Milton Keynes
Inward Investment Plan
www.investmiltonkeynes.com
Milton Keynes Inward Investment Plan
Preface
I am delighted, as Deputy Leader and Cabinet Portfolio holder for Economic Development &
Enterprise at Milton Keynes Council, to welcome you to the UK’s borough that is ranked first out of
353 local authority areas as ‘the authority area most likely to lead Britain out of recession’
(according to 2012 analysis of regional growth by Experian – the leading global information
services company).
Milton Keynes is in the process of continued major transformational change. The borough has
continued to lead the country in recent years in terms of economic growth and is a dynamic and
multi-cultural community. It is one of Europe’s most exciting locations and has become home to
some of the UK’s most successful business investments over the past forty years.
For the fourth year in a row, Milton Keynes has received a glowing report for its economic strength
and overall buoyancy in the face of harsh economic conditions, in the annual Cities Outlook report.
Milton Keynes has previously been identified as ‘one to watch’ by the Centre for Cities in its last
three reports in 2012, 2011 and 2010.
And now once again Milton Keynes tops league tables as the best place to locate and operate a
business, as outlined in the Local Futures Report.
Milton Keynes continues to be the ideal place to do business and its sustained economic growth in
recent years has created an environment that will maximise the benefits to any companies
investing and locating here. Milton Keynes pool of skilled labour and competitive operating costs
mean the borough is best placed to withstand the continued rigours of the current challenging
international economic environment and competes most effectively with other locations.
Despite the global economic downturn, Milton Keynes has recently attracted an impressive list of
new arrivals and expansions to the borough including: Red Bull Racing, AG Barr, AirWatch and, of
course, Network Rail, the largest ever corporate relocation project in UK history. They join an
impressive who’s who of blue chip companies who underline Milton Keynes increasing
international status as a world class business location – and include Santander, Volkswagen,
Coca-Cola, Marshall Amplification and many, many more.
The Milton Keynes Core Strategy sets the borough a challenging growth agenda to deliver a
minimum of 28,000 new homes and over 40,000 new jobs by 2026. Through the projects that will
emerge from that strategy, the physical and social landscape of the borough is set to alter
dramatically – raising aspirations, driving achievement and contributing to a more positive future
for Milton Keynes and for those who choose to live and invest here.
The Milton Keynes Core Strategy and its Smart City ethos encourages business to invest in
growing the city’s business base, attracting creative, educated and capable people, embracing all
sectors of industry. The borough is continuing to develop and attract new industry, through
sustained investment in commercial property, the provision of transport, broadband and
telecommunication channels, and ensuring easy access to both internal and external markets.
Milton Keynes’ modern, mixed economy has gained a second to none, can-do reputation for
success in economic performance and innovative urban regeneration. This is thanks to a superb,
trained and motivated workforce and an excellent relationship between the public and private
sectors.
Welcome to Milton Keynes – the fastest growing and most successful business city in the UK.
Cllr David Hopkins
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March 2013
“Milton Keynes, the fastest growing and most successful business city in the
UK has been built on inward investment. The attraction of new people, new
companies, new ideas and new investment is what makes us unique. This
plan shows how Milton Keynes Council and partners will work together to
continue this amazing track record.”
Background
Attracting and retaining jobs and investment is fundamental to the economic performance of
an area; and in a competitive market for inward investment, locations need a distinctive offer
and a sustained plan of investment promotion activities.
Inward investment plays a crucial role in the local economy, not only by creating thousands of
new jobs, but in supporting the wider economic growth through the development of supplychains that provide a major boost to existing local companies. There are significant benefits to
be had through the attraction of new high-technology inward investors in the dynamic growth
sectors such as software and digital, advanced manufacturing and value-added services. The
higher skills levels required by these kinds of employers is critical for the long-term
development of Milton Keynes as we seek to grow our own talented workforce.
The attraction of new companies, jobs and investment cannot be delivered by any one
organisation in isolation; therefore a real partnership approach between public and private
sectors is required.
The MK Vision
Our vision is to ensure that Milton Keynes, the uniquely-designed, modern, can-do business
city of the twenty-first century, becomes a key economic powerhouse in the UK, powered by
leading edge innovation, a highly skilled workforce, and a growing hub for knowledge-driven
companies; all of this set within an attractive environment in which to live and do business.
Milton Keynes Council’s Economic Development Strategy identifies six key priorities that will
make a significant contribution to the achievement and aspirations set out in the Long Term
Economic Vision. The Economic Vision states that:
‘In 2034 Milton Keynes will be a major free standing city with a diverse high value business
base offering well paid employment opportunities to all those living within the city’.
The development and delivery of the Inward Investment Plan will help deliver the Core
Strategy objective ‘to deliver economic prosperity by promoting new investment and retaining
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March 2013
existing investors’. This objective requires the provision of at least 1.5 jobs per dwelling and
supports the ongoing economic growth of Milton Keynes.
This plan is directly linked to Priority 5 of the Economic Development Strategy – Articulating a
compelling ‘MK Offer’ to attract, retain and raise the profile of Milton Keynes to businesses
within the UK and worldwide, as well as supporting the delivery of the other five priorities.
The outcomes of the Economic Development Strategy will deliver the ambitions of the
Corporate Plan’s themes of ‘Working in MK’ and ‘Visiting MK’ – directly contributing to the
Outcomes:

