Our Vision
By 2023 Harborough District’s economy will have established a robust reputation as a dynamic, entrepreneurial and attractive place to do business.
Sustainable employment opportunities and district-wide prosperity will be achieved by developing home-grown enterprises and proactively attracting high-value businesses to the area.
Background
Invest in Harborough District guide
Why Harborough District?
Despite a challenging economic climate nationally in recent years, our business community has shown resilience and our high streets remain vibrant; thanks in part to a focussed and joined-up approach.
A general assessment of data for the Harborough economy shows that the headline characteristics and performance of Harborough’s economy is largely positive. Harborough is a rural Leicestershire district with a population of 93,800 and with 6,160 enterprises in the area. It has amongst the highest economic activity rates, lowest unemployment, best skills profile and highest resident average earnings of the LLEP area – all of which are above national averages.
We host a diverse mix of commercial space from headquarter locations for multinational companies right through to incubation space for promising startup companies and SME’s at the Harborough Innovation Centre.
Background
Following on from our successful ‘Open For Business’ strategy, which has helped address some of the challenges experienced in the aftermath of the financial crises in 2008, we are now publishing a new Economic Development Strategy to build upon the foundations laid by the prospectus and grasp the new challenges and opportunities now facing our local economics. Through this we will be working, with a number of partners and business leaders, to drive job creation, support business growth and improve local skills by ensuring innovation enterprise and entrepreneurship is at the heart of everything we do.
Location
Harborough has recently been mentioned as a top place to live in no less than 5 national surveys and this shows it has growing reputation as a great place to live and work.
The Harborough District is situated in rural south Leicestershire and is 90 mins by road from London and 1 hr from London by train. The main settlements are Market Harborough, Lutterworth and Broughton Astley. The district is characterised by high-quality countryside and attractive settlements, many of which have retained much of their historic character.
HARBOROUGH DISTRICT IS ALSO IN REACHABLE DISTANCE TO FOUR AIRPORTS:
Bus Services through the district connect various villages to larger servicing settlements, with services provided by Hinckly Bus, Arriva and Demand.
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What Our Entrepreneurs Say
Here’s what our local entrepreneurs have to say about Harborough and its advantages for businesses.
“It’s a growing town in population which means there is a great pool of highly skilled and employable people in the area that may not want to commute to London or the nearby cities”
ELOISE SHELTON – VANILLA RECRUITMENT
“We find that the community wants to support local business and this provides lots of opportunities to grow and be successful in the area. Market Harborough is the perfect fit for us because it is growing as a community and commercially.”
NATALIE BIGGIN – JOSIAH HINCKS
“Market Harborough is where it all started for Joules. I grew up here, our first shop was here, and over the last three decades, we’ve grown here from a small business employing four people to a thriving, multi-channel business with more than 120 UK stores and a fast-growing international presence.”
TOM JOULE – JOULES CLOTHING
