City status in 2002 was a significant achievement that recognised Preston's long history, diverse community, sub-regional importance and the Council's ambitious future plans. It also means that Preston's national and international profile has been raised - increasing the city's potential to attract further investment and jobs.
Employment structure
Preston's excellent location has helped it to adapt and diversify its employment structure from a traditional manufacturing base in textiles and engineering. British Aerospace Defence continues to employ in excess of 10,000 staff in the sub-region, but new employment has been created in other higher-value sectors such as business services, computing and finance. The city has a skilled local workforce and is also home to the University of Central Lancashire, which is one of the UK’s larger universities, providing employment for over 3,000 people and a skilled local workforce. A new Central Business District is proposed for the city centre to ensure these important business sectors continue to expand.
Strengths
Preston’s strengths and opportunities are identified in strategic regional documents as:
- A focal point, at the intersection of north-south / east-west transport corridors and a regional public transport gateway and interchange;
- A centre for culture, leisure and quality city living;
- An established advanced engineering and aerospace industries;
- A centre of public administration, justice, and financial services;
- An expanding city centre campus for the University of Central Lancashire, with links to knowledge-based business;
- Specialist medical services centred on Royal Preston Hospital;
- Higher order retailing and services.
Investment opportunities
Preston is the principal retail and service centre in Lancashire, and the principal leisure centre in the Central Lancashire area. It has a wide range of national and independent stores located in the city centre and there are proposals for major redevelopment at Tithebarn in the city centre, which will include major new retail development to boost it’s retail offer.
Recent business investment in Preston includes two state-of-the-art communication centres, by Carphone Warehouse and Homeserve plc, both UK leader's in their fields, and the current development of a regional distribution centre by James Hall & Co on a strategic site next to the M6.
To find out more about investment opportunities in Preston and what the city can offer your business, log onto our dedicated website Preston; New City, New Opportunities.
Read all about our future plans and major developments in our latest Publicity business newsletter, which can be downloaded at the end of this page.
Contact: Andrew White on 01772 903423 or a.white@preston.gov.uk
Document links
| Document downloads | File Size |
| Adobe Acrobat Reader is available FREE of charge. You can download it directly from Adobe's website by clicking the link to the right. Once on Adobe's website, follow the instructions on screen to install the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader. |  |
| Publicity Business Newsletter - Spring 2010 (PDF) | 456KB |
| Preston Demographics - June 2009 (PDF) | 119KB |
Date Updated: 06/05/10