Biz Talk: The British are coming!

This article was written by Sindy Yeh, Senior Business Ambassador for Arlington Economic Development.

Due to its convenient location on the east coast and proximity to the nation’s capital, Arlington is attractive to international companies seeking a U.S. presence. Over the past couple years, a trend has emerged of innovative U.K. companies crossing the pond to establish their U.S. headquarters in Arlington.

In September 2022, Cavendish Nuclear, part of Babcock International Group, opened its first U.S. headquarters at National Landing. The company provides critical nuclear solutions across the markets of clean energy, defense, and civil decommissioning. “There is a huge benefit to the Arlington office location for Cavendish Nuclear USA and other companies due to the proximity to Reagan airport, U.S. Government agencies, and Congress in the greater D.C. area,” says Richard Provencher, Senior VP of Cavendish Nuclear USA. “Many of our teaming partner companies are also located in the greater Arlington area making it a great location to meet with them during the normal course of business or while attending conferences.”

“Location, location, location,” is the reason why David Kumashiro, General Manager of Arqit, a cybersecurity company supplying a unique quantum safe encryption Platform-as-a-Service, chose Arlington as the place to live and to work. “In Arqit’s search for our first U.S. office… I looked for an area whose location was a model and catalyst for 21st Century innovation and leadership,” Kumarshiro said, “the reimagination of Crystal City into what is now National Landing, met that objective. Sparked by the move of Amazon HQ2 and an existing local STEM pipeline, National Landing provides an incredibly rich and diverse pool of technical talent to support our region’s growing innovation ecosystem.”

In April 2022, following its $175M Series C funding, Wagestream, a technology company that provides a financial well-being app founded with charities and designed for frontline workers, established its North American headquarters in Rosslyn with plans to hire dozens of roles to build out its operations in the U.S. Like Cavendish Nuclear and Arqit, accessibility and easy connections were key factors in the company choosing to locate in Arlington.

According to Justin Raimo, President of North America, “Because Wagestream sits at the intersection of work and finance, we partner with a huge range of stakeholders — from employers (our clients), to industry trade groups, to charities and NGOs, to regulators and policy groups. With immediate access to central D.C., major East Coast hubs and a number of those stakeholder groups, this was the perfect location for us to hire great talent and build out a business that does good at massive scale.”

Arlington’s assets prove to make a solid launching pad for international companies to grow in the U.S. As Arqit’s Kumashiro said, “Post-quantum security and innovation in general will only gain in importance in the coming years. As we’ve already seen with AI, quantum, hypersonics, and other software-enabled technologies, the time intervals between ground-breaking innovation will only become shorter. We must set conditions now to be able to continuously out-innovate our adversaries, and I strongly believe that Arlington provides a unique culture and setting to enable this high level of innovation.”