Our online investment guide has been created to tell you what Wrexham can offer your business. We want you to invest and to build your business here and we’ll do our best to provide you with all the assistance and information you may require in order to allow you to make your own decision about Wrexham as a business location. If you’re not quite sure Wrexham is the right fit, why not contact us and we’ll do everything we can to help you and answer any questions you may have.
As a brief insight, Wrexham is the second largest county in North Wales, with a resident population in excess of 135,000. The area’s population increased by 5% from 2001 to 2011, with Welsh Government forecasts predicting a further 10% increase in the County Borough’s population by 2039, the second largest growth rate in Wales.
As well as having a growing population, Wrexham also has a strong and diverse economy that shows every sign of maintaining the substantial growth that took place most notably in the 1990s and over the past 10 years. Again, Welsh Government statistics reveal that in 2019 there were over 12,000 active businesses based within the County Borough, which represents a 76% increase since 2010 and the largest growth rate in Wales.
Wrexham over the years has usually had a larger percentage of economically active people, compared to both the Wales and the UK average, with the average gross weekly pay of individuals standing at £574.9 in 2021, this is higher than the Welsh average. Per head of population, in 2018, Wrexham had a gross disposable household income of £18.408 (provisional data), which is higher than the North West of England and the West Midlands as a whole and when compared to 2008 figures reveals the highest increase of all the local authority areas in Wales.
One of Wrexham's greatest strengths is undoubtedly its location, situated in the north-eastern corner of Wales, immediately adjacent to the border with England, our position in terms of road, rail, airport and shipping links is superb, whilst avoiding excess congestion, which large cities tend to experience. Within two hours, by road, of Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham and the Midlands, if you base your business here you’ll have easy access to suppliers, customers, people, skills and knowledge from across most of the UK and beyond.
Many organisations have made substantial investments in the area and the fact that they continue to thrive and maintain their commitment to Wrexham demonstrates that, as a location, it provides a business setting in which they can both succeed and grow.
What makes Wrexham attractive as a business location?
Wrexham County Borough Council remains committed to developing the economy and provides an environment for businesses to prosper, flourish and feel confident to both expand and reinvest.
In fact, when a business opens or relocates to Wrexham they benefit from a confident, creative and ambitious nation, which is on their side, one that has a number of devolved powers and a strong history of supporting businesses.
As members of the North Wales Economic Ambition Board and Mersey Dee Alliance, we’re committed to developing a more prosperous, innovative and productive economy that is smart, connected and resilient, with the aim of accelerating growth. As a brief insight, the following points make Wrexham an attractive proposition as a business location:
- The competitive price of land / premises
- Geographical location and transport links
- Quality, attitude and loyalty of the workforce
- Good quality of life within the County Borough
- Good educational and leisure facilities
- A growing tourism market
- The quality of the support offered by Wrexham County Borough Councils business and investment team, along with external organisations such as Business Wales (external link).
Why is Wrexham an appealing proposition for retailers and food outlets?
Working in partnership with the Welsh Government, Wrexham County Borough Council have brought, over the years, unprecedented levels of funding to the area, which has transformed the city centre with money being invested into new rail and bus stations along with large scale landscaping, pedestrianisation and physical developments. Such investments have evolved Wrexham from being known simply as a traditional market town, into a retail centre of regional importance.
More than 485,000 square foot of retail space has been created in the town since 2003. The Eagles Meadow Shopping Centre development for instance reinforces Wrexham as a notable shopping hotspot in North Wales, boasting a number of multi-national fashion retailers such as Next, River Island and Marks and Spencer. In addition to the Eagles Meadow Shopping Centre, Wrexham also has three additional retail parks based on the outskirts of the city centre; The Border Retail Park, Central Retail Park and Plas Coch Retail Park.
Wrexham has three indoor markets, (the most notable being Ty Pawb - an award winning cultural hub, which brings together the arts and markets, with the facility also boasting a food hall) and a weekly outdoor market. A new retail and leisure development called Chapter Court is also in motion.
The mix of parking availability, shopping opportunities, together with places to explore such as the famous St Giles’ church tower (one of the Seven Wonders of Wales), Xplore! Science Discovery Centre, Wrexham Museum, the Racecourse Ground (home of Wrexham A.F.C. and the world's oldest international stadium) and a wide range of places to eat and drink, means visitors can easily spend a day in the city centre.
A city centre forum regularly meet with a commitment to influencing and securing positive developments, activities and initiatives. The forum brings together a wide range of businesses and organisations, with a common interest in the prosperous development of Wrexham city centre and aims to ensure Wrexham city centre is recognised as an attractive, clean and safe environment in order to maximise its potential as the major shopping, tourism and cultural centre for North Wales.