“High Levels of Inward Investment”,

“High Levels of employment opportunities for current and potential residents,

“A strong reputation as a visitor destination nationally and internationally”.
Our Growth
Urban Milton Keynes has been built with future growth in mind and is regarded as the largest
and most successful British New Town. It has a distinctive transport layout (grid system) and
extensive green public space. It is a place fuelled by change and strong aspirations. Nothing
has ever stood still in Milton Keynes; this is what makes us different. The ability to create our
own future and manage change allows us to pursue new strategies and respond to the needs
of investors and changing economic and social circumstances faster than older, more
established cities in the UK and Europe. We have a strong track record of planning and
delivery; what we can do, have done and will do.
The population of Milton Keynes has more than quadrupled from 60,000 in 1967 to 248,800 in
2011. The population is projected to grow to 298,450 in 2026 and 305,000 in 2033.
The number of business units in Milton Keynes has risen from 8,065 in 1998 to 11,150 in
2012, an increase of 38.3%. Gross Value Added (GVA), a measure of the value of goods and
services produced, in the Milton Keynes economy increased from £2.9 billion in 1995 to £6.8
billion in 2009, an increase of 135%, which surpasses the South East region and England
over the same period. Median weekly earnings (gross) for Milton Keynes residents working
full time have risen steadily, from £456.00 in 2004 to £536.7 in 2011.
Over the last two years unemployment in Milton Keynes has fallen. The average rate of
unemployment in 2010 was 4.1%, compared to 3.9% in 2011 and an actual rate of 3.3% in
January 2013. While the fall is a positive step in the right direction, average unemployment is
still higher than the South East Midlands Enterprise Partnership (SEMLEP) area and the
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March 2013
South East region averages. In January 2013, the unemployment rate was 3.1% in SEMLEP
and 2.5% in the South East region.
Milton Keynes’ strong economic performance continues to be recognised by others. In 2013,
for the third year running, Milton Keynes has been praised for its strong economy, the
standard of its workforce, and overall durability in the face of increasingly tough economic
conditions, in the latest Cities Outlook report, produced by Centre for Cities. The Centre for
Cities ranks Milton Keynes as one of the UK’s top five cities to lead the economic recovery;
and as an emerging city it has the ambition, intellectual capacity and size to nurture
innovation and technologies that can fundamentally improve the way we live.
Milton Keynes has also been singled out by business consultants Experian as the leading UK
city in terms of jobs and output growth in the next five years. In their October 2012 report,
Experian surveyed the economic prospects of 353 local authorities and concluded that Milton
Keynes has higher projected growth rates for jobs and output than anywhere else in the
country. Local Futures have also outlined that Milton Keynes tops the tables for the best place
to locate and operate a business.
The Future
The Council, in its Core Strategy, has a target to deliver 1,750 new homes per annum and
create 1.5 new jobs per dwelling. In August 2011, to support these targets and to complement
the Council’s existing economic development functions, the inward investment service was
transferred to the Council from the Homes and Communities Agency. This allows the Council
to deliver a single-point enquiry approach ‘under one roof’ to support inward investment and
business retention.
The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) has had development control powers for the
expansion areas in Milton Keynes and a large amount of land and property assets in the
borough. As part of the localism agenda, giving the Council a greater role in delivering
economic growth in Milton Keynes, the Council has recently purchased a portfolio of 297
hectares (including 25 major sites, smaller sites and an investment portfolio comprising
buildings and obligations) from the HCA. In addition the Council has taken on all of the HCA
planning powers and the MK Infrastructure Tariff, which is funding from developers to help
pay for supporting facilities in the city’s expansion areas. These proposals have made the
Council the sole planning body in Milton Keynes and combined with the Council’s new
responsibility for inward investment, created a streamlined service for developers and
investors.
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March 2013
The MK Offer
Milton Keynes has been built on inward investment. Companies from across the UK and
around the world have chosen to locate and thrive here creating jobs and wealth for the
people who live here. But tough economic conditions and greater competition for inward
investment means that Milton Keynes must continually make sure that the Milton Keynes
proposition is focussed, relevant and well-articulated.
