Overview
The Isle of Wight’s economic landscape presents a diverse mix of sectors, with significant activities in professional, scientific, technical activities, construction, and trade. The total employee count stands at 22,102, reflecting a dynamic employment scenario. Notably, there’s an absence of IPOs, suggesting a focus on established businesses over new market entrants. The gender distribution among founders and directors indicates a skew towards male dominance, which could highlight potential areas for gender diversity initiatives.
Employment and Business Growth
- Total Employees: 22,102 employees with a 7.44% growth in employment. This suggests a robust employment market, potentially driven by the dominant sectors.
- Top Sectors by Company Count: Key sectors include Professional, Scientific, and Technical Activities (13.53%), Construction (11.52%), and Wholesale/Retail Trade (9.91%). The diversity in top sectors reflects a balanced economic structure.
- Top Sectors by Growth: No specific data on sector growth rates, indicating a need for more detailed analysis on sector dynamics.
- Number of Scaleups: 27 companies. This indicates a moderate level of business scaling, essential for long-term economic sustainability.
Business Continuity
- Company Cessations: No specific data provided. This metric is crucial to understand business survival and market stability.
- Number of New Companies (Last 2 Years): 662, reflecting a vibrant entrepreneurial environment.
- Number of SMEs: 5,322, indicating that small and medium enterprises form the backbone of the local economy.
- Number of Exporters: 123, suggesting a level of international trade engagement.
- Number of Companies with Foreign Parentage: 56, showing some degree of foreign investment or multinational presence.
- Number of Fundraisings: 148, highlighting active investment and financing activities.
- Number of Patent Owners: 3, a relatively low figure, which could suggest limited innovation or a focus on non-patentable sectors.
Director and Founder Demographics
- Gender Distribution of Founders: 10.53% female, 89.47% male. This significant gender gap highlights an area for potential policy intervention to support female entrepreneurship.
- Gender Distribution of Directors: 31.98% female, 64.98% male. Similar to founders, a gender gap is evident, though less pronounced.
- Age Distribution of Directors: Majority (41.04%) are over 60, followed by the 50-60 age bracket (26.09%). This indicates experienced leadership, but may also point to a need for younger perspectives in director roles.
Other Indicators
- Number of Young Companies with Young Directors: 164, demonstrating a promising influx of young leadership in new enterprises.
- Number of Spinouts: 0, suggesting limited commercialisation of academic or corporate research.
- Event Attendances: 2. The data is unclear, requiring clarification for relevance.
Conclusion
The Isle of Wight’s economic and business activity is characterised by a strong mix of sectors, steady employment growth, and a significant SME presence. While the landscape shows healthy signs of entrepreneurship and investment, areas like gender diversity in leadership, innovation, and research commercialisation present opportunities for further development.