real kindness and community mindedness amongst residents there is a genuine desire to make the most of Colchester’s unique assets and to look after the people who live here. Cultural attractions are amongst the finest within the UK with arts, heritage, theatre and performance venues, including the award-winning Firstsite, that provide fantastic entertainment and enrichment for residents plus visitors from further afield.

With plenty of green space including popular parks and country and coastline walks as well as Colchester Zoo there is plenty of open space to enjoy. With the popular Culver Square and Lion Walk shopping centres as well as independent shops the retail experience is everything you would expect from an up and coming city and Colchester is also a city of fantastic food, provided by a range of pubs, cafés, restaurants (including Michelin-starred) and bars.

Colchester is now ranked in the list of the top five places outside London to start a business in** and attracts a significant number of workers from outside the City and is an employment hub for North Essex and South Suffolk. With the opening of Crossrail journey times to central London will shorten, making Colchester a tempting location for London tech companies as they look for affordable grow-on space.

* Garrington Property Finders UK. **Research by Tide.co