The ‘MK Offer’ is the area’s proposition to inward investors. It says who we are and why we
are different. It provides the Council, its partners and anyone who wants to help promote
Milton Keynes with a clear set of messages that will help to enhance the profile and reputation
of the city. The Offer is not about having logo or a brochure; it is a framework to showcase
what’s best about doing business here.
Over the coming months the MK Offer will be used in a variety of campaigns that will help to
build on Milton Keynes’ position as Britain’s most successful International Business City.
The MK Offer has been constructed following detailed consultations, research and analysis.
There are ten elements to the MK Offer but for it to achieve any degree of buy-in or attention
beyond the local area it needs a hierarchy which can be seen below:
Two Main Headlines:
- Britain’s Most Successful Business City
- Uniquely Designed for Business Growth
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Three Key Pillars:
- Talent
- Innovation
- Opportunity
Five Supporting Messages:
- Location
- Service
- Growth
- Profit
- Lifestyle
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These selling messages within the MK Offer will be worked up in detail and will be supported
by facts and data from a range of reputable sources. They will then form the basis of new
marketing materials including a brand new website, new Invest Milton Keynes (IMK) video
and inward investment folder with case studies and sector profiles, and newly designed
presentation materials. This collateral will be supported and amplified through social media
campaigns and e-marketing campaigns targeting influencers, multipliers, intermediaries and
key business advisors, as well as targeting campaigns that will seek to support existing Milton
Keynes businesses by seeking to attract firms from their supply-chain to locate here.
A key task will be to continue to ensure that the MK Offer is heard and understood by both
internal and external partners, in particular UK Trade & Investment, who are promoting the
UK through 235 overseas posts in target markets such as the United States, Germany,
Japan, China and India.
The Place
Milton Keynes is ideally positioned to attract inward investment from new businesses and
encourage existing businesses to grow in Milton Keynes.
Situated at the very heart of the country with excellent road, rail and transport links and within
easy reach of London, Birmingham and Manchester, Milton Keynes’ businesses can reach
half of England’s population within a two hour drive. We are less than a two hour drive from
six international airports – London Heathrow, London Gatwick, London Luton, London
Stansted, Birmingham and East Midlands. Milton Keynes is situated on the West Coast
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Mainline, with access to central London in 35 minutes, Birmingham in under an hour and
Manchester in just over 90 minutes. Milton Keynes and Bletchley are also at the heart of the
East West Rail plans, with the Government confirming in July 2012 that they would fund the
project and electrify the Oxford to Bedford section of the route. The ports of Dover and
Felixstowe are both within 140 miles of the city.
Milton Keynes is part of the South East Midlands Local Enterprise Partnership (SEMLEP)
area. SEMLEP is based around the geography of 11 local authorities, including Bedford,
Central Bedfordshire, Aylesbury Vale and Northampton. Milton Keynes is the largest economy
in the SEMLEP area. The Invest Milton Keynes team is the nominated inward investment
partner for SEMLEP, and is therefore the first point of contact for UK Trade & Investment
enquiries.
Smart City
The Smart City programme aims to realise the vision of being an exemplar resource-efficient
city with renewable energy sources and sustainable systems. With radical building codes,
retrofit programmes, smart electricity grids and meters, local energy production and integrated
transport, power consumption per person will be reduced to reach the international ambition
of a '2000-watt society' by 2050. In this century of cities, Milton Keynes already offers a global
showcase of business-led innovation and technology where enterprises are uniquely placed
to develop custom services to sustain the economy, conserve resources and improve urban
living.
MK is integrating cooling and heating systems in the city to reduce its carbon footprint and is
also building a smart grid and data systems to smooth out peaks and troughs in electricity
consumption and allow the feed-in of energy from waste, renewable energy and
microgeneration. Over many years housing, health and social care systems have collaborated
to deliver innovative telehealth and telecare services. A programme to develop Milton Keynes
as a low carbon urban transport zone aims to integrate electric car and commercial electric
bus routes with demand-responsive small vehicle public transport. This will help synchronise
traffic flow, reduce congestion, save time and reduce emissions. Milton Keynes’ approach is
to use data gathered from the integration of these systems to cultivate an ‘innovation
