Derbyshire’s location at the heart of the country, with excellent road and rail infrastructure along with high quality employment has enabled logistics and distribution companies to thrive in the county.

The presence of an abundant limestone resource in the Peak District means that there is a long history of quarrying and extraction activities in Derbyshire and there are 21 active quarry sites across the Peak & Dales.

Derbyshire has a long history of materials production and textiles design. This heritage is proving invaluable today, as technology and new processes, partly fuelled by strengths in transport technologies, create the materials of the future.

Derbyshire’s location at the heart of the UK, means that almost 80% of Great Britain can be reached within a four-hour drive, making it an obvious choice for food and drink companies.

Access to renowned universities, major cities and a fantastic quality of life encourages more and more research and development companies to locate in Derbyshire.

Derbyshire has over 35 million tourist visitors per year. The tourism industry annually contributes more than £1.9 billion to the local economy, and employs over 31,000 people.

The creative industries sector grew by 9% in 2014 – almost double the national average – and has increased as a proportion of the total UK gross value added (GVA) for four years running.