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The South East has a Gross Value Added (GVA) of £158 billion (approx $290 billion / €230 billion). This is similar to that of Norway and Austria. |
With a population of eight million and a workforce of 4.2 million, the South East is the largest region in the UK. |
Approximately 287,200 VAT registered enterprises are present in the South East, more than any other UK region. |
The South East is the largest exporter in the UK, with £29 billion (approx $52 billion / €41 billion) of goods moved in 2004. |
The labour force is highly educated with 90% of the working age population holding an academic qualification and over one third of the workforce holding a degree. |
Workers with good language skills are readily available in the region due to the truly international workforce of 585,000 people who were born outside of the UK. |
Around nine working days a year are lost per employee due to sickness, the lowest amount for a UK region. |
The region is home to 24 universities and higher education institutes, where nearly 200,000 study. This includes the University of Oxford, one of the most prestigious universities in the world. |
South East universities work very closely with business, with over 2800 research conracts won annually, higher than any other UK region. |
The region's 24 universities and higher education institutes supply over 73,000 graduates per annum. |
£4.66 billion (approx $3.06 billion / €2.43 billion) is spent on R&D annually, nearly one quarter of UK expenditure. |
South East organisations undertaking R&D employ 45,800 people, which is almost 25% of the UK R&D workforce. |
The South East has the highest number of patents granted in the UK. The statistics show that 820 patents, over 20% of the UK total were granted to firms based in the South East in 2004-5. |
There are 6,540 foreign-owned companies in the South East. |
With three international airports, 11 sea ports, 108 motorway junctions, 77 train stations and access to the Channel Tunnel, the South East has one of the most extensive transport infrastructures in Europe. |
Heathrow, the world's busiest international passenger airport, is home to over 90 airlines serving approximately 186 destinations. It handles over 67 million passengers and 1.3 million tonnes of freight each year. |
It takes 35 minutes to travel through the Channel Tunnel between the UK and mainland Europe. Most major towns in the South East are connected by rail to central London with a journey time of under an hour. |
Almost one third of the land in the South East (637,000 hectares) is designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), more than any other UK region. |
In 2004-5, the South East had the second lowest crime rate in England with 8,983 reported crimes per 100,000 people. |
94% of the South East population is in good or fairly good health, which is higher than any other UK region. |
Eurostar has set a record for the quickest train journey between Paris and London of just 2 hours, 3 minutes and 39 seconds, meaning a typical journey will take just over 2 hours when the line opens in November 2007. |
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| Pfizer signs deal to secure South East chemistry services |
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2 March 2010
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One of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies has announced plans to develop laboratories in the South East as it looks to capitalise on the region's pre-eminent status in the field of biotechnology.
Pfizer, which is headquartered in the US and has operations across the world, has revealed that it has entered into an agreement with research services company Peakdale Molecular, which runs sites in Derbyshire and the South East.
Under the terms of the agreement, Peakdale will supply custom synthetic chemistry services to Pfizer at its laboratory site in Kent.
The Sandwich site will host a team of more than 50 synthetic chemists, offering on-site chemistry services for Pfizer as well as providing a resource for other companies in the region looking to exploit the highly-skilled and well-equipped facility.
Dr Tony Wood, Vice President of Pfizer World-Wide Medicinal Chemistry, commented: "Synthetic organic chemistry sits at the centre of drug discovery.
"This collaboration will allow Pfizer to continue to develop a strong community of experienced synthetic chemists within its facilities and enhance the overall culture of synthetic chemistry at the Sandwich site."
Ray Fisher, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Peakdale Molecular, said the partnership represented a "great opportunity" to establish the site as an efficient and responsive service centre.
"We are extremely pleased that Pfizer has chosen us to promote this new initiative and see this model as one way to bring the entrepreneurial spirit of smaller companies to synergise with the expertise and know-how of an established world leader," he added.
Peakdale says the move heralds the emergence of the location as an "innovation hub", with the Sandwich site building on the South East's burgeoning reputation in the life sciences and bio-chemistry fields.
As well as drawing on the academic expertise of the University of Oxford, whose Department of Biochemistry is one of the largest in Europe, the South East boasts a number of other world-class higher learning centres.
The University of Sussex includes four Life Sciences departments, as well as centres for Neuroscience, Biomolecular Design and Drug Development, while the Universities of Brighton, Kent, Reading and Surrey all host internationally-recognised Life Science and Healthcare research projects.
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