Category: Surrey Success Stories

Rakuten Symphony – a Surrey Success Story

Published 19 February 2025

Surrey Success Stories

Rakuten Symphony is the latest of our Surrey Success Stories, a collection of video case studies of businesses – large and small – that are putting our region on the map. Click on the video below to discover how this Surrey firm with Japanese roots is reimagining the telecommunications market.

Who are Rakuten Symphony?

Rakuten Symphony is a British firm with a Japanese mentality.

It is one of more than 70 services which form the Rakuten group, a global company with Japanese roots which has more than one billion members.

Located in Weybridge, Rakuten Symphony provides cloud-native, open radio access network and operational support systems solutions to the telecommunications industry.

Its journey started five years ago with the mission to disrupt and reinvent the sector. Its aim is low-cost, fast and high-quality network coverage for every single person. And a key part of driving is digitalising all of its business processes.

A cutting-edge facility in Weybridge opened in April 2023 with support of Japanese and UK governments. This supports the testing of Open Radio Access Network (RAN) and third-party technology, while also allowing mobile operators to come and see how it works.

This approach attracts customers from across the globe. Last month, an agreement was signed with Telkom Kenya to test Open RAN technology throughout Africa. And this month, Rakuten Symphony started testing in Ukraine with a view to developing critical digital infrastructure in the war-hit country.

Rakuten Symphony: where east meets west

Rakuten Symphony’s Japanese roots are evident throughout its UK headquarters.

It’s also evident in its employees, who must embody Rakuten Shugi (or Basic Principles) through their professional roles.

There is high value on innovation and entrepreneurship. Plus, a focus on the Rakuten group’s overall mission to improve the way people live and drive progress in society through our revolutionary services.

But another crucial ingredient is the region of Surrey, with the benefits supporting business objectives and employee wellbeing.

As UK Managing Director Nastasi Karaiskos says: “There’s a great talent pool to tap into, an accessible area, beautiful place to work, great connections to the motorways, close connections to the airports, close connections to the trains.”

Looking to relocate your business to Surrey?

Looking for a vibrant UK region to base your business? Discover more about the benefits of doing business in Surrey by getting in touch with our expert team.

Thanks to our desirable location, reputation for innovation and collaborative business ecosystem, Surrey is a top business location of choice.

As part of Business Surrey, Surrey County Council can assist companies looking to invest and grow in Surrey via the Invest in Surrey service.

Whether you’re a start-up, SME or international company, you can benefit from specialist expertise, local knowledge and business support.

Get in touch with the team today via our business support form.

Two men - one in a Rakuten Symphony polo shirt - look at a computer rack system which powers cloud based technology.

Supporting Sail Croatia with their carbon reduction strategy: a Business Surrey case study

Published 11 February 2025

Advice and support, Surrey Success Stories

Background: 

In 2024, Sail Croatia, a Surrey-based Mediterranean travel operator, approached Business Surrey for assistance in quantifying their carbon emissions and developing a carbon reduction strategy.

Despite their significant efforts to calculate their carbon footprint, they lacked confidence in their methodology and wanted external verification to establish a credible baseline before publicly sharing their emissions data or committing to further action.

Challenges:

  • Without an inhouse sustainability expert, the business lacked confidence in the existing carbon footprint calculation methodology they had used.
  • The team felt external verification was needed to ensure accuracy and credibility.
  • The business had identified the need to develop a comprehensive carbon reduction strategy, including short-term and long-term actions.
  • The senior management team knew that the sustainability plan would only be successful if it was to communicated effectively to the entire team to gain their buy-in and suggestions.

