Case study
Europe ’ s biggest battery storage facility in Minety
Inward Investment Programme
Attracting new business investment to the Swindon and Wiltshire area is one of the many ways we support businesses working in collaboration with Swindon Borough Council and Wiltshire Council under a joint inward investment programme of work . Projects in the life sciences , cyber and advanced engineering sectors are our primary focus for promotional activity but we will support a wider range of businesses which are looking to take advantage of establishing an operation in our area and will offer good quality employment particularly utilising technology or high value activities . Throughout the pandemic we had to adapt our activities and establish new ways of reaching potential investors , for example : in July 2020 , SWLEP and the Defence , Science and Technology Laboratory ( Dstl ) presented online to the Bio-defence Committee of the US life sciences trade body , the Biotechnology Innovation Organisation ( BIO ), highlighting the expertise at Porton . This was the first time a non-US Governmental body has had the opportunity to present to this Committee . Calls with the BIO team in the US continued over the year and another webinar with US-based life science companies is scheduled for June 2021 .
SWLEP was also one of main sponsors of Tech Swindon which led a successful online digital focussed event in February 2021 with firms from various overseas locations dialling in to hear about the tech cluster in the area . The number of inward investors looking to locate in Swindon and Wiltshire increased during the year , both from overseas and UK based companies . Some of the largest announcements during the year included : Beckton Dickinson who announced plans to expand and upgrade its manufacturing capacity for pre-fillable syringes and advanced drug delivery systems across six sites globally , including Swindon Catalent which began work at its new site in Blagrove which will lead to 100 new jobs Thermo Fisher Scientific ’ s Pharma Services announced its expansion plans for an additional 200 jobs in Swindon Amazon bought a £ 200m warehouse at Symmetry Park , Swindon which is expected to create up to 1,500 new jobs Penso Power opened Europe ’ s biggest battery storage facility in Minety Tallis Group which confirmed its intention to construct a custom built agricultural and turf depot at Kemble .
One of the companies that took advantage of our European funded inward investment service was Goodtalent which was founded in Nigeria . After its owner Jimmy Braimah secured an Innovation Visa with support from the Department of International Trade and the Global Entrepreneur Programme , the company began looking for a UK base to expand its HR and recruitment technology solutions company .
Goodtalent has developed an innovative approach to supporting IT recruitment internationally which enables consultants to be paid in their local currency . The company has already developed local clients and is working with the Wiltshire-based utilities firm Good Energy and with the University of Bath . It decided that Swindon ’ s tech business community and proximity to both London and the South West was the right location for GoodTalent to succeed .
Two members of staff are already employed in Swindon , one of whom is an apprentice with New College Swindon . The firm is looking to recruit a further four members of staff over the next financial year .
Goodtalent