Environment
Situated 30 miles south of London, Guildford is an exceptionally beautiful Borough, containing rolling chalk downs, ancient woodland and a patchwork of fields and hedgerows.
Approximately 89% of the Borough lies within the green belt and much of southern most rural parts are within the area known as the “Surrey Hills”, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
The town centre is only a fifteen minute walk from the north downs. Guildford also boasts a large variety of restaurants, bars and cafes, several theatres, a gallery, a museum and a world class leisure complex.
This combination makes the borough a vibrant place to live, work or visit.
Transport
Guildford is located at the centre of a comprehensive communication network, which is highly accessible to UK, European and world markets.
Central London is only 30 miles away and is connected to Guildford by excellent road and rail links. Guildford is also only 40 minutes away from Heathrow and Gatwick, Britain’s largest international airports.
Conference facilities
Guildford's ease of accessibility by road and rail makes it an ideal location for meetings and conferences. Combine this with a varied selection of excellent venues for meetings, corporate hospitality and conferences and Guildford’s meetings facilities are hard to beat.
Education
Guildford has a highly skilled workforce which outperforms other parts of the UK in terms of achievement against the National Targets for Education and Training. The published ‘Schools Performance Tables’ supports this with 51% of pupils gaining 5 GCSE grades A-C comparing favourably with the national average of 45%.
The University of Surrey
The University of Surrey and Research Park are key economic players and collectively bring about £450 million to the local economy each year. The University also brings an international outlook to the town with 13.5% of its undergraduates coming from the rest of the EU and 17% from the ‘greater world’. The university has three faculties, Science, Engineering and Human Studies and close links are maintained with the businesses community.
Guildford College
Guildford College offers full and part-time courses across a broad range of subjects, many specific to business. It offers integrated training solutions for businesses, covering everything from half day training solutions to tailor-made company training plans.
The Academy of Contemporary Music
The Academy of Contemporary Music is a world leader in music industry education and teaches full time courses in Guitar, Bass, Drums, Vocals, Music Production, Creative Sound Design and Music Business.
Whether you enrol on a part time, entry level beginners course or a ground-breaking full time course, you will receive the best possible vocational training from our internationally acclaimed faculty and have access to some the finest education facilities available anywhere in the world.
Guildford College of Law
The Guildford College of Law is the largest provider of vocational legal education and training in Europe, training students to become solicitors and barristers in England and Wales and providing training after qualification. Incorporated in 1962, it is an educational charity controlled by a Board of Governors and was granted a Royal Charter in 1975.
The Guildford College of Law website (this page opens in a new window)
Guildford School of Acting
Guildford School of Acting has built an international reputation for excellence in training for actors and technicians in all areas of theatre and the recorded media. It provides vocational training with nationally recognized qualifications and all two and three year courses are validated by the University of Surrey.
Commercial Excellence
Retail
The town is a thriving shopping centre with a wide range of multiple and independent retailers. In early 1997 Guildford won the 'British Council of Shopping Centre Environment Award'. More recently a comparison of 1,100 retail facilities made by Experian placed Guildford in the top 20 of the nationwide Retail Centre Ranking. This means Guildford is the premier retail centre in Surrey and is number three in the South East.
Services
More than 75% of Guildford employees are based in the service sector. The services range from those provided by the major clearing banks and a wide variety of accountancy, legal and insurance practices through to specialised marketing, public relations, training and management consultants.
Several major international accountants and solicitors have branches in Guildford. Guildford has become a sought after location for the administrative head-quarters of a number of world-class companies including Colgate-Palmolive, Standard Life Healthcare, Legal & General and Cornhill Insurance.
Farming and Horticulture
Farming in Guildford Borough is an essential part of the local economy. It has created and maintains the beautiful rural landscape that has become so characteristic of this area and which makes it such an attractive place to live and work in.
Farmers’ Markets take place on Guildford High Street on the first Tuesday of the month to support local farmers and other producers. The markets are very successful for the traders and have provided consumers with the opportunity to buy high quality, local food in an attractive market atmosphere.
The Surrey Research Park
Bridging the academic and the entrepreneurial worlds, the Surrey Research Park plays a critical role in Guildford’s knowledge-based economy.
The Park accommodates every size of business, from a single entrepreneurial scientist to a 30,000 sq. ft. research facility or headquarters. This means they can grow quickly without relocating. Its presence encourages the commercialisation of ideas from within the University of Surrey and attracts world-leading businesses to share in the university’s research expertise.
Park companies together employ around 2,750 people and make a huge contribution to the local economy. Their annual turnover per employee of around £100,000 is substantially greater than the regional average and equates to a total of some £220 million after tax. Studies show 60 per cent of this is re-spent within 40 miles of Guildford. Together with the economic activity of the University and its students, it represents a massive cash injection into the local economy of between £550 million and £620 million every year.
Administrative Centre
Guildford is the centre for regional government in the Southeast and over the past few years influential governmental bodies have chosen to base their headquarters in Guildford. These include the Government Office for the South East (GOSE), the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA), the University for Industry and English Heritage.
Guildford has Magistrates and County Court like most large towns but there is also the Crown Court and a District Registry of the Royal Courts of Justice. These courts handle a substantial volume and variety of cases on a daily basis.
Business Liaison
Communication Services
Guildford Borough Council
Millmead House
Millmead
Guildford
Surrey
GU2 4BB
Tel: 01483 444329
Email: business@guildford.gov.uk