Solution: 

A decarbonisation consultant from Business Surrey was engaged to:

  1. Verify and Strengthen Carbon Footprint Calculations:
    • The Business Surrey expert advisor reviewed and validated the assumptions and figures used in the initial calculations to ensure they were robust and accurate.
    • The advisor also provided recommendations for emissions calculators to track emissions from travel, fuels, third-party services such as laundry, and catering.
    • And suggested ways to help Sail Croatia’s chefs design lower-impact menus.
  2. Develop a Comprehensive Decarbonisation Strategy:
    • Identified short-term wins and long-term actions for carbon reduction.
    • Proposed verifiable offsetting options for emissions that were difficult to avoid.
  3. Effective Communication and Team Engagement:
    • Assisted in communicating the carbon reduction plan in a relatable way to the entire team.
    • Ensured team members’ involvement, especially those new to the company’s sustainability efforts, to align the workforce with the vision of building a more sustainable business.

Results:

  • Enhanced confidence in the company’s carbon footprint data.
  • A solid foundation for long-term sustainability commitments.
  • Improved team engagement and alignment with the company’s sustainability goals.

Grant Seuren, Co-Founder/Director of Sail Croatia says, “Thank you for all your assistance, it has been really valuable to us. Overall, we now have a proper foundation that we can build on.”

Grant Seuren - Sail croatia founder. Business Surrey carbon reduction strategy

Support for Surrey businesses

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Magical Mushroom Company – a Surrey Success Story

Published 20 January 2025

Innovation, Surrey Success Stories

Magical Mushroom Company is the latest of our Surrey Success Stories, a collection of video case studies of businesses – large and small – that are putting our region on the map. Click on the video below to discover how Surrey is harnessing nature to help it grow.

Magical Mushroom Company: growing from nature

Meet the Surrey company harnessing the power of nature to tackle plastic pollution.

Magical Mushroom Company launched in Esher in 2019. Since then has grown from startup to a scaling business producing millions of pieces of packaging for a huge range of companies across Europe.

The company harnesses the natural flexibility and strength of mycelium, the material structure of fungi, to grow protective packaging by combining it with agricultural waste such as hemp, cork and sawdust.

This offers a safe, sustainable and totally home-compostable alternative to plastic foams. Clients include Selfridges, Lush and drinks company Seedlip.

As well as packaging it has grown chairs, beehives, hampers, and even funerary urns!

Growing in Surrey

Magical Mushroom Company continues to grow from its Surrey roots.

Its base in Esher has provided a strong foothold for business in the capital while able it to recruit top local talent. It also provides employees a great quality of life.

Magical Mushroom Company continues to evolve- and now the only firm in the world mass producing mycelium products.

Since 2020, the company has produced millions and millions of pieces of Mushroom® Packaging, effectively removing thousands of tonnes of plastic packaging from landfill.

Thanks to a £1.1 million loan from Innovate UK, it has opened a UK-based raw materials plant so it can ramp up production.

With factories in Nottingham and Sofia, its capacity has grown to 200,000 units per week.

All this means it has about 50 full-time employees and on track to turnover £6 million in 2024.

Looking to relocate your business to Surrey?

Thanks to our desirable location, reputation for innovation and collaborative business ecosystem, Surrey is a top business location of choice.

As part of Business Surrey, Surrey County Council can assist companies looking to invest and grow in Surrey via the Invest in Surrey service.

Whether you’re a start-up, SME or international company, you can benefit from specialist expertise, local knowledge and business support.

Get in touch with the team today via our business support form.

Two men looking at products in a Building Materials merchants
Man wearing gloves sprinkling sawdust into a container
An image of inside the Magical Mushroom Company factory in Esher, Surrey

3ti: a Surrey Success Story

Published 5 December 2024

Innovation, Surrey Success Stories

3ti is the latest of our Surrey Success Stories, a collection of video case studies of businesses – large and small – that are putting our region on the map. Click on the video below to discover how this Leatherhead company has become a leading light in renewable energy and EV charging.

3ti: fuelling cars with sunshine

Have you heard about the company that creates solar-powered pop-up car parks?

Our latest Surrey Success Story features 3ti, a Leatherhead company which is a leader in the renewable energy, battery storage and EV charging sectors.

Since being founded in 2019, the company has grown from 3 to 33 employees. And it’s forecast to turnover £10 million in 2024.

