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Office of the Secretary of State for Wales
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UK Trade & Investment CEO outlines support available to Welsh companies
Welsh Secretary, David Jones hosts Nick Baird on visit to Cardiff.
From innovative 3D animation companies, to an incubator for medical and life sciences start-ups, Secretary of State for Wales, David Jones will today (25 September) host UK Trade & Investment CEO, Nick Baird on visits to some of Cardiff’s leading business successes.
UKTI is the government organisation responsible for assisting companies to export goods and services abroad, and attracting inward investment into projects and industries at home. Mr Baird is visiting the Welsh capital to underline the level of UKTI support available to businesses in Wales that are looking to enter or to grow in overseas markets.
Mr Jones and Mr Baird will first visit Atticus Digital – a creative agency based in Cardiff Bay which is already making waves with international companies such as CNN and BP. The company sees further infiltration into overseas markets as key to their future growth.
They will then visit Cardiff Medicentre based on the campus of the University Hospital of Wales. Its purpose is to provide specialist facilities, including office space and laboratories to start-up companies in the medical, healthcare and life sciences sector. Mr Baird and Mr Jones will see how the specialist space and expertise provided are proving to be a draw for new investors looking to establish their start up companies in Wales for the first time.
Secretary of State for Wales, David Jones said:
We all want Wales to be a more prosperous place, with increased private sector employment and better opportunities for businesses to grow.
And there are positive signs that this is happening – 67,000 jobs have been created in the private sector in Wales since 2010*, and there has been a 191% rise in the number of investments by foreign companies into Wales over the last financial year**.
As a Government, we want to do more to ensure Welsh businesses take advantage of every opportunity available to them to grow and expand into new markets. UKTI, with representation throughout the world, has an important role to play in this process.
UKTI is a valuable resource for businesses throughout the whole of the UK, Wales included. Unleashing the potential of companies such as those we are visiting today will be key to ensuring sustainable recovery.
Nick Baird, Chief Executive of UKTI said:
I am delighted to be in Wales again to see first hand how local companies are working to internationalise their businesses with support from both UKTI and the Welsh Government Trade & Investment Team, who act as our delivery partner for trade services in Wales.
I am also pleased to have the opportunity today to talk to Welsh Assembly members about the support offered by UKTI across both trade and inward investment.
UKTI offers a wide range of trade support programmes, including help with market research and identifying contacts overseas. UKTI’s website provides full details.
During their visit to Atticus Digital, Mr Jones & Mr Baird will see how a company founded as a graphic design agency in 1998, has progressed into producing 3D animation, videos, websites and interactive presentations which have impressed multiple multinational clients.
Atticus’ Managing Director, Martin McCabe will highlight some of the creative and innovative marketing solutions produced by his team in Cardiff, and will outline his plans to venture into virtual and augmented reality applications.
Mr McCabe said:
It has been a long and, at times, hard journey over the years; but the team have never lost their excitement in providing imaginative and innovative solutions to clients’ communications needs.
The company now also offers a full corporate events organisation service, with an experienced team of professionals whose clients include; Land Rover, AstraZeneca, Norwich Union and Aviva. Atticus is committed to continue to provide creative communication solutions to a growing number of world-class companies who benefit from Atticus’ “Complex made Simple” approach.
Mr Baird and Mr Jones will later visit Cardiff Medicentre and meet with representatives from medtech companies MedaPhor, Cupid Peptides and WIMAT - three businesses currently capitalising on the facilities and support available on the campus.
Occupation levels at Cardiff Medicentre are now at 96%, the highest it has been for ten years. It is forecast that the level will rise even further over the next six months as businesses based in the centre expand and new start-ups move in.
During their tenure at the facility, businesses receive advice in finding venture capital to finance their future growth, and can benefit from working with researchers from the hospital and Cardiff University.
Robert Jackson, Innovation Manager at Cardiff Medicentre said:
Cardiff Medicentre occupancy levels have risen from 60% in 2010 to 96% in September 2013, reflecting the growth in the Life science sector and its location within Cardiff University Hospital. We are proud of our track record of supporting Life Science companies at the incubator centre; creating jobs, exporting products and service, which go on to improve the lives of ordinary citizens both here and abroad.
NOTES TO EDITORS
For further information, please contact:
Wales Office Communications Team - 029 2092 4204 / 020 7270 0565
UKTI Press Office – 020 7215 5245
- Department of Work & Pensions figures September 2013 ** Figures from UKTI’s Inward Investment Annual Report 2012/13
UKTI’s Inward Investment Annual Report can be accessed here: http://www.ukti.gov.uk/investintheuk/investintheukhome/item/553980.html
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