Legacy of the riots: Croydon abandoned by middle-class

Major employer warns it could quit the area because white collar workers do not want to live in the borough
P18 Riots
Getty
4 December 2012

One of Croydon’s biggest private employers has said that it could be forced to move out because middle-class workers do not want to live in the borough.

Mike Webb, chairman of insurance company Allianz Global Assistance, warned that his firm was struggling to maintain its pool of 600 staff because of Croydon’s negative image.

He told a business summit aimed at promoting the economic renewal of Croydon that the middle-class talent pool from which his company recruited was leaving the borough at such a rate that the firm could be forced to leave within two to three years.

His warning that they may quit comes on top of Nestle's announcement earlier this year that it was moving its Headquarters to Gatwick.

And in October another major employer, department store Allders, was closed down after administrators were called in.

“Croydon has been a fantastic place for us and we would like to be here for a long time,” Mr Webb said at Develop Croydon last Thursday.

“The key issue is how we are going to continue to find these people because we see a large drift out of Croydon of the middle-class who have traditionally been our employees. If they are not here in two or three years, we won’t be here.”

Allianz, which was formerly known as Mondial Assistance and offers travel and car insurance, opened a base in Croydon in 1980.

Mr Webb said that the firm had long-standing links with the borough and that, traditionally, most staff lived locally.

However, he said that the public’s perception had worsened after last year’s riots and added: “We need to be making the case for Croydon and its strengths more positively.”

Mr Webb told the Standard that his company was committed to staying in Croydon for the next three years, but might reassess the situation if the trend continues.

“When I said middle-class people, what I meant is white-collar workers,” he said. “Not necessarily graduates, but hard-working and enthusiastic people.”

In September, the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall met traders and council bosses to see the regeneration work carried by three charities that the Prince patronises, including the Prince’s Trust.

He also met retail guru Mary Portas who has chosen Croydon as one of her 27 “Portas pilot” schemes to transform town centres.

Mike Fisher, the leader of Croydon council, admitted that the town had an image problem, but said: “There is a real desire to invest in Croydon and people will want to come here when they realise what a good place it is to do business.

“The centre will be transformed over the coming years and we will then overcome many of these problems.”

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