Nottingham Post put together a list of the top 200 companies in Nottinghamshire for the first time ever this year and it makes really interesting reading. Between them, the top 200 businesses contribute over £29 billion to the local economy and employ more than 200,000 people (you can read the full list here). We're lucky to be associated with so many local companies and love providing executive property rentals for their staff, we can count quite a few of the 200 as loyal clients of ours.
Top companies: Boots, Capital One, Experian & Ikano Insight
It's no surprise that Boots tops the Post's list with a turnover of £7.7 billion, nearly 41000 staff and 2500 stores throughout the UK. But the company had very humble beginnings. In 1849, local man John Boot set up a small herbal shop and when he died in 1860, his wife and his 10-year-old son, Jesse, took over.
Top companies: Boots, Capital One, Experian & Ikano Insight
It's no surprise that Boots tops the Post's list with a turnover of £7.7 billion, nearly 41000 staff and 2500 stores throughout the UK. But the company had very humble beginnings. In 1849, local man John Boot set up a small herbal shop and when he died in 1860, his wife and his 10-year-old son, Jesse, took over.
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These days Boots' headquarters – 'Boots Estate' – are in Beeston where 6500 staff are based. There are a number of listed buildings within the estate and a herb garden (with some of the same herbs Jesse sold way back when) in the shape of a goose foot, in reference to Jesse's original shop on Goose Gate on the edge of the Lace Market in Nottingham City Centre.
Two other companies that are strongly associated with Nottingham are in the top 10: Capital One and Experian, each of which has a turnover of more than £500 million. Because of the association with Nottingham many people think that Capital One is a local company but it was actually set up in 1994 in the US when Signet Financial Corp split off its existing credit card division, OakStone Financial, and named the new subsidiary Capital One. They set up their UK headquarters in Nottingham in 1997 and the company has been synonymous with the area ever since.
We think of Experian as one of our own too but it's actually a global group with operations in 40 countries around the world. The operational HQ, which employs around 3300 employees, was set up in Nottingham in 1996.
Ikano Insight is also becoming very well known locally and just made it into the top 200 – at 194 – with a turnover of £15.2m. Ikano Insight is one arm of the Ikano Group, originally part of IKEA, the Swedish company famous for flat-packed furniture (founded by Ingvar Kamprad in 1943). In 1988 the business was split up and Ikano became an independent group of companies, still owned by the Kamprad family. Today the Ikano Group owns, develops and manages companies in retail, insurance, financial services and property. Ikano Insight are experts in Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and loyalty marketing.
Keeping it local
Lots of companies are attracted to West Bridgford, where our executive rental properties are, including Côte, which opened a new restaurant on Central Avenue this year creating tens of jobs. Côte is a very successful branch of "casual dining" (delicious but not expensive) with 53 restaurants around the country.
Harald Samúelsson, Joint Managing Director for Côte Restaurants said at the time:
“We are delighted to have found this spot in West Bridgford and to be part of such a vibrant community with a flourishing dining scene. We’ve spent time finding the right site that suits Côte perfectly – one with a premium feel but still very accessible.”
West Bridgford is a really popular area for restaurants thanks to its cosmopolitan feel and the local catchment area, and many companies look at expanding into West Bridgford rather than Nottingham City Centre, just like Côte this year and Carluccio's last year.
We know that it's not just big businesses that are important, small businesses drive growth, and we're proud to be one of those businesses, working in the local area, supporting other companies large and small.
If you're relocating soon and need a short-term executive rental, please pop over here for more info. And, as always, we'd love to hear your comments or questions.
“We are delighted to have found this spot in West Bridgford and to be part of such a vibrant community with a flourishing dining scene. We’ve spent time finding the right site that suits Côte perfectly – one with a premium feel but still very accessible.”
West Bridgford is a really popular area for restaurants thanks to its cosmopolitan feel and the local catchment area, and many companies look at expanding into West Bridgford rather than Nottingham City Centre, just like Côte this year and Carluccio's last year.
We know that it's not just big businesses that are important, small businesses drive growth, and we're proud to be one of those businesses, working in the local area, supporting other companies large and small.
If you're relocating soon and need a short-term executive rental, please pop over here for more info. And, as always, we'd love to hear your comments or questions.
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