Starting A Business In West London

The whole area of West London is a tourist magnet and there are excellent opportunities for anyone thinking of setting up travel or tourism services. West London is rightly famous for entertainment and is best known for its Theatreland in the West End which includes dozens of venues providing world-class shows. Surrounding Theatreland (nearest tube stations: Covent Garden, Tottenham Court Road, Piccadilly Circus, Leicester Square and Charing Cross) are hundreds of restaurants and takeaways which cater for all tastes ranging from those who want to grab a slice of pizza and keep moving, through to those who seek fine dining at restaurants with three Michelin stars. This means that there many rental opportunities for businesses working in entertainment and catering.

The West End is also well loved for its excellent shopping in and around Oxford Street. This busy retail thoroughfare is sought out by residents and tourists alike. With over 300 shops, it is possibly the busiest shopping street in the whole of Europe. There are a wide variety of shops here, from national flagship department stores through to individual boutiques. It is a dynamic area and there are considerable retail rental opportunities. Further west, towards Mayfair, are more luxurious and exclusive retailers, including jewellers, designer boutiques, art galleries, bespoke tailors and personal services. Here you will also find premier hotels and gaming establishments, with opportunities to rent prestige retail and office space.

Westminster, of course, is the home of the UK government at the Houses of Parliament. The departments which serve the government are mainly in nearby Whitehall and there are lots of opportunities to rent modern office space in and around Westminster and Whitehall (nearest tube stations: Westminster, St James Park, Victoria and Waterloo). This is an area well favoured by news media, research and lobbying organisations.

Another professional cluster in West London is the internationally renowned Harley Street (nearest tube stations: Regents Park, Great Portland Street, and Baker Street) which specialises in private medical practice. It includes private practice clinics which employ some of the most sought after medical specialists in the world. People travel to Harley Street for all kinds of treatment ranging from oncology through to cosmetic enhancements. There are many rental opportunities in and around Harley Street for medical practices where you can join some of the most prestigious professionals in the world.

West London is also home to London Heathrow international airport which is the UK's busiest airport. It's also one of the top three busiest air hubs in the world, bringing in passengers from all corners of the world. It employs around 75,000 people, which means there are good opportunities for companies providing temporary and permanent staff in air support industries. Many of the staff live in and around the airport which means there are openings for accommodation services, and many companies take up office space in the surrounding areas of Heathrow, Hounslow, Feltham, Hatton, Southall and West Drayton.

Heathrow airport also provides extensive cargo services with destinations ranging from Abu Dhabi through to Toronto. There are many UK customs approved bonded warehouses in the area and there are also many freight forwarding companies. This makes it an ideal base for anyone thinking of setting up cargo handling operations or any kind of import or export company.

There is plenty of support available for new businesses locating to West London, especially for anyone considering a move to the science park in Uxbridge. Here, you can work alongside top technology universities and get help with business planning and raising finance.

There is an excellent pool of labour available in West London which is likely to be a consideration for anyone thinking of locating their business there. Because this area is extremely well served by public transport, people are willing to commute from all around London, and from its surrounding counties. There are excellent underground train links as well as an extensive bus service.

When starting up your business, you may want to have a more flexible labour pool to deal with any peaks and troughs in the early days. You'll find that there are many agencies that can help you to fill employment opportunities for both permanent and temporary staff in a number of specialist areas. These agencies often specialise; for example some will provide staff for government jobs which require security clearance, others may specialise in design and creative professionals, others may provide people for day work in restaurants and cafes. Whatever your recruitment needs, you're sure to find them well supplied in West London.