Mickledore report the following key facts in respect of Warrington:

– Warrington offers investors access to a huge workforce. There are 2.5m people of working age within a 30-minute drive of Warrington. This is the largest catchment area for any town outside the M25.

– Gaining an experienced and senior workforce is important to any investor. There are over 700,000 working age people experienced in working in senior, management or professional roles living within a 30-minute commute of Warrington.

– Warrington has a thriving economy and the Warrington catchment area has an unemployment rate significantly better than the regional average  nevertheless, with 28,500 additional people made redundant in the catchment area in the last two years there is an opportunity for employers to draw on experienced staff.

– Despite the strong labour market, Warrington is not an expensive location to hire staff. Wage rates for workers in the Warrington are in line with the UK average. The result is that Warrington offers a significant discount over locations in the South East of England.

– The Warrington catchment area can provide an employer with the skills required and with a greater proportion of staff holding NVQ3 skills or above (A level or better) than the UK average, there are tremendous opportunities for employers to recruit a highly skilled workforce. School results for the area also outstrip the national average.

– The area has access to a large number of Higher Education institutions both for graduate recruitment and collaborative research projects. Between Liverpool and Manchester there are approximately 160,000 higher education students – 14,500 of these are based at the University of Chester which has a campus in the town.

– The catchment area of Warrington represents a broad variety of sectors. Financial and business services employ large numbers of people but the area also out-performs the UK in levels of employment based in higher value manufacturing activities. Warrington also has a long established reputation as a centre for the nuclear industry and as a logistics centre.

– Cheshire and Warrington has been recognised by international investors in software, business services, pharmaceuticals, chemicals and automotive assembly with a relatively high proportion of inward investment being undertaken in these sectors.

– The strength of the location as a highly effective base for investment is underpinned by transport connectivity. The Warrington are just 2 hours from London and virtually every UK city and several European cities can be visited on business with a return on the same day.

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