A Great Place to do Business
Facts & Figures
Andover occupies a strategic location in central southern England. It lies on the A303 trunk road which links London with the West Country and is close to the A34 trunk road which connects the south coast ports of Southampton and Portsmouth with The Midlands, via the M40.
Andover is within 30 minutes easy drive of more than 50,000 business sites and 520,000 people including 380,000 of working age*
Andover’s population is forecast to grow from just over 51,000 today to 60,000 by 2031.
* Source HCC Arc GIS
The Grant Thornton Vibrant Economy Index ranks all 325 local authorities in the UK in 7 economic ‘objectives for society.’ Test Valley features strongly both within Hampshire (13 local authorities) and in the UK, as it is in the top 20% overall in the UK.
Test Valley’s results:
Dynamism and Opportunity – Top 20%
Vibrant Economy – Top 20%
Prosperity – Top 30%
Community, Trust and Belonging – Top 20%
Inclusion and Equality – Top 10%
Health, Wellbeing and Happiness – Top 30%
Resilience and sustainability – Top 30% (Top in Hampshire)
Andover is well connected
Andover provides easy access to southern England and the Midlands and has great connections by road and rail to Southampton Airport and the port of Southampton.
Its mainline rail station has recently undergone a £700,000 makeover with improvements to its parking and platform facilities.
View Larger Map
| By Road | By Rail | By Air |
| • M3 J8: 13 miles. M4 J13:
• Basingstoke: 18 miles |
• London Waterloo: |
• Heathrow: 58 miles • Gatwick: 80 miles • Southampton: 28 miles |
You'll be in good company
Andover is home to many famous names including
- Stannah Stairlifts
- Simplyhealth
- Le Creuset
- Lloyds Banking Group
- Britax Excelsior
- Co-op Food
- Abel & Cole
- Ocado
'For Ocado, we have been thrilled with the quality of people that we have been able to attract to various roles at the CFC including Operations, Engineering and Service Delivery. As a business with a great brand and reputation for quality and service we pride ourselves in how we look after our employees. It is satisfying to know that we can offer local people an innovative and technology led working environment where they have genuine development and progression opportunities and superb benefits that significantly exceed what is on offer elsewhere in the local area.'
Ocado will employ towards 1000 people in a state of the art regional distribution centre in Andover serving central southern England when fully up and running. They are also pioneering new robot technology which was broadcasted on BBC news.
'For J&J Carter, moving to Andover has been a great success. The transport network with the A303 within minutes, as well as the A34 and M3 not too far, is perfect. For anyone considering Andover as a place to work and operate their business you will not find anywhere more friendly and accommodating. The local businesses and residents will welcome you with open arms.' - J&J Carter Limited
'We are a telecommunications company, specialising in the management of network assets on behalf of network operators and owners. Being based in Andover, with its proximity to London - the main UK telecoms hub, we have easy access to top carriers and network operators.
We remarket equipment for resale in a global marketplace, so export is a key part of our operation, dispatching equipment daily to destinations as diverse as Russia and South America.
So for Lynx, Andover is a great geographical location from which to operate as it has fast rail links, is sited close to major trunk routes, and has easy access to ports and airports.
In addition to its location, we were attracted to Andover by the type and range of business premises available; the favourable cost of premises and business rates; excellent local service providers and suppliers and skilled local workforce.
TVBC works hard to support its business community and they have also contributed to our growth through access to funding initiatives such as the Andover Skills Fund' - Lynx UK Limited
It also has thousands of smaller businesses which thrive on its main business parks: Andover Business Park Portway East and Portway West Business Parks and Walworth Business Park Many new businesses are growing in Andover’s Enterprise Centres at Basepoint (East Portway) and Walworth.
Andover is also home to the British Armys new headquarters, which employs more than 2,000 personnel, and is located at Marlborough Lines, Andover.
'After a long search Verdo Renewables chose Andover as our headquarters in England because of its strategic location and excellent access to our business and domestic markets. Since then we have invested £15m into state of the art technology, eco friendly woodfuel production plant, grown to occupy more premises and take on new staff. Andover is a great place to do business.' - Richard Smith, Managing Director, Verdo Renewables Ltd.
A Great Workforce
Andover has a resident workforce of about 27,000. This reflects the Borough's high economic activity rate participation in the labour market of 82% (compared with 76% nationally) and high employment rate proportion of the workforce in resulting in employment 78% compared with 70% nationally (proportion of the workforce in employment).
There is a wide range of employment opportunities in Andover and the local job market is well-served by Jobcentre Plus and many recruitment agencies.
Andover has a long tradition of engineering with large employers represented today by the likes of Stannah Stairlifts, Twinings and many more. Distribution and Logistics is also a growing sector in the town which reflects its excellent location and transport links.
Andover's resident workforce is stronger in the skilled trades, plant & machinery operations and administrative occupation reflecting its industrial base (sources: 2001 Census and 2012 Jobcentre Plus Vacancy data from NOMIS).
Council Support
Test Valley Borough Council will do everything it can to support existing businesses and to attract new ones to Andover. Developing a competitive local economy is one of the Council’s four corporate priorities and the Council has helped 400 new businesses start up with its Business Incentive Grant.
The Council owns Portway East and Portway West Business Parks and Walworth Business Park and has entered an innovative partnership with Kier Property to regenerate Walworth Business Park.
As well as business-to-business networks, other agencies are closely involved whether it's the local manager of Jobcentre Plus for recruitment advice or the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), Andover College or University of Winchester. All know each other and are happy to help.
The Council is keen to support new businesses through the regulatory processes and to use its influence with partners to attract new investment.
Help with Training
Andover has a skilled workforce but the Council is keen to do even more. Uniquely, the Council manages a £500,000 Andover Skills Training Fund which offers grants to help smaller businesses raise employees’ skills. For more info please click here.
Many business networks
People in Andover like doing business with each other, and the Test Valley Business Awards celebrate business excellence across the borough.
The Andover Committee of the Hampshire Chamber of Commerce has been working hard to support apprenticeships and is involved in many other initiatives. For more information click here.
The Andover Mutual Business Group, Andover Women in Business, and others hold regular meetings together with specific networking groups.