ecosystem’ in which city-based alliances of communities, businesses and universities
collaborate to devise new services and applications.
Milton Keynes has demonstrated a proven ability to bring major global companies into
collaborations to pioneer innovative technologies in the city and this ethos will continue with
ongoing opportunities for businesses to develop, test and deliver city-wide projects.
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Land and Premises
Many locations claim to have a great supply of land and premises but nowhere can offer the
scale and quality of sites available in Milton Keynes. The unique design and history of Milton
Keynes enables potential inward investors to design and build their own facilities in city centre
locations to an extent that is not found anywhere else in the UK.
The new 400,000 sq ft Network Rail headquarters, the UK’s largest ever corporate relocation
with more than 3,000 people, is a great example of the ability Milton Keynes has to deliver
major sites and properties. As at March 2013, Milton Keynes has 230 hectares of
undeveloped commercial land, 1.2million square feet of B1 vacant commercial property, and
4million square feet of B2 and B8 vacant commercial property.
We also have a variety of new and planned homes for staff relocating to Milton Keynes,
providing a range of dwellings from 1 to 6 bedrooms. On average, over 1,500 new homes are
built in the borough each year. We have significant numbers of new homes planned on the
western and eastern expansion areas (such as 6,500 new homes in the Western Expansion
Area).
Existing Business Base
As the UK’s fastest growing city, the business base of Milton Keynes is constantly evolving.
We are working with new research that details the type, size and sector of Milton Keynes
businesses today. This will enable us to conduct an informed and detailed analysis of the
11,150 companies that are located here. We will then be in a better position to understand the
key industries and sectors, and respond to growth opportunities and employment patterns.
Milton Keynes is home to a number of major companies, many of whom have their UK
headquarters here. These include Network Rail, Mercedes Benz, Red Bull Racing,
Volkswagen Group, Home Retail Group, Dominos Pizza, Marshall Amplification, World Vision,
the Open University, Suzuki GB and Nissan Technical Centre Europe.
The attraction of future inward investment in Milton Keynes needs to be tied to existing
supply-chains wherever possible. This will ensure a more sustainable approach to inward
investment by adding value to those firms already here. We will be identifying major
companies in the area who are willing to collaborate with us in targeting their national and
global suppliers.
We are also conscious of the important role played by social enterprises and charitable
foundations in Milton Keynes. They are a valued and crucial part of the local economy, in
terms of the work they do, the skills that they have and the assets that they can influence.
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Skills
Milton Keynes continues to attract companies and workers that raise the skill levels in the
area. The Council and its partners are actively addressing the types of skills and qualifications
residents need to secure sustainable, long-term employment, as well as identifying what the
skills requirements of businesses are for the future.
Milton Keynes has the infrastructure and offer already in place, which is supporting the
development of future skills to meet the needs and challenges of local employers. Milton
Keynes College, for example, already offers bespoke training courses and apprenticeships for
local businesses, such as Red Bull Racing, Railcare and Nifty Lifts. Milton Keynes is
committed to an employer-led approach to skills and training so that we can home-grow our
own talent and underpin our growth with the best trained and most suitable workforce
possible.
Milton Keynes is determined to provide the high level skills that its employers demand and the
learning opportunities that students want.
Therefore Milton Keynes is taking a significant step towards creating its own city university
with the opening of the University Campus Milton Keynes (UCMK) in 2013.
UCMK, a new partnership between MK Council and the University of Bedfordshire, will deliver
a range of undergraduate and postgraduate degrees from its home in Central Milton Keynes.
Working with local and global businesses, UCMK will be a hub for enterprise-focused
continuing professional development courses. Its campus will become a base for international
research initiatives, which will include an institute for Smart Cities and a collaborative centre
for Telehealth.
Invest Milton Keynes
To promote and attract external investment in Milton Keynes, the Council working with local
businesses and other Milton Keynes organisations, offers a one-point enquiry approach
‘under one roof’ to inward investment and business retention. The Invest Milton Keynes
service offers a range of bespoke services and support which includes:

