Hanover, home to the world’s largest marksmen’s festival and former supplier of royalty to the UK, is an influential industrial centre and a thriving hub of business and trade. The capital of Lower Saxony, Hanover is a major presence in northern Germany with an international reputation as a trade fair and conference venue.

In business matters, Hanover is a solid all-rounder, and many local brands have succeeded in establishing a worldwide reputation. Technology pioneers such as Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles and Continental or major insurance companies such as Concordia and VGH are just a few examples.

A little history first. Bear with me, there’s a bit about 17 failed pregnancies. The electors of Hanover became monarchs of Great Britain when George I acceded to the British throne in 1714. George succeeded Queen Anne, who despite an astounding 17 pregnancies by her husband Prince George of Denmark, died without any surviving children. She was the last monarch of the House of Stuart, and although over 50 Catholics bore closer blood relationships, George got the nod because he was Anne’s closest living Protestant relative. The last British monarch from the House of Hanover was William IV, who died in 1837, and as the law required succession by the male line, the accession of Queen Victoria in Hanover was forbidden.

In terms of spending power and turnover, the region is one of the most successful retail trade hubs in Germany.

As an economic region, Hanover is staunchly rooted in a well-established and forward-looking environment with a broad range of business sectors. The city is a leading industrial location, service centre and trade hub and is renowned for hosting such trade fairs as Hanover Messe, the world’s largest industrial fair, and CeBIT, the world’s largest computer expo. The efficient and interdisciplinary transfer of knowledge between business enterprises and renowned research and development institutes is a reliable factor for encouraging innovation and business start-ups.

In terms of spending power and turnover, the region is one of the most successful retail trade hubs in Germany. Other advantageous features of the economic metropolis of Hanover are its central geographical location, optimum transport infrastructure and effective economic development schemes. Highly diverse educational institutions, excellent leisure amenities and numerous greenbelt recreation areas all add up to create an impressive regional profile.

Well-known brands guarantee that the economic region of Hanover is represented all over the globe. Companies such as Bahlsen, BREE, KIND Hearing Aids, Komatsu-Hanomag, MTU Maintenance, Rossmann, Sennheiser electronic, Solvay Deutschland and TUI all have their headquarters in the city. The automobile industry – including technology pioneers such as Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, Continental, Johnson Controls and WABCO – plays a particularly important role.

Major insurance companies such as Concordia and VGH have their head offices in Hanover, as does financial services provider AWD. The iconic architecture of the head office of Nord/LB stands out as a prominent feature on the city skyline. The media sector is represented by major players such as publishing companies Madsack and Schlütersche Verlagsgesellschaft and television producer TVN. In addition to the two major German TV channels ARD and ZDF, various private radio and television companies also broadcast from Hanover.

When it comes to economic development, Hanover encourages continuous cooperation between local business enterprises and scientific centres. This has led to the creation of many regional centres of excellence that are underpinned by strategic support from the regional business development company hanoverimpuls. The focus is on the six sectors with particularly sustainable growth potential: automotive, energy solutions, information and communications technology, life sciences, the creative economy and production engineering. Many areas benefit from additional cross-sectoral synergies and interfaces, and an increasing number of start-ups are exploiting these benefits and have helped to enhance Hanover’s profile as a business location.

As a dynamic growth sector that has already created more than 60,000 jobs in the Hanover region, the field of life sciences holds a special position that is also attributable to internationally renowned institutions such as Hanover Medical School, the University of Veterinary Medicine Hanover and the International Neuroscience Institute. With its wide range of laboratory and office premises combined with first-class infrastructure at Hanover Medical Park, the city has ideal conditions to offer both established companies and innovative start-ups in the life sciences sector that are planning to set up business in the region.

The Hanover region offers the best conditions for developing sustainable energy solutions and issues related to more general energy efficiency. There is already a well-performing network for companies and research institutes in the region, and support programmes on the topic are available via the State of Lower Saxony, the Federal Government and the EU. Hanover is also a top IT location: 1,200 companies with around 23,000 employees drive the development of the IT and communications sector in the region. The sector is particularly strong in the area of sustainable development and has great innovation and job potential.

The Hanover region offers the best conditions for developing sustainable energy solutions and issues related to more general energy efficiency.

More than 30,000 people in the region are employed in the automotive industry, and this makes Hanover into one of the top five automotive hotspots in Germany. Hanover is not only the location of well-known automotive companies such as Volkswagen Nutzfahrzeuge, Continental and WABCO, but it also offers a distinguished research landscape. Over 30 institutes and university facilities have relations to automotive technology and offer scientific support for local projects.

Production engineering has also been at home in Hanover for a long time. From research and production, classical machine and tool construction right up to technical services, Hanover is nationally and internationally recognised as a leading location for the production engineering sector. The scientific heart of the sector is the Hanover Production Technology Centre, where many industrial and young technology companies work and research under one roof.

All in all, Hamburg is a leading location when it comes to business development and investment. The city itself offers diverse activities and a calendar full of cultural events and seasonal festivals. The marksmen’s fair, by the way, takes place in June/July and has been getting the people of Hanover out onto the streets since the beginning of the 17th century. The parade features more than 10,000 participants from Germany and all over the world and more than 100 bands. At over 12 kilometres long, it is the longest parade in the world. Oh, and there are also shooting competitions.