Newport can be overshadowed by nearby towns and cities, such as Cardiff, Bristol and Swindon. However, it’s a great place to do business and this is notably true in recent years. Thanks to several investments: the city is due to experience substantial growth in 2018 and beyond.
There are several reasons to do business in Newport. Firstly, it’s in a prime location as it’s a quick drive and train journey away from Cardiff, Wales’ capital city. It’s located on the ‘M4 corridor’, which connects Newport to many of the UK’s major towns and cities. This helps Newport-based companies do business with other organisations in different parts of the country.
In fact, many businesses have now recognised that Newport is a great place to set up shop. These include finance comparison company, GoCompare; the Tiny Rebel micro-brewery, and of course: the famous Celtic Manor Resort (which has hosted the 2014 NATO summit and 2010 Ryder Cup). Close neighbour, Cardiff, is the home base for Admiral, Confused.com, Western Power Distribution, British Airways Engineering, and Hodge Bank. Admiral even has a Newport office that houses more than 800 members of their staff.
At Rombourne, we offer serviced offices in three Newport-based centres; Excalibur House, Merlin House, and Galahad House. Of late, we’ve invested in the former site of Avana Bakeries in Rogerstone, Newport to provide support to local and national businesses.
The nine-acre site will become the Avana Business Park and it will provide business rentals through its new distribution and manufacturing units. Ideally located near the M4 junction of the motorway, it should create jobs and bring extra business to the city.
Due to the growth seen in the volume of agriculture-related cargo at the Port of Newport, ABP will provide further investment for the creation of a new warehouse. It’s called 21 Shed, and it will help customers of the port by offering an extra 70,000 square feet of covered bulk storage facilities.
There are some great businesses already based in Wales, and the cities of Newport and Cardiff are both ideally located on the M4 corridor, but one of the biggest issues restricting the growth of their smaller businesses is the Severn Bridge tolls. Fortunately, due to the bridges going into public ownership in January, the toll prices were cut for the first time. The tolls will be removed completely by the end of this year (though calls have been made for this to happen sooner).
Nonetheless, the fact that the bridge tolls being scrapped is great news, as it means that businesses based in these Welsh cities can serve both sides of the M4 equally. As it stands, the price for goods vehicles to cross the bridge is £11.20 or £16.70 depending on the size of the vehicle. So, with this additional cost removed, delivering goods to the South West and other areas of the UK will be more cost effective.
Investment has been made to enhance Newport’s retail offering, making it a more attractive place to live and visit. Following 15 years of planning, the £90m Friars Walk shopping centre opened in 2015.
Housing a variety of shops and restaurants, as well as a cinema and a bowling alley, the new complex is said to be responsible for creating around 1,500 jobs in the area (as of 2016). In fact, it has reportedly attracted £120m into the local economy since opening.
This is very positive for the city. With more investments being made to bring businesses to Newport, this is something we can expect to see grow even more in the coming years!
With all that in mind, there are plenty of reasons of do business in Newport. Contact us to find out more about our serviced offices in Newport, our flexible agreements, and first class service offering.
