Five surprising benefits of doing business in Cornwall

We all know about the beautiful countryside, the lifestyle opportunities and the stunning coastline – but Cornwall has so much more to offer than that. Once businesses arrive and begin working here, a huge wealth of benefits become clear – many of which the companies never anticipated.

Here are five surprising benefits that businesses new to Cornwall, quickly discover and grow to love.

#1) Connectivity

Rolling hills and rural environments don’t exactly conjure up images of reliable high-speed broadband connectivity – but in Cornwall, that’s exactly what you’ll find.

Cornwall’s Superfast Broadband connectivity reaches over 95% of the region, including 30% of Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) connections, making it the world’s largest rural fibre broadband network. With speeds of up to 330mbps, it’s enabling tech businesses to achieve amazing things from anywhere, with FDI Intelligence calling the region “among the most connected locations in the world”.

It’s had a huge impact on businesses like BAFTA nominated UK Animation Company Spider Eye. Empowered by Cornwall’s incredibly strong connectivity, they moved their whole business from London the most westerly town in Britain, St Just.

#2) There’s a real culture of collaboration

One of Cornwall’s major selling points that we’re always telling people about is its collaborative community. Businesses here like working together – it’s the reason we’ve seen the natural emergence of renowned industry clusters, and powerful peer and networking groups like Software Cornwall.

But Cornwall’s culture of collaboration runs even deeper than that. There’s open communication between all kinds of organisations including; business, academia and public sector – something that just makes doing business here easier.

When New Zealand-based Agritech company Agricultural Biosecurity Services moved operations into Cornwall, Director Michael Ross said “When it came to getting funding, the process was extremely simple here. Everyone involved spoke to each other, so everything was sorted with just a couple of meetings.”

#3) Cornwall is becoming a convergence point for great digital talent

With three major universities developing a wealth of specialism and attracting relevant businesses to Cornwall, the region is quickly becoming renowned for digital excellence. From individual creatives that have the option to work from anywhere, to new companies looking to base themselves right at the source of great emerging talent. Increasingly businesses from the UK, Europe and beyond are choosing Cornwall as a base for their operations with the ability to attract both local and international talent.

Josh Neve of Falmouth-based creative CGI agency Sanders Studios recently remarked “Years ago we had to focus on attracting talent down from London. Now, largely thanks to the universities, there’s a good supply of the skills our business needs locally.”

#4) The lifestyle and environment make it easier to hold onto great talent here

Of course, finding great people to help grow your business is just part of the battle. Once you’ve sourced talent with the right skills, you need to keep hold of it as your business grows. Fortunately, being in Cornwall helps make that easier.

For many people, being able to do something they love within a region like Cornwall is a huge benefit. Here, a huge range of people find a lifestyle and location they love, alongside the same great career prospects that they could find in a more urbanised area. So, when they find a job they’re fulfilled and engaged in, they stay.

For Penryn-based Radix Communications, this has been a huge advantage. The company has grown consistently over its 10-year history, while only ever saying goodbye to two employees – an incredible rate of retention in any industry. Managing Director Fiona Campbell-Howes says “by giving talented people the chance to develop professionally in a place they love being, Radix has achieved a level of retention that none of us ever really thought possible.”

#5) You’re closer to the city (and Europe) than you might think

Nestled right in the South-West of England, it takes a long time to get from Cornwall to London, Right?

Wrong.

With Cornwall Airport Newquay and Exeter Airport serving the region, fast direct flights are available that can get you to London in just over an hour. Plus, a huge range of major European locations can be reached in just a couple of hours.

There’s also an extremely robust rail infrastructure in place, operating fast services to the rest of the country all day, every day. So, however you prefer to travel, you’ll quickly find that Cornwall feels a lot more connected to the rest of the UK and European business environment than you might expect.

If you’d like to discover more great reasons to start doing business in Cornwall, or if you’d like some help exploring the opportunities available in the region, we’d love to hear from you. You can contact the Cornwall Trade & Investment team here.