PROGRESS TEST 3 AUDIO SCRIPT

Track 4
There are three key elements in deciding where to locate a new office. The first is the
infrastructure of the area. Do you have good road and rail communications? Are you near to
an international airport?

The second key element is the living environment. You need to offer staff an attractive
place to live where they can find a nice house that’s not too expensive, and good education
for their children.

The third element is the business environment. A place that has a growing economy with
other successful businesses in the area will provide the best environment for your company.

So which of the three towns did Whiterose choose? Well, they considered Exeter because it
offers a very attractive environment. But it is a long way from London and head office.
Communications to other parts of Britain are not so easy and international travel is not as
good from Exeter airport as from other larger airports.

They considered Swindon because it has excellent communications with the rest of Britain
and is not too far from Heathrow – a huge international airport. But Swindon is mainly a
manufacturing town and doesn’t have other similar businesses in the service sector. So
perhaps it isn’t the right business environment for a hotel company.

So they decided that they are going to relocate to Luton. Luton has a growing economy and
the airport is attracting airline business and travel companies to the area. Whiterose may
want to work together with some of these companies. Luton may not be such an attractive
place to live as Exeter, but it is close to London. The staff could travel from London in half
an hour, so maybe it won’t be necessary to move house. Luton also has excellent
communications with the rest of Britain and internationally. Staff can fly to many places
around the world from their local airport, which is a big advantage for a company that is
expanding internationally.

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