3ti’s products have generated eight gigawatt-hours of solar power – saving customers £2 million in energy costs and avoiding carbon emissions equivalent to planting over 32,000 trees.

The impact is also clear in the bottom line. The company is growing year on year and almost doubled its headcount in the last 12 months.

Innovation and sustainability

3ti stands for three technology infrastructure – meaning solar, batteries and EV charging.

The company combines these technologies in pop-up car park infrastructure.

3ti’s core product is Papilio3, a pop-up mini solar car park and EV charging hub made out of a converted shipping container.

As founder Tim Evans said: “When I drive home this evening, it will be powered by this afternoon’s sunshine.”

Being based in Leatherhead brings many benefits to the company.

It provides a fantastic quality of life for its employees. There are good schools, thriving communities and accessible countryside in easy reach. Plus there are fast connections to London, Gatwick, the M25 and beyond.

Being based in Surrey allows 3ti to access a highly-skilled talent pool powered by three leading universities.

Ryan Sherratt is a living example. He landed a job with 3ti straight out of university and is now putting his renewables learning into real-life practice with a growing business.

Looking to relocate your business to Surrey?

Thanks to Surrey’s desirable location, reputation for innovation and collaborative business ecosystem, Surrey is a top business location of choice.

As part of Business Surrey, Surrey County Council offers the Invest in Surrey service. We assist companies looking to invest and grow in Surrey.

So whether you’re a start-up, SME or international company, you can benefit from specialist expertise, local knowledge and business support.

Get in touch with the team today via our business support form.

A white electric car with 3ti on its side is charging at a pop up solar car park made out of a shipping container.
Man sitting at a desk looking at a computer screen and smiling
Man using an electric charging plug to charge up his car. On the back of the white vehicle is a 3ti logo.

KFC UK: a Surrey Success Story

Published 29 October 2024

Skills and workforce, Surrey Success Stories

KFC UK is the latest of our Surrey Success Stories, a collection of video case studies of businesses – large and small – that are putting our region on the map. Click on the video below to discover why Surrey is a great place for this international brand to have its UK base .

KFC UK: an iconic brand with an iconic founder

It’s an iconic global brand with a founder as famous as its food. But how many of you knew that Colonel Sanders’ fried chicken legacy is rooted in Surrey as well as Kentucky?

It’s nearly a century since the white suited Sanders first started serving his fried chicken in a roadside motel in the United States. The taste is now exported round the world, including the UK.

Kentucky Fried Chicken – known better as KFC – opened its first UK restaurant in Preston, Lancashire in the 1960s.

And the UK operation has never looked back. Currently there are more than 1,000 branches in the UK. And its parent company KFC UK has an annual turnover of close to £300 million.

This major operation is all coordinated from a UK headquarters in the heart of the Surrey town of Woking.

KFC’s secret to success

So how has a company founded in the southern US state of Kentucky come to be so popular?

Well, the food is pretty good – with the unique blend of 11 herbs and spices still very much a top level secret.

The company is also committed to being bold and innovative.

Jo Tivers, Head of Food and Quality, said: “I love working in the fast food industry. As the name suggests, it’s really, really fast. We can be really innovative, we can try new things. We have a customer base that is really interested in trying new things.”

The company is also big on investing in its people – with culture being a real focus. It claims to be “people first culture, really heart-led” – with a real focus on supporting and championing young people, especially with their first jobs.

As Hema Ladwa, People Experience Lead, explains: “We really believe that everyone has the potential, we just need to feed that potential, whether it’s feeding them chicken or whether it’s feeding them through their knowledge and through their learning and development.”

This commitment inspires loyalty and nurtures talent, for now and into the future.

KFC UK and Surrey

KFC UK has had its restaurant support centre in Woking for more than 25 years. About 350 people are based there, with location being a major plus point – for business and for pleasure.

With direct train links to London taking 30 minutes and the M25 and two major airports a short drive away, connectivity couldn’t be better.

