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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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| Aerospace & Defence |
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16 March 2007
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Sector Overview
 The UK’s aerospace and defence industry is the largest in Europe with more than 20% market share. It is worth over £27 billion in 2004 and is forecast to grow to over £32 billion by 2009 (an increase of more than 18%).
The South East employs 93,000 workers in the industry. A large proportion of these jobs in the sector are involved with research and development.
Eight of the top ten US aerospace and defence prime companies are located in the region. UK or European HQs based here include Boeing, GKN, Thales, Virgin Atlantic and BAE systems.
The critical role the South East plays in this industry is well established. Since the UK’s very first sustained powered flight in 1908 from Farnborough in Hampshire, the South East has built up the capacity for developing aviation and defence technology. The region is home to QinetiQ, Europe's largest science and technology solutions company and 25% of aerospace and defence companies based in the region carry out Research and Development (R&D).
International companies are attracted by the critical mass of a wide range of aerospace and defence industry sub-sectors, including:
- aerostructures
- defence systems
- unmanned air vehicles
- homeland security
- space
- airport and airline services.
Each subsector is made up of prime contractors, R&D capabilities, and second and third tier component suppliers.
International airports – Heathrow, Gatwick and Southampton – are based in region, as well as Europe’s fastest growing ‘business aircraft’ airport, Farnborough. Together the airports handle nearly 100 million passengers per year.
The region hosts one of the Europe’s largest aviation trade shows, Farnborough International, in alternative years to the Paris Airshow. For more information about the show in 2008 go to www.farnborough.com The UK’s South East has a number of leading companies specialising in a range of technologies, such as biometrics, which are set to play an increasingly significant role in security. Royal Holloway, University of London, is home to the Information Security Group and has an international reputation for excellence in e-security.
Companies in the sector provide revolutionary and cutting edge services to the global aerospace and defence industry. And with such an able work force and extensive and widely respected research and development capabilities, the South East has supported significant advances in aviation and military technology. It leads the way in research and skills through the outstanding universities of Oxford, Southampton and Cranfield.
In-depth Sector Report
The report gives details of the facilities in the region including a list of the large contractors in the region and a description of their facilities; details of the R&D operations in the region, which include university departments in Oxford, Southampton and Cranfield as well as details of the business support available specifically to the aerospace & defence industry.
This report has been prepared by SEEDA's Business Intelligence team using a number of respected research sources.
Datasheets
Related Pages
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