Business in Berkshire report: Reading focus

Thames Valley Berkshire LEP has published the second edition of its Business in Berkshire Report.  The Report is a comprehensive evidence base for Berkshire-based business support organisations and those with an interest in the local economy. It brings together a wide range of information, including: Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), high growth firms, relocations, deals and Research & Development.

Reading’s performance

For the purposes of this report, Reading is defined as the borough of Reading rather than the greater Reading Economic Area. Within the borough of Reading:-

• There are 6880 registered businesses
• Business births grew by 4% (2010-18)
• There were 75 EU owned businesses in Reading, employing 3% of all employees in Reading
• There were 85 rest-of-the-world owned businesses in Reading, employing 23% of all employees in Reading
• Examples of employment numbers of major employers include Oracle (2000), Verizon (1250), Huawei (700), SSE (2000), University of Reading (3500)
• Foreign Direct Investment projects in Reading 2017/18 – 30
• 64 businesses listed as high growth/high growth potential – the highest concentration of high growth businesses in Berkshire, including:-Pulsant, Bullitt, DO, Gritit, FF, Huntswood, Expendi, Redstor, Ereto, WSH, Rocsearch, Sandbag and PrettyGreen

More information on the report