California Returns To The UK!

Ian Fuller | 16 Jan 2020 | General

The Greater Irvine Chamber of Commerce, which leads economic development for the city of Irvine in Orange County in California, plans to return to the UK this February for a one week mission. The goal of these missions is to encourage UK firms to choose Orange County, California to establish their US operations. This is OCO Global’s fourth time organizing the delegation’s mission, and the results definitely speak for themselves! To date, Irvine has met with over 100 British firms, hosted over 25 British firms in Orange County, and has helped five companies expand to Irvine. Some recent announcements of expansion to Irvine include Forte Medical and Oneclick.

Here at OCO Global, we will be coordinating the delegation’s meetings, please reach out to set up an appointment. The delegation includes directors from the Chamber of Commerce along with leaders from local universities and major Irvine companies such as Allergan and Edwards Lifesciences. Meetings will be hosted at K&L Gates near St. Pauls in London

Why Irvine and Orange County?

The region has been a hotbed for the life science industry for decades, starting in the 1950’s. Today it has 1,100 life science companies, employing more than 43,000 people and generating $35.3b annually. Irvine hosts major corporations such as Allergan and Edwards Lifesciences alongside top universities like the University of California at Irvine. The city has an innovative start-up ecosystem with launch pads such as OCTANE, connecting medical innovators to investors, all with a cost of business nearly 50% less than Silicon Valley. With its strategic location in Southern California(between LA and San Diego), Irvine companies can tap into the over 60% of US life science venture capital that flows to California firms.

 

Reach out to find out more!