Numerous annual events are held in the town centre, which increase visitor numbers / footfall.
Manufacturers and wholesalers
Serviced by a £35 million link road, Wrexham Industrial Estate, the largest of the numerous industrial estates in the County Borough, covers approximately 550 hectares and is one of the largest industrial estates in Europe.
With a low population compared to the UKs major cities, a key benefit Wrexham offers as a business location is the notable lack of excess road congestion, whilst still being able to offer excellent road, rail, airport and shipping links.
20% of the Wrexham workforce is employed within the manufacturing industry, compared to the UK’s average of just 8%, emphasising the skills and expertise the local labour market are able to offer within the manufacturing sector.
Wrexham’s thriving manufacturing and wholesale business community consists of everything from small indigenous operations through to major multi-nationals and world class companies such as Hoya, Kellogg's, Cadbury and JCB.
In terms of sectoral strengths, the following are strongly represented in Wrexham:
- Engineering
- Automotive Components
- Packaging
- Healthcare / medical / pharmaceutical
- Electronics
- Optical fibres
- Food processing
- Chemicals
- Plastics
What data is available to help me decide whether to open a business / relocate to Wrexham?
Both weekly and monthly footfall statistics are available for Wrexham city centre, which highlight footfall by months of the year, days of the week and hours of the day for example, which may be of interest when deciding opening hours and staffing levels. In addition detailed tourism reports are available.
Visitor figures for attractions, facilities or car parks run by Wrexham County Borough Council in the immediate vicinity of any premises you may be considering purchasing / renting can also be provided upon request.
In addition Businessline; Wrexham County Borough Councils specialist business information subscribe to a number of market leading resources from which numerous demographic statistics analysing the resident population, along with details of funding availability and market research reports highlighting trends within specific market sectors or interests can be provided.
Please complete our enquiry form if you’re looking to obtain data, statistics, or reports evaluating the performance and trends within specific market sectors / interests.
Premises / land availability
Finding the right space for your business is crucial, it’s where your business will live and grow.
Whether you’re looking for an office, warehouse, shop or a brownfield site, land and commercial properties are available in nearly every shape and size, costs do vary, but generally speaking, prices are very competitive in Wrexham. There’s every chance we can offer you the right property, at the right price, with the right transport and technological infrastructure around it.
Why not contact our business support team who will be able to run a customised search for you, based on your specific requirements.
Location and access to UK / International markets
Wrexham’s location outside large areas in terms of population and industry density gives it a distinct advantage, in that the area does not suffer from excess road congestion, which large cities tend to experience.
Road
The major road serving Wrexham, just minutes from the town centre and all major industrial estates, is the A483. This road connects Wrexham to the national motorway network, via the M53/M56. From here there is easy access to all routes, north, south, east and west. Particularly to Manchester Airport and the west coast ports of Mostyn, Liverpool, Holyhead and Garston, but also to the east coast ports, via the trans-pennine motorway.
Airports
Manchester Airport is a major international airport and just 45 minutes from Wrexham. Its proximity and the ease of access to it is one of Wrexham's greatest assets. The airport boasts a purpose-built world freight terminal, via which Wrexham businesses can access the many national and local freight forwarders who use this facility.
Liverpool Airport can be reached in approximately 40 minutes and offers flights to an increasing selection of European destinations, as well as to a good selection of UK airports.
Hawarden Airport is approximately 20 minutes' drive from Wrexham and has facilities for executive jets.
Shipping
There are a surprising number of options available to Wrexham companies, when it comes to shipping.
Wrexham has three 'local' ports, each within an hour's drive - Mostyn, Liverpool and Garston. Each of which offers an extensive world-wide service.
The port of Holyhead is important, because of its links to Ireland. It is approximately 55 miles away and, as well as conventional ferry crossings, offers a high speed (90 minutes) crossing by hydrofoil.
There are excellent motorway links to ports such as Hull, Immingham and Felixstowe on the east coast and Wrexham companies do find it practicable to make use of the facilities they offer. To give some idea of timescale, Hull can be reached by truck in approximately 3 hours.
Rail
Wrexham has two stations Wrexham General Station and Wrexham Central Station which are connected to two different lines. Rail freight sites are located in Liverpool, Manchester, Stoke-on-Trent and Llandudno and Bangor. London Euston is just a two-and-half hour train ride
Business Support
Any business contemplating a move to or starting a business in Wrexham County Borough will find, in the Council's Business and Investment Team, a group of dedicated professionals who will do their very best to help you with any decisions you may need to make and offer a comprehensive range of support services
Education and employment
As the gross weekly pay for fulltime workers is below the UK average, the mix of lower labour costs and good productivity undoubtedly reinforces the attractiveness of the area as a business location.
