Creating the environment for a thriving economy

Runnymede is a prosperous borough and an important centre for business within the South East of England. The borough`s locational advantages and excellent connectivity, combined with its skills base and high-quality environment, makes it an attractive location to do business. Offering quick access to Heathrow Airport as well as Central London, it is home to many national and international businesses.

Despite the tough national economic climate, Runnymede’s local economy continues to outperform the national picture on numerous economic indicators. 2023 saw the borough retain its rank as the most competitive local authority district in the UK outside of London. Like the wider region, however, the challenges posed by the ongoing cost-of-living crisis are beginning to impact the local economy. For example, the borough recorded a 2.0% decrease in the number of active businesses year-on-year in 2022, the first fall since 2019. In spite of this, Runnymede’s economy continues to punch above its weight, maintaining its position as the local authority with the seventh highest GDP per capita in the United Kingdom, attributable to the high proportion of national and international headquarters located within the borough. This remains the highest figure for anywhere in the country outside of London.

Of all 363 lower-tier authority areas across Great Britain, Runnymede has the 12th highest share of information and communication employment and the 15th highest share of arts, entertainment, and recreation employment nationally, making these key industries in the Borough. In relation to the former, the borough is home to the UK and European headquarters of a number of world-renowned technology companies that are at the forefront of innovation including Samsung, Toshiba, Gartner, and VMWare.

In relation to the latter, significant growth within the creative technologies field has been witnessed in Runnymede in recent years. Royal Holloway, University of London has invested substantially into their StoryFutures hub, which is the UK’s national centre for immersive technology. Moreover, Netflix committed to a long-term investment in Longcross Studios in the borough in 2021, which is supporting a major expansion in media production in Runnymede.