Buckinghamshire’s hardworking, collaborative business community has often acted as the most welcoming of welcome committees for businesses moving to the area. There must be something in the fresh air of the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty that blankets a large part of the county. Or perhaps it’s because our entrepreneurs know that successful local businesses beget more successful local businesses.

Whatever the reason, the pages of Buckinghamshire’s history are full of business success stories, including many who have moved to the county from afar in the hope of rejuvenation. These businesses did their homework before moving and would have found ample reason to make the move to the place known as the ‘Entrepreneurial Heart of Britain’, located in England’s Economic Heartland.

Why Buckinghamshire? Here's why:

We are often approached at Buckinghamshire Business First by companies seeking relocation from other parts of the UK or abroad and, in collaboration with our partners, can provide all the support necessary to help them make the move.

We find that many business owners choose to be located in Buckinghamshire because of the strong, enterprising talent pool and highly skilled workforce here. Nearly half of all working age residents in the county have achieved a university degree or equivalent qualification, with 1,500 graduates leaving Buckinghamshire’s two universities every year ready to work. Buckinghamshire’s employers also regularly report the lowest skills shortages in the country, with 83% of employers reporting no shortages at all in the 2015 Employer Skills Survey.

As well as this, there are first class export links provided by the M40 and the M4 corridor, and our proximity to five major international airports, the closest being Heathrow. This is one of the main reasons why roughly 700 foreign companies choose to have their European headquarters in Buckinghamshire.

The elusive work/life balance feels closer to realisation here than most places as it is not only a place that people enjoy living in, it is a place in which people can build a life. This is thanks to the aforementioned beautiful Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the strongest schools’ performance of any region in Britain, the outstanding sporting and leisure opportunities encapsulated by the picturesque Dorney Lake by the River Thames, and the proximity to London and the Midlands via excellent transport links.

Yet it is the entrepreneurial outlook of its people and outstanding local support for business that puts Buckinghamshire on the map as a preferred destination for many companies. The growing reputation of an environment conducive to rewarding ingenuity, ambition and dedication has proven attractive to many.

Indeed, with high performance engineering centred on Silverstone, assistive technologies associated with the spinal injuries specialisation of Stoke Mandeville Hospital, the creative industries clustering around Pinewood Studios, and the Aylesbury Vale Enterprise Zone that supports the growth and development of local enterprise, Buckinghamshire is full of creativity and hard work.

Buckinghamshire means business

This positive attitude delivers practical results. Nearly half of businesses formed in Buckinghamshire in 2010 are still trading, the third highest rate in the country – and that’s with a start-up rate 25% higher than the national average. With fertile ground like this it’s no wonder a £15 billion economy has developed.

On this evidence you will not find a better place to do business in the UK. Such an outcome doesn’t happen by mistake, it is the passion of all of those in Buckinghamshire that ensures any new business and its employees feel right at home.