Starting A Business In Swindon As An Irish Expat

As an Irish expat entrepreneur, picking London as the home of your new business presents plenty of challenges. Beyond the cost of rent, high competition and saturated market, it’s a bigger risk to take, especially if you’re newly emigrated and might not have huge amounts of capital to spend on a new venture.

Many expats look further afield to many of the UK’s other cities and towns and, among them, Swindon stands out as a real gem. Only a short drive from London itself, along the belt of towns on the M4 motorway, it’s quietly been carving out one of the best reputations in the UK for being one of the ‘Five Fast Growth Cities’ alongside Norwich, Milton Keynes, Oxford and Cambridge - all of this, despite not even being large enough to qualify as an official city.

As an alternative to many of the UK’s more expensive cities, Birmingham, Manchester - London included, Swindon has built a space that prioritises nurturing young businesses, with a strong localised economy, a lot of external investment into the town itself and transport links to rival any major European city. So, if you’re considering setting up a business in Swindon - here’s a breakdown of the benefits you could be enjoying.

Cost Effective

Moving to the UK as an Irish national is easier than arriving from other countries, thanks to the agreements in place between the two nations. However, it's not without hurdles and expectations that need to be met, especially if you intend to run a business once you arrive. After navigating the application process - often made much easier by working with legal professionals to avoid errors or rejections - you’re going to be expecting to spend a reasonable sum of money to get settled into your new home and start laying the foundations of your new business. Immigration solicitors, Ireland-based specialists can aid in these kinds of decisions, and are an investment in themselves, helping you to minimise your costs in the long-term.

For example, if you intend to purchase property, business premises or hiring staff as an expat, which carries more red tape than it would for a UK national. What's more, these firms are able to support entrepenuers who choose to remain in the UK, in Swindon or otherwise, in the longer term - going as far as naturalising and becoming a UK citizen in their own right. The risk of trying to do all this alone is spending money and time in the UK related to your business, property or migrant status incorrectly, and being forced to either forfeit your gains, pay fines or departing the UK until the border authority can approve your move again.

Innovative Centre

Thanks to its position along the M4, Swindon benefits from a lot of investment as a place good for start-ups looking for London-links, without the price tag. Affectionately named England’s Silicon Valley as a result of the abundance of technology businesses located here. Many large corporations have also chosen to install headquarters around this region, offering the chance for B2B and partnership opportunities as well.

The government has also installed numerous investment schemes including the Swindon and Wiltshire Growth Hub, and the Wiltshire Chamber of Commerce.

Connection Hub

Swindon’s ranking on the Fast Growth City list was not just a result of being a well-located town with good investment opportunities. Outside of that, however, it’s also built a thriving start-up community on the back of that. The Swindon Business Village, 4Networking Swindon and Switch On To Swindon all organise networking events. As an entrepreneur and newly-arrived Irish migrant, these kinds of initiatives can be great for building rapport and connections with new business clients or simply making friendships as a business owner in the area.

Swindon’s growing reputation, built on both its industry and location, are complemented by the town’s habitability, too. After all, if you’re going to build a business somewhere, you’re going to want to live there too. Thankfully, Swindon’s become the real deal for the ambitious business owner willing to take a chance on it, whether they move from Ireland, or elsewhere.