Labour market profiles (external link) and demographic data (external link) provide a statistical analysis of the resident population, detailing employment by occupation, qualifications and average earnings. As well as the resident population Wrexham also attracts a mobile workforce from as far as Manchester, Cheshire West and Chester, Liverpool and Shropshire.
Wrexham is exceptionally well served, at all levels of education, with a network of local authority primary and secondary schools, together with further education providers such as Wrexham University and Coleg Cambria, both of which have a campus on the outskirts of the town centre.
Wrexham University work closely with businesses on research and development, specialist projects and placements. Their commercial partners have played a major role in the rapid growth of the institution with companies including Airbus, Toyota and the BBC among the global giants they do business with on a daily basis.
A staggering 93% of students who completed a full-time degree in 2015/16 were in work or further study six months after graduation – the best in region. 10 other universities are also within an hour’s drive, including most notably, Manchester and Liverpool.
Employment and workforce development schemes
Businesses based within Wrexham can also benefit from numerous employment incentives and workforce development opportunities, these schemes have long been available. This highlights the Welsh Governments ongoing commitment to providing businesses with a cost effective means of investing in, upskilling and furthering the capabilities of their workforce, along with assisting business growth from a staffing perspective.
Leisure, culture, heritage and amenities
Leisure, culture and heritage
A wide range of leisure and cultural facilities are available throughout the Wrexham county borough area, most notably Wrexham has its own racecourse at Bangor-on-Dee, an athletics stadium, football stadium, two theatres (the Stiwt and Grove Park), ten-pin bowling and a multiplex cinema.
Wrexham is also home to the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct (external link), which is a world heritage site, two spectacular National Trust properties - Erddig and Chirk Castle, a Science Discovery Centre, Ty Pawb Arts Hub/Market (external link) and a museum.
There are an excellent selection of hotels in the area, some of which offer attractive period accommodation and décor, together with a number of good restaurants and café bars.
Wrexham itself is surrounded by countryside, which is excellent for walking excursions; the River Dee is also famous for its fishing. For a relatively small town, Wrexham is very ambitious in the way in which it promotes itself through leisure activities, which have a regional or national focus.
Numerous annual events are held in the area such as Focus Wales, Rock the Park and a Victorian Christmas market. Various high profile events have visited the area in recent years, such as Wales Rally GB, The Tour of Britain and the Olympic Torch.
Wrexham is situated within a 20 minute drive of Snowdonia - one of the UK's most famous and spectacular National Parks. Snowdonia itself offers endless possibilities for outdoor leisure activities and, taken together with Mid Wales and the adjoining areas of North West England, the area must cater for almost every possible outdoor pursuit. The coast is also easy to reach and again there is something for all tastes within an easy drive of Wrexham.
Shopping
The area has a wide range of supermarkets, grocers and convenience stores, with great offers, choice and convenience, some with 24 hour shopping where you can get everything under one roof. At the other end of the scale, the independent sector is thriving with everything from food to high quality designer clothes and jewellery available in the city centre. Wrexham also undoubtedly benefits from its proximity to a number of major cities which offer access to additional facilities.
The ancient city of Chester is just 12 miles away and the cities of Liverpool and Manchester can both be reached within an hour. Between them these three offer access to the best in music, theatre, ballet and the Arts.
Wrexham's central location also makes it an ideal starting point for those looking for access to the increasingly wide range of leisure activities available throughout the North West and the North Midlands.
Housing
Almost any sort of housing can be found in the Wrexham area, ranging from a country property set in extensive grounds to a terraced town house or studio apartment. There is a good choice of old and new high quality properties, both in town and in the extensive rural area, where there are many attractive rural villages. Prices compare favourably with many areas of the UK.
Medical care
The Wrexham Maelor Hospital, situated on the outskirts of town, is the largest single site NHS hospital in North Wales. Wrexham Maelor is involved in research and development in medical and social healthcare and has extensive teaching facilities as part of a partnership with local universities. Wrexham also has a private hospital – The Spire Yale Hospital which is situated immediately next to the Wrexham Maelor Hospital.
Contact us
We hope that you will be impressed by all that you have read about Wrexham. Please let us know if you would like any further details, or if we can help you in any way. If you would like to pay us a visit, so that you can see for yourself why it is that so many businesses have chosen Wrexham as their preferred business location, just simply contact us and we will be pleased to make the necessary arrangements or answer any queries.