Reading is an important commercial centre in Southern England and is often referred to as the capital of the Thames Valley, with the headquarters of major British companies and the UK offices of major foreign multinationals, especially in the IT industry, including ING Direct

Microsoft

Oracle

Sage

Xansa

Cisco

Symbol Technologies

Yell.com. Several of these are located at the Thames Valley Business Park The head office of the natural gas major BG Group is also located at the Thames Valley Business ParkThis has attracted several technical recruiters to the area including International agencies who recruit raw gradudates into lucrative recruitment roles.Industry sectors include

Telecommunications

Finance

Public Sector

Reading's location in the Thames Valley to the west of London means that it has always had a significant position in the nation's transport system.