From an outsider’s point of view, Glaxo, the UK’s leading pharmaceutical company, may appear to be a secretive organisation, operating behind closed doors, but without it, Hertfordshire would lose a substantial investment in its economy.
Glaxo dominates Ware. It has 60 acres at Park Road, accommodating more than 1m sq ft, and is by far the largest employer, with a workforce of 3,500.
The company plans to spend some £12m to improve site access and local road layouts, upgrade its existing buildings and construct new facilities.
But because of the site’s constraints, bounded as it is by the A10, the River Lea and residential areas, Glaxo cannot expand its operation in the town and the proposed improvements will serve only to tidy up its existing holding.
The main thrust of future investment has been directed to nearby Stevenage, where Glaxo will spend £750m in developing 100 acres for research and development facilities at Gunnels Wood Road.
Peter Redhead, Glaxo’s group estates manager, explains thereasoning behind the expansion: “Developing new products is the lifeblood of our future success and we believe we need to make a massive investment.”
Recent purchases of the former Warren Springs site (where Glaxo paid £25m for 20 acres) and AMOCO’s 2.5 acres mean that the main site is now assembled and has no direct neighbours.
“This is important for corporate identity and security reasons,” explains Redhead. Elements of the company’s research are sensitive, involving the use of animals, and animal rights activists regularly picket the site.
He adds that because the site is of major strategic importance for the company, coupled with the need for isolation, Glaxo was prepared to pay substantially over the odds to encourage Warren Springs to move.
The 1.4m-sq ft development will be completed by spring 1995. It is expected to house some 1,500 staff.
Redhead adds: “It is probable that we will wait for the whole to be completed before taking occupation.”
A further application is to be submitted within the next two to three months which will effectively double the amount of space on site, together with the numbers employed.
But Redhead points out: “We have no immediate plans to carry out this phase, but it gives us room for expansion if we need it.”
Although Glaxo has located on the periphery of Stevenage, Redhead thinks its presence will bring benefits to the town.
“We will employ 1,500 to 2,000 specialists and a lot of other work will be generated. Staff will live in the area, which will help the housing market and the local economy as a whole,” says Redhead.
Mike Davies of Davies & Co is not so sure. “The site is fenced-off because of security, so I wonder to what extent Glaxo will interact with the rest of the business community.
Its impact on the local commercial property market will be disproportionately small compared with the huge development at Gunnels Wood Road.”
But Glaxo is well aware of the effect it has on the towns which it occupies. Although love/hate relationships tend to arise because of the nature of the company, it recognises that a relationship has to be established at the outset so that both can benefit.