Jenny Packwood, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, said: “Not only do we have great proximity to London, the trains are really quick in and out to London for people who live there. And because we’re international, the proximity to Heathrow and Gatwick is also really helpful.”

Woking is also a fantastic place for people to be live, continually being ranked among the best places in the UK to reside.

There’s culture, countryside, shopping, great food and drink plus access to a range of recreational facilities.

Jo Tivers, Head of Food and Quality, said: “It’s great to be able to go into the weekend, enjoy lunch out with the family, take them to the theatre, to the cinema. There’s always something incredible to do.”

Looking to relocate your business to Surrey?

Thanks to our desirable location, reputation for innovation and collaborative business ecosystem, Surrey is a top business location of choice.

As part of Business Surrey, Surrey County Council offers the Invest in Surrey service.

Our specialised team offers free and confidential services. We assist companies looking to invest and grow in Surrey.

Whether you’re a start-up, SME or international company, you can benefit from specialist expertise, local knowledge and business support.

Get in touch with the team today via our business support form.

A red and white bucket with the words KFC on it is on a table. In the background is a picture of Colonel Sanders, the founder of KFC.
Image of fried chicken on a wire tray. A person in a black apron is using tongs to lift the chicken into a KFC bucket.
Two people - a man in a black jacket and a woman in a short sleeved grey top - sit at a table talking to each other. In the background is the words "Finger Lickin Good" in neon lighting, which is the slogan for KFC UK.

Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd: a Surrey Success Story video

Published 26 September 2024

Innovation, Surrey Success Stories

Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd is the latest of our Surrey Success Stories, a collection of video case studies of businesses – large and small – that are putting our region on the map. Click on the video below to discover how Surrey helped this company really take off.

Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd: made in Surrey

Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) is a Surrey Success Story which is literally out of this world.

From starting out in the late 1970s as an experiment in a small university lab, the company has really taken off.

And now, more than 40 years on, SSTL has 400 employees and launched more than 70 satellites into space for 22 countries.

But, more importantly, it paved a new way in space exploration – demonstrating how relatively small and inexpensive “micro” satellites could be built rapidly to perform successful and sophisticated missions.

Its story is a showcase of British ingenuity, ambition and engineering expertise. And central to it all has been its home region of Surrey.

How Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd took off

In the late 1970s, a group of researchers working at the University of Surrey, led by a young Martin Sweeting, decided to experiment by creating a satellite using commercial off-the-shelf components.

That first satellite, UoSat-1, was built in a small university lab in a cleanroom fabricated from B&Q.

Launched in 1981 with the help of NASA, the small satellite was a great success, outliving its planned three year life by more than five years.

In 1985 Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd formed as a spin-out company to transfer the results of research into a commercial enterprise.

In 2009 Airbus bought the majority shareholding from the University of Surrey, allowing SSTL to fulfill its growth potential.

It continues to go from strength to strength. Future plans include working on the Lunar Pathfinder project. This will be the UK’s first full satellite to go and orbit the moon.

Surrey: home to collaboration and innovation

“Surrey is the sole reason we exist today. I think from my friends at school who went to other universities at the same time that I did, and who tried to do one or two sort of things a little bit out of the ordinary. They tended to get sort of pushed back.”

Rather than being pushed back, Sir Martin Sweeting received backing aplenty, crucially from the University of Surrey.

The institution supported his idea and a home at the Surrey Research Park, where SSTL remains today.

Since being formed more than 40 years ago, SSTL has created more than 2,500 jobs. In the same period, its turnover has been £1.5 billion, of which £1 billion has been exports.

Key to growth has been collaboration with other Surrey businesses, including the Space South Central cluster.

Zoe Bowden, Head of Procurement and ESG, said: “We’re the largest space cluster in the UK at the moment. It’s a really fantastic way to unite industry, academia and government. Our indirect supply chain has really benefited from a lot of the SMEs that are around the local area.”

Surrey’s location is also a brilliant selling point to investors and important stakeholders.

