As an historic market town, Hitchin is known for its unique character, but is also within easy reach of London, Cambridge and Luton. If you have a business in Hitchin or anywhere in Hertfordshire and are looking for bar and club fitters, or someone to carry out an office refit, Thames Contracts can help. Based in nearby north London, we know the area well and have worked with many locally-based companies and organisations.
Catering is an important sector of the economy in Hitchin and across north Hertfordshire, with many bars, clubs and coffee shops in the area. All these businesses will need periodic refits in order to attract and retain customers. With a competitive leisure marketplace, not only in London but across the South East, the highest standards of décor and facilities are expected. Thames Contracts are experts in café design and refurbishment, as well as club and bar renovation. We are fully versed in the latest trends and ensure compliance with all regulations.
As highly experienced fitout contractors, we also specialise in office refits. This includes every aspect of the work, from office space planning to creating visualisations for your approval and installing all required facilities and fittings. With all types of fitout, we keep you fully informed and stick to both the timetables and costings we have agreed with you.
Focus on Hitchin
In the north of Hertfordshire, Hitchin is on the banks of the river Hiz, close to Letchworth Garden City and Stevenage and just a few miles from Luton via the M1. The famous Icknield Way path, following the route of an ancient trackway, runs close to the northern fringe of the town and is popular with walkers.
The town is known for its well-preserved medieval centre, with cobbles, courtyards and timber-framed buildings. Built on the proceeds of the wool trade, St Mary’s Church is the largest parish church in the county, with most of its impressive structure dating back to the 1300s and 1400s. People come from a long distance to see around the church, which has treasures including its historic Angel Screen.
Hitchin’s popular market has been running for hundreds of years, and a general market is now held three times a week, plus weekly antiques markets and car boot sales. The town also offers a varied range of independent shops and chain stores, as well as restaurants and coffee shops – all helping to draw visitors from the surrounding area.
There are plans to further improve and invest in the town centre, by creating more leisure and cultural facilities and improving the shopping area, and in addition building more family housing in the town.
Employment
One of Hitchin’s main advantages for attracting businesses is its good transport links. Its station is on the Great Northern Line and there are regular trains to London King’s Cross, with some journeys taking as little as 32 minutes at peak time. There are also direct services to Cambridge, taking around 33 to 41 minutes.
As well as its rail services, the town is well-connected by road, with the A1(M) only about three miles from the town, while the M1 also runs nearby, passing six miles to the north of the town. Hitchin is also close to both London Luton and Stansted airports, which is an important factor for businesses which need to do trade with Europe.
Although many people from Hitchin commute into other towns and cities by both road and rail, there’s also a range of firms based in the immediate area. Liverpool Victoria (LV) Insurance, which is the largest friendly society in the country, has large offices here and is a major employer. Construction company Willmott Dixon also has a major office in the town, which is its regional base for the whole of the East of England.
Hotels and catering, together with distribution, are key employment sectors in Hitchin and across north Hertfordshire. Around 27 per cent of the population works in these sectors, underlining the importance of both tourism and transport and logistics to the county.
However, other sectors also play an important role, including financial and business services. Because of their closeness to Cambridge, with its strong focus on technology, Hitchin and the north of the county are seeing an expansion in digital and high-tech businesses, including start-ups. There are many small and medium-sized businesses based in the area.
If you run a bar, coffee shop or other type of catering business in Hitchin, north Hertfordshire or London, and need to find bar and club fitters to carry out a refurbishment, get in touch with Thames. We also offer a full range of office design and build services.
Bar and Club Fitters Hitchin – Follow the link for more information about London fitout contractors Thames Contracts.