Commercial property database – search facility containing information relating to
vacant property and site information in Milton Keynes.

Business relocation and market information – customised reports covering a wide
variety of business and market information.

Assistance with relocating staff and hiring new staff – tailored presentations, support
to help recruitment from the local labour market.
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
Relocating families – advice from education and childcare to leisure activities and
finding employment for partners.

List of relevant local suppliers – putting new businesses in-touch with existing local
suppliers.

City tours – taking key decision makers on ‘orientation tours’, showing them
everything Milton Keynes has to offer.
As Invest Milton Keynes (IMK) is now part of the Council there is an excellent opportunity to
integrate and expand upon the original offer and service. This will be delivered in a number of
ways, such as through:

Connecting to other Council services/departments.

Support to fast track planning applications for development, where they demonstrate
significant economic benefits.

Development of stronger sector propositions and linkages.

Attracting the supply chains of existing Milton Keynes based businesses to the city.

Development Control Committee training – to update members with economic reports
on the potential impacts of planning decisions.

Providing a package of support services including temporary office accommodation
for companies preparing to relocate to Milton Keynes.

Redesigned and updated IMK website, being more visual and providing case studies
of successful Milton Keynes based businesses.

Delivering Milton Keynes key messages the new IMK video.

Social media campaigns, using Twitter, LinkedIn and other platforms.

Targeting campaigns to ensure that key influencers, business advisors, multipliers
and intermediaries are aware of the MK Offer.

Identify potential inward investors from the high-growth sectors that complement
existing local supply-chains.

Targeted and integrated marketing campaign to promote Milton Keynes.

Work with trade and property media to ensure that the MK Offer is promoted.

Cooperating with agents and developers, sharing data and providing mutual support.

Ensure positive impact and messaging at ‘gateways’ to the city, e.g. road and rail.

Support the development of creative incentive packages for inward investors.
Target Investors
Research shows that Milton Keynes has strengths across several sectors such as
automotive, business services, financial services and logistics. These strengths will be used
to attract more investment from related industries and supply-chains; however a broader
approach that focusses on the operation rather than the industrial sector will be adopted. This
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enables us to target far more relevant opportunities with really strong messages around the
MK Offer. The functions that will be targeted are:

Headquarters

Back-Offices

Advanced Manufacturing

R&D and Technology

Logistics/Distribution.
We are confident that the quality of the MK Offer in each of these functions makes the city a
major challenger for the next wave of inward investments.
Business Support
Alongside the IMK offer to new businesses, the Economic Development team also offer
support to existing businesses to assist with retention and growth in Milton Keynes. Many of
the new inward investment opportunities in the future will be created by the growth in supplychains of existing businesses. This places additional importance on business support
activities which will seek to identify and cultivate such opportunities. Through better working
relationships with our existing business base, Milton Keynes Council will ensure that
economic growth and inward investment are interlinked. We will utilise and work together with
our key partners to provide support to the existing Milton Keynes’ businesses. Close
relationships with partners such as SEMLEP and UK Trade & Investment will help to ensure
that international export opportunities are highlighted as an important growth path for local
firms.
Developers and Property Agents
Our relationships with developers and property agents will be crucial in securing new
investment into the city and in successfully bringing forward new sites and premises. IMK will
work closely with local, national and international partners to ensure that all new opportunities
are maximised for the benefit of the city and the people who live and work here.
Partnership Working
Delivery of attracting investment to Milton Keynes is not done in isolation from existing
businesses, stakeholders and partners. Each of our partners plays a key role in articulating a
compelling MK offer. Our partners cover areas such as Education, Business, Visitor
Economy, Leisure and Voluntary Sector amongst others. We will utilise and work together
with our key partners to provide support to the existing and incoming businesses to Milton
Keynes; this has been recognised as being essential to providing a complete support
package.
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Milton Keynes: Inward Investment Plan, March 2013
Pam Gosal
Corporate Head of Economic Development & Inward Investment
Milton Keynes Council
Civic Offices
T 01908 252192
1Saxon Gate East
F 01908 252768
Central Milton Keynes
E [email protected]
MK9 3EJ
W www.milton-keynes.gov.uk
W www.investmiltonkeynes.com