Andrew Greenhalgh, Head of Marketing, explains: “The number of visitors we get here, the number of politicians who are interested in space, who love the fact they can be in Surrey within 35 minutes from Waterloo. We’re very proud that we can bring them down to Surrey and show them what we’re doing here.”

Looking to relocate your business to Surrey?

Thanks to our desirable location, reputation for innovation and collaborative business ecosystem, Surrey is a top business location of choice.

As part of Business Surrey, Surrey County Council offers the Invest in Surrey service.

Our specialised team offers free and confidential services. We assist companies looking to invest and grow in Surrey.

Whether you’re a start-up, SME or international company, you can benefit from specialist expertise, local knowledge and business support.

Get in touch with the team today via our business support form.

Ann Summers: a Surrey Success Story video

Published 12 September 2024

Surrey Success Stories

Ann Summers is the first of our Surrey Success Stories, a collection of video case studies of businesses – large and small – that are putting our region on the map. Click on the video tab below to find the secret to their success.

Ann Summers and Surrey

Ann Summers has been a landmark business in Surrey for more than 50 years. And during that time they have used the region as a base to garner international notoriety.

As chief executive officer Maria Hollins says: “We are known for being trailblazers, for breaking taboos and pushing boundaries. I think we literally are one-of-a-kind.”

The business started out in 1971 as two stores. The Gold family bought it in 1972. Under their leadership it has grown to be an established, iconic British brand.

The company now has 86 stores, a global website, trade with 14 external partners and direct selling business. Its most recent annual turnover was reported to be more than £100 million.

And all of it is centered on a head office and warehouse next to the A22 in Whyteleafe, just north of Caterham.

The secret of Ann Summers

“When you speak to people in our business and you ask them why they joined and why they stay with Anne Summers, it is because of our culture.”

As Talent Acquisition and Engagement Lead at Ann Summers, Lauren Simmons knows the reasons why people love working at the business.

With 360 colleagues working at their Whyteleafe HQ there is lots of scope for progression. And many of those who work for the business have been with the company for many years. This is in part down to the culture, its reputation for innovation and the where it is based.

But why did Ann Summers base itself in Surrey back in the early 1970s?

“We have been here for more than 50 years. The family were based in Surrey so it kind of made sense for the business to be here,” says Melinda Louis, Operations Manager at Ann Summers.

Surrey – a great place to do business

So, what are the advantages of a major retail business being anchored in Surrey?

Well, for those at Ann Summers it’s all about location, location, location.

With two international airports, the M25 just minutes away and excellent connections to London and Dover, there’s nowhere better

Melinda Louis, Operations Manager at Ann Summers, said: “We always talk about the Midlands for logistics. Well, let me tell you, Surrey is the place to be. It’s kind of that feeling of having everything London has, but with additional benefits.”

“We’ve got great transport links. We’re very close to the M25, pretty close to some of the ports and obviously we bring in a lot of product inbound from overseas.”

And with such a prominent HQ next to a major road always, the business is well known to tens of thousands of people using the A22 every day.

Lauren Simmons, Talent Acquisition and Engagement Lead at Ann Summers, said: “We’ve almost become a bit of a landmark actually. The roundabout that is right by our office is now known as the Ann Summers roundabout, which we’re really proud of.”

Melinda Louis, Operations Manager at Ann Summers, said: “We always talk about the Midlands for logistics. Well, let me tell you, Surrey is the place to be. It’s kind of that feeling of having everything London has, but with additional benefits.”

Do you want to relocate your business to Surrey?

Thanks to our desirable location, reputation for innovation and collaborative business ecosystem, Surrey is a top business location of choice.

As part of Business Surrey, Surrey County Council offers the Invest in Surrey service.

Our specialised team offers free and confidential services. We assist companies looking to invest in Surrey.

Whether you’re a start-up, SME or international company, you can benefit from specialist expertise, local knowledge and business support. This will help ensure a faster, more successful investment.

Get in touch with the team today via our business support form.

An picture of the outside of a large office block belonging to a business. The building has grey cladding with large red letters on the exterior