A Growing Local Economy

Stevenage is located in the UK’s innovation corridor and the golden triangle of London, Oxford and Cambridge, and has a strong track record of cutting- edge business innovation. We’re proud to say that we’re home to a wide range of international, sector-leading companies along with hundreds of ground-breaking organisations. Stevenage is well on the way to becoming a STEM city with growth in many of these sectors.

These world renowned organisations include GSK, the pioneers behind the first malaria vaccine and one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical firms, Airbus – where a quarter of the world’s satellites are produced and MBDA, Europe’s leading defence agency.

Airbus were recently awarded £3.9 million from the UK Space Agency to create a space and connectivity catalyst at its headquarters in Stevenage.

Alongside expertise in space and defence, Stevenage is a leading Life Sciences Centre, not just in the UK but across the globe. Our state of the art facilities include Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst, home to a range of fast-growing biotech, pharmaceutical and medical businesses who can all draw upon world-leading support, facilities and networking opportunities and recently benefitted from major investment.

Specialist space for life sciences companies has been delivered in the town centre at the former Marshgate car park site, with a new £65 million European Headquarters for Autolus Therapeutics operational.

A new life sciences development has been granted planning permission for the area known as The Forum, including with the re-provision of parking. A multi-million expansion of the GSK site has also been granted approval from the local authority.