You’ve heard this one before haven’t you? A UK regional location promoting itself to expanding businesses with a bold claim – in this case, ‘Britain’s Best Industrial Base.’ The project in question is the £30 million South Humber Industrial Investment Programme. The location: the South Humber port towns of Grimsby and Immingham.

You may also hold some negative perceptions about this place. As with many industry hubs in northern England, the last few years haven’t always been plain sailing.

When the South Humber team commissioned research to identify the area’s offer to investing businesses, we already knew it was better than people thought. In spite of those negative perceptions, the area had been developing rapidly as a major offshore renewables industry hub – ready to serve the world’s largest offshore wind farms. It was also home to the UK’s outstanding food industry cluster, and at the heart of the country’s biggest ports complex – providing businesses with global freight connectivity.

More information about South Humber can be found at www.southhumber.co.uk

We hadn’t previously known that our skilled labour profile compared favourably with the UK’s top advanced manufacturing locations – a positive by-product of our offshore, manufacturing and process industries heritage. And our interviews with local industry leaders showed how those technical skills are possessed by unusually resilient and motivated people – partly a consequence of working in tough, offshore environments. On top of all that, our research highlighted the South Humber cost advantage – significant labour and property cost savings versus key UK competitor locations.

So, the strapline Britain’s Best Industrial Base isn’t a baseless boast – we’re not inclined to boasting. It’s built on research and solid evidence – that South Humber’s combination of added value (skills, connectivity, supply chains…) and low costs makes it a match for the UK’s best industrial business locations.

Over the coming months and beyond, we’ll be sharing our insights, data and news – and those of our industry partners – revealing just how much South Humber has to offer to industrial businesses and the people who work for them. You can also get the key facts and statistics right now – by downloading our in-depth Location Data Guide from the home page.

We’re therefore pleased to invite you to follow South Humber – Britain’s Best Industrial Base. We look forward to revealing a thriving businesses location that we think will impress you, and possibly surprise you too!

The South Humber Team