Basildon is a place with personality. Our startup rates are among the highest in the country and so many of our homegrown businesses are flying high. Basildon can provide the right environment, the skilled talent, and meaningful networks for business innovation to take place. We nurture talent, offering businesses at all stages the support and space to grow with a diverse skills base, specialised advisors, and strong international connections.
Centre for Cities compares Basildon to the five most similar European cities in size and industrial structure. These are: Hamm (Germany), Le Havre (France), Móstoles (Spain), Pécs (Hungary) and Szeged (Hungary). Basildon has the highest number of patent applications and the highest employment rate. Basildon is also a globally significant home to cutting-edge research, design and development creating new innovative products and solutions.
Ford of the USA has a long-standing presence in Basildon and its Dunton Campus is a major automotive research and development facility with more than 4,000 people in a variety of roles ranging from zero-emission engines to virtual reality. In 2022, Ford received a £475 million loan from government to expand its EV work in Basildon.
Defence company Leonardo of Italy employs more than 1,000 people at its site in Basildon which has produced notable firsts including the UK's first military standard production thermal imager and the Phoenix unmanned military surveillance vehicle. The site specialises in design and development of thermal imaging systems, radar, radio communications, infrared detection and signal processing. Leonardo also developed thermal imaging systems in Basildon for the British Army’s fleet of Chinook helicopters. In 2022, Leonardo won a £41 million contract from the Ministry or Defence (MoD) to provide digital protection against remotely triggered explosives.
American-Italian owned agricultural machinery and construction equipment manufacturer Case New Holland, international technology players like US fintech Fiserv and American software giant, SS&C, have made Basildon their UK headquarters. French global automotive supplier Valeo – who designs innovative solutions for smart mobility, intuitive driving, and CO2 reduction – is also based in Basildon.
Many more Basildon based businesses, such as Valeo Air Management UK, AVL Powertrain UK, Oakley VR, Laser 24, Controlled Power Technologies (CPT) and Linnaeus Veterinary have all been awarded innovation grants to advance their respective services.
The newly opened Digital Technologies Campus provides leading edge facilities and learning opportunities across the digital technologies spectrum from IT networking to cyber-security, animation, gaming and programming. Areas of the building have been modelled on tech sector offices, giving that innovative ‘Google’ feel to a lot of the open plan spaces. Students will be able to experience working in this kind of modern environment, preparing them to enter the industry. The Campus links to local startup and incubation spaces to provide a focal point for Basildon’s tech community.
Part funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF), Launch-It Creative Tech Accelerator- a brand new accelerator programme designed for Essex entrepreneurs teaching you how to take a business from start to scale – was launched in April 2023 in partnership with Basildon Council and South Essex College. The programme seeks to attract founders across the region to this new hub of entrepreneurship.
Large R&D investments are made each year by companies in Basildon contributing to economic growth. For example, today's Leonardo UK combines the heritage of the likes of GEC, Marconi and Westland, with innovation being central to everything they do and stand for. In the UK, they invest around £220 million in research and development, which helps focus our people on developing creative, fit for the future and bespoke capability for our customers' success.
Companies choose Basildon so that they can be close to R&D centres such as Ford Dunton and the growing business support ecosystem.
Basildon has particular strengths in the digital, creative and tech sectors, employing more than 5,000 people. In the last few years, Basildon’s tech sector has experienced higher growth rates than both London and Cambridge.
In March 2023 it was announced that Basildon was set to receive £4.4m from the government's Cultural Investment Fund to continue to scale the existing support for their creative and digital sectors. The money is intended to turn empty properties in the town centre into "a creative facility for screen and immersive digital industries”. The project will help support businesses and freelancers working in the film, TV, gaming, VFX and animation sectors, further demonstrating the government's commitment to the creative industries as a priority growth sector.
2023 also saw the launch of South Essex Advanced Technical Skills (SEATS) training brokerage partnership, where Coventry University Group is secured as the first higher education collaborator for the project. SEATS is a private sector led project between DP World, Ford Motor Company, London Southend Airport and the Association of South Essex Local Authorities (ASELA), aiming to grow the workforce of the future by providing new specialist training – in engineering, managerial development, logistics and digital – skills which are much needed by businesses and employers in South Essex.
