Portsmouth is the location
for more than 6,000 businesses

Work in the East Solent region

Portsmouth is the location for more than 6,000 businesses, including leading edge companies such as IBM UK, Pall Europe, BAE Systems and EADS Astrium. In recent years, overseas companies from America, China and Japan have come to Portsmouth and expanded their operations across the UK.

Portsmouth Naval Base is home to almost two-thirds of the Royal Navy's surface ships, including the aircraft carriers, Type 42 destroyers, Type 23 frigates and a mine countermeasure squadron, as well as fishery protection and training units. The base is a major employer with 17,200 people working at peak times.

Opened in 1976, Portsmouth's ferry port has become a significant contributor to the local economy, generating millions of pounds a year and sustaining thousands of jobs. It is the UK's second busiest channel ferry port and premier port for the western channel.

Seventy per cent of all bananas eaten in the UK are imported via Portsmouth as well as all the citrus fruit from Morocco.

Links to London and the Midlands are provided via the M3. Heathrow and Gatwick airports are about 60 miles away – Southampton International Airport serves around 45 destinations and is just 22 miles away. Portsmouth Ferry Port is the UK’s premier roll-on roll-off port with links to 7 destinations in Continental Europe. (Source: Invest in Portsmouth).

Major employers in Fareham include National Air Traffic Services Ltd, Office for National Statistics, Schefenaker Vision Systems, Cooper Vision Ltd and Eaton Aerospace Ltd.

Solent Business Park in Whiteley provides an attractive setting for modern industry and employment. It is home to a range of major companies such as Zurich/Eagle Star, Lloyds TSB, Datacard, Shoosmith and Harrison, Thomson Local Directories, Prudential Assurance and Scottish Amicable (Source: Fareham Borough Council).

In Gosport there is a tradition of excellence in marine, engineering and electronics. New generations of specialist skills, advanced technologies and transferable knowledge are being developed.

There are more than 2,000 businesses in the borough, of which approximately 1,500 are VAT registered.The majority are small and medium-sized enterprises, although there are a number of major employers particularly in the public and manufacturing sectors (Source: www.go-gosport.co.uk).

Havant is in the top quartile of knowledge-intensive local economies in the UK. Many of its small, medium and large businesses have steadily grown in size and success in recent years, including some who have gained market share in European and world markets. Pfizer, Scottish and Southern Energy, Lockheed Martin, Xyratex, Kenwood and Eaton are among the major players in the borough. (Source: Invest in Portsmouth).

Chichester's vision statement calls for it to be known as 'a centre for creative and innovative industry, with skilled local people able to compete effectively in international markets.'

Arts and heritage attractions are already attracting people from outside the district: 54 per cent of organisations draw significant proportion of their visitors from outside of the district.

Bognor Regis is best known as a tourist destination – Butlins have invested heavily in their prime site building two hotels – the first, The Shoreline, cost £10m and a third is planned.

Petersfield's main employment is in shops and offices in the town centre. Light industry tends to be concentrated in the Bedford Road estate on the west side of Petersfield, which is still expanding each year.

In 2007, the Norwegian-owned oil-supply giant Aibel Ltd added an engineering office in addition to their UK head office in Petersfield.