Big Heart
Birmingham has been a crucial base for industry and employment in the heart of Britain for centuries. While it might no longer be the industrial and manufacturing powerhouse it once was, it remains a centre for innovation. Birmingham has been called the ‘city of a thousand trades’, and it is from here that inventions like the vacuum cleaner were heralded. It was also home to the world’s first professional football league. The city shaped industrial Britain and, in the 19th Century, was one of the country’s fastest-growing cities.
Centre of metals
Birmingham was the leading metalware manufacturer, making guns, watches, toys, and jewellery. In the 19th Century Birmingham had a thriving pen trade – both quills and steel nibs. One of the most famous inventing duos, Matthew Boulton and James Watt, invented the stationary steam engine in the city. The city has always been able to transform and adapt, and there has been a mixture of massive factory outlets and thousands of small workshops.
However, which companies are responsible for Birmingham’s success in the 21st Century, and which are the most prominent companies operating here today? When we talk about the biggest, is that in terms of numbers employed, visitor numbers, or something else unique? While Birmingham still has plenty of small and medium independent manufacturing and service industry companies, its largest companies are, unsurprisingly, national and global players. Here are some of the places and names driving the city’s prosperity.
Let’s go with Mobico
The city’s biggest employer is Mobico, responsible for 4,800 jobs. The UK-wide business is located in Birmingham and runs local bus services as well as its best-known brand National Express. Listed on the London Stock Exchange, it also operates coach and train services in The Republic of Ireland, the United States, Canada, Spain, Portugal and South Korea, to name but a few. Along with national routes, it operates long-distance services across Europe.
Sainsbury’s
Food retail is important to Birmingham’s economy. While the supermarket chain might not be the first name that springs to mind when thinking about Birmingham, they have four outlets within the ring road and another four in the greater Birmingham area. In total, Sainsbury’s employs around 3,500 people.
Mondelez
Mondelez is the parent company that now owns Birmingham’s iconic Cadbury and Trebor brands. When the US giant bought out the chocolate company, it shifted its headquarters to London. However, the Bournville site is still where most of the manufacturing occurs, and around 2,500 people work here.
Cadbury World
The Bournville site is also home to Birmingham’s very own ‘chocolate factory’ experience, and you do not need a golden ticket to gain entry. Cadbury World welcomes over 600,000 visitors a year. The experience includes discovering the origins of the cocoa bean and a trip on the magical Cadabra ride. Visitors get to meet the Cadbury drumming gorilla, Freddo frog and a whole host of other characters. There is even a 4D Chocolate Adventure Cinema with motion seats, a Cadbury Dairy Milk experience, a Crunchie Rollercoaster and a Crème Egg airship. Cadbury World is one of the Midlands’ premier family tourist attractions.
That’s Entertainment
If Cadbury World attracts hundreds of thousands of families, another notable part of Birmingham’s economy revolves around the casino industry. Genting’s Resorts World Casino in Solihull is the UK’s largest casino complex and has a shopping mall, restaurants and cinemas all under one roof. This international casino operator also has its UK headquarters in Birmingham. At its £150 million complex, the company employs 550 people. Gambling is not limited to physical casinos either with a huge growth in online casinos. With this, we’ve seen sites like Casino.org pop up in the UK as an avenue for those new to the scene to gain additional insight. Moreover, companies like Codemasters, FacePunch Studios and Flix Interactive have made Birmingham one of Britain’s premier gaming hotspots.
The centre of it all
The venue in Birmingham which attracts the most people is the NEC. It welcomes around 2.3 million visitors a year. The NEC hosts more than 500 events annually, and more than 45,000 companies exhibit here every year. The NEC arena is the Midlands’ number one venue for entertainment. Upcoming events include the Beyond Van Gogh experience and The Good Food Show. However, the NEC is not just popular with human visitors; it is also the venue for The Horse of The Year Show and The NEC hosts the world’s most famous dog show – Crufts.
Big names – the 2,000 club
There are quite a few companies in the city that employ around two thousand people. These big employers in Birmingham include Asda, Royal Bank of Scotland and TSB. Whitbread also falls into this category with staff in Costa Coffee, Premier Inn and Brewers Fayre Outlets as does IT integration company Specialist Computer Centres.
Motoring
Birmingham remains a key centre for motor manufacturing. While the car industry is no longer what it was in the days of Longbridge, where the iconic Mini was manufactured, Birmingham has maintained its ties with the motor industry. Jaguar Land Rover is still a significant employer in the area, as is Rolls Royce. The Rolls Royce facility creates management software and electronic engine controls for military and commercial aircraft.
Sporting Triumphs
Birmingham is also home to some of the biggest sporting venues. Cricket fans flock to Edgbaston Stadium every year. It is one of the world’s leading cricket venues and has been the home of Warwickshire County Cricket Club since 1885. Some of the biggest first-class and international cricket matches have been played in Birmingham. It is here that the biggest scores in first-class test cricket have been scored.
On Tuesday, June 6th Brian Lara struck the highest score ever made in first-class cricket at the ground. His score of 501 not out earned him his place in the history books. His record remains unbeaten.
Biggest employers
While it is not a company, Birmingham’s biggest employer is the National Health Service. This is hardly surprising when you consider that it is the UK’s biggest employer. It employs around 126,000 people in the West Midlands Area. Birmingham hospitals serve a much larger region than the city itself with its specialist units like the Children’s Hospital. It has one of only two dedicated women’s hospitals in the UK, which has the largest single-site maternity unit in the country. Over 8,000 babies are born every year at Birmingham Women’s Hospital.
