Surrey Economic Prospects – December 2017
Headlines
- New economic growth figures from the ONS show that Surrey’s economy is now worth over £40 billion
- Coplan has been selected as the development partner for Woking Gateway
- Surrey County Council has chosen Places for People as the partner for its £1.5 billion property joint venture
- Detailed planning consent has been secured for the first phase of 150,000 sq. ft. of headquarters offices at Longcross Park in Chertsey.
Data and analysis – economic growth
Economic growth (Gross Value Added)
The latest Gross Value Added (GVA) statistics were published in December 2017. Figures for previous years have also been revised by the Office for National Statistics. Key points from the data release are highlighted below.
Overview
- Surrey GVA (2016): £40,085 million
- 2015’s GVA figure (£39,133 million) has been revised up slightly to £39,184 million
- Between 2015 and 2016 Surrey’s GVA increased by 2.29%
- Surrey’s economy remains large relative to economic comparators and is larger than Manchester (£17,896 million) and Liverpool (£11,160 million) combined.
- East and West Surrey
The ONS splits Surrey into East and West. These areas correspond to the boroughs and districts in each LEP area
West Surrey GVA (2016) £27,973 million, a 3.0% increase on the previous year
East Surrey GVA (2016) £12,112 million, a 0.8% increase on the previous year. - Comparators
South East: £257,307 million, an increase of 2.5%
Berkshire: £35,942 million, an increase of 3.2%
Surrey, East and West Sussex (including Brighton and Hove) combined has a GVA of just over £79,886 million, an increase of 2.1% on the previous year
The largest GVA increases in the South East were in Milton Keynes (8.0%), Mid Kent (5.0%), Portsmouth (3.3%) and Oxfordshire (3.3%)
The lowest increases in the South East were in North Hampshire (-0.5%), West Kent (0.6%) and East Surrey (0.8%). - GVA per head of population
In West Surrey: £35,935, an increase of 2.3%.
East Surrey: £30,422, no change from the previous year.
In Berkshire: £40,077, an increase of 2.5%.Business intelligence
Coplan has been selected by Woking Borough Council as the development partner for Woking Gateway,which will see three new towers appear in the town centre. The indicative submission from Coplan is for a development comprising 476 residential units in three towers. This will sit above 47,500, sq ft of new commercial space.
Surrey County Council has chosen housing association Places for People as the partner for its £1.5 billion property joint venture. The venture is intended to deliver up to 10,000 homes on publicly owned
sites in Surrey and East Sussex, which worked together on the procurement through their Orbis
partnership. Places for People, which manages more than 189,000 homes, was shortlisted in April
this year alongside four house builders.
Detailed planning consent has been secured for the first phase of 150,000 sq ft of headquarters offices at
the gateway to Crest Nicholson and Aviva Investors’ Longcross Park development in Chertsey. Two fourstorey grade A offices of 100,000 sq ft and 50,000 sq ft are planned, with the buildings being marketing on a pre-let basis. Planning permission was also granted for the 13,500 sq ft Discovery Building, with construction due to start in 2018. The Discovery Building will offer a mix of uses including a delicatessen, bakery and coffee shop in addition to flexible office accommodation. Longcross Park is one of the three sites that comprise EZ3 – The London & South Innovation Valley – enterprise zone.
Highways England have planned a £175 million upgrade on the M25 which will include a redesign on the Wisley interchange, between the M25 and the A3. The redesign includes creating more link roads, a new enlarged junction roundabout and widening of the A3.
McKay Securities has let the majority of the first floor of Prospero, its 50,370 sq ft office development in
Redhill, to sustainability specialist NUS Consulting Group (NUS). NUS has committed to a 15-year lease
on 8,546 sq ft. The energy management and sustainability consultant employs more than 350 workers in
19 offices around the globe. It is relocating its UK headquarters from its existing premises in Redhill.
Travelodge has confirmed plans to open up to nine hotels in Surrey over the next few years with sites in
Guildford, Reigate, Epsom, Farnham, Molesey, Godalming, Walton and the Weybridge/ Byfleet area
highlighted. Up to 200 jobs could be created. In December Travelodge opened a new hotel in Redhill.
LaSalle Investment Management has secured US-backed mortgage provider Belmont Green Finance Ltd
for the second floor of its Strata development in Staines upon Thames. Belmont Green has taken
approximately 18,700 sq ft.
PwC has joined forces with Godalming-based Ramsac, a leading IT support company, to improve its
digital service offering to small and medium sized enterprises. The collaboration was announced at the
Vistage Executive Summit London, on 1st December 2017. PwC and Ramsac’s alliance aims to help SMEs
stay ahead in digital era by providing them with best in class tools. The venture combines Ramsac’s firsthand experience of being a small business with PwC’s global network and expertise.
The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has confirmed it is closing 62 RBS branches and 197 NatWest outlets in the UK, including several across Surrey. Branches in Guildford, Cobham, Horley, Reigate, Cranleigh, Haslemere and West Byfleet will all close in 2018.
West Molesey-based Domus, a supplier of hard surfaces to the construction sector has been acquired by
listed flooring company Headlam Group in a deal worth more than £35 million. Domus supplies premium
ceramic tiles and engineered flooring such as wood, vinyl tiles and laminate.
New figures show that Surrey was joint top of the recycling league table in 2016-17. The data from Defra
shows that both Surrey and Oxfordshire recycled 57.7% of household waste, the highest recycling rate of
the 32 two-tier authorities in England. Surrey has also seen a reduction in the amount of waste
generated. This means Surrey has met its waste per household target for 2020 well ahead of schedule,
with a drop from 451.6kg to 439kg per person. The target is part of the Surrey Waste Partnership’s joint
strategy for reducing waste and increasing recycling in the county.
Half-year sales have passed the £120 million mark at Photo-Me International, the listed photobooth
operator headquartered in Bagshot. The company said that while remaining mindful of the
macroeconomic environment, foreign exchange movements and consumer sentiment, it remains
confident about its prospects. Photo-Me International operates more than 47,300 vending units across
18 countries. For the six months to 31 October 2017, Photo-Me reported revenue of £122 million
compared to £110.6 million during the same period the year before. Pre-tax profits increased to £32.9
million.
Plans by a car retail giant to establish an aftersales operation on Guildford’s Opus Park have been
approved by Guildford Borough Council. Inchcape Estates Ltd applied to change the use of unit 1A and
1B Opus Park in July 2017. Under the plans, the space would be used for automotive aftersales, servicing
and MOT testing.
Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL), based in Guildford, celebrated the twin achievements of a
successful lift-off of 4 Galileo satellites from French Guiana in December, and the start of production of a
third batch of navigation payloads for the Galileo Constellation. The new contract, signed with long-term
partner OHB System AG, is for another 12 navigation payloads – adding to the 18 payloads already inorbit
and completing the constellation. In other news, SSTL has shipped the RemoveDEBRIS spacecraft to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida for launch to the International Space Station. RemoveDEBRIS is an Active Debris Removal demonstration mission led by the Surrey Space Centre at the University of Surrey and co-funded by the European Commission and partners.
Ascot Brewing Company, a Camberley-based brewery whose products are sold by Waitrose and
Wetherspoons is pitching to raise funds to expand, with almost a third of its £200,000 secured. The
company was founded in 2007 to focus on the cask ale and local pub trade and was acquired by its
current bosses earlier this year.
The Utilise Plus programme of energy efficiency grants and business support for SMEs has gone live
across the C2C LEP area. The current grant funding round runs from Jan – March 2018, with grant
applications to be submitted by Jan 15th for projects that can be completed and paid for by March 23rd.
For more information see http://sustainablebusiness.org.uk/utilise-plus-programme/
National news
Industrial Strategy: The Government has published a white paper on their long-term plans to boost
productivity and earning power throughout the UK, including detail about approaches to support
innovation, skills and employment, infrastructure and the business environment. Key elements for Surrey
include the development of Local Industrial Strategies and updates on Local Enterprise Partnerships.
The weakening of the pound proved a boon for London tourism last year as the city rose to the top of
Europe’s tourism charts. London moved to the top spot as the most popular destination for UK and
European travellers in 2017, according to research by online travel company eDreams. The report’s data
indicates a rise in UK ‘staycations’, as London jumped from 4th most popular location among UK
travellers in 2016 to claim the number one spot in 2017.
Gatwick Airport has appointed Bechtel to deliver the airport’s ambitious Pier 6 expansion plan. As part of its current five-year capital investment programme, Gatwick will invest a total of £180 million to more
than double the size of Pier 6 in the North Terminal. Once complete, the project will ensure service levels
and even greater operational efficiency in response to the continued growth of the airport.
Thomas Cook is proposing to shut 50 branches nationwide. A full list of branches is yet to be revealed,
although the firm has said a mix of Thomas Cook and Co-op Travel branded locations would be affected.
If the proposals go ahead, 50 stores in locations where declining footfall has hit profits will be shut.
Mark Pearson
Director of Business Growth
Surrey County Council
mark.pearson@surreycc.gov.uk
01483 685230
www.investinsurrey.co.uk
www.surreycc.gov.uk/business-and-consumers
Twitter @investinsurrey
LinkedIn Group – Invest in Surrey