Erwan Guyot, Guyot Environment
“The notion of renewal can make you smile, but I think that, over the past ten, fifteen years, the Brest region has become very attractive, and even more so since covid. Previously, we tended to live among ourselves. The setting, with the new infrastructures (Capucins, Château marina, tram, etc.), plays a big role in the quality of life. We saw that it made a real difference for recruitment.”
Cathy Vallée, class Kaerenn
“What strikes me the most, over the past fifteen or twenty years, is that Brest has once again turned towards the sea after having neglected it for a long time. We are seeing businesses and research linked to the sea emerge. Océanopolis has also taken on a new dimension. And I don’t let anyone say that Brest is ugly anymore (laughs)! All the new infrastructures, like Le Quartz recently, have changed the city.”
Alban Boy, Trecobat
“There was a lot of collective work between Brest Métropole and businesses with the SMDE (metropolitan economic development strategy) to identify the strengths, weaknesses and actions to be taken. Our uniqueness is also companies that are committed to promoting the region and developing all models while taking into account social and environmental responsibility.”
Antoine Bellion, Groupe Bellion
“The economic attractiveness of Brest is due to two things, in my opinion. The first is the infrastructure, with the development of the port areas or Prat-Pip, which has made it possible to reestablish businesses. The second is the weight of family businesses (Guyot, Quéguiner, Barraine) with transfers that have been made intelligently and a new generation which is investing in the territory.”
Gwenaëlle Fichou, Autodistribution Fichou
“I admire groups like Le Saint or Guyot, for example. Beyond developing crazy businesses, they serve the region. This makes it possible to develop the sport, as we see with the Arkéa Ultim Challenge Brest or the Stade Brestois 29 which is European this season, but also research with endowment funds like Innoveo. Without money, all this could not be done.”
Pierre Durrmann, Podo Orthesis Brest Océane
“Arriving here in 2008, I was able to see the metamorphosis. For example, I find that the transformation of the city center is quite a success. When I compare to Saint-Brieuc, where the city center is really deserted, Brest has managed to keep the heart of the city, even if there is always damage with major works. On the commercial real estate side, we also see numerous projects, proof of economic dynamism.”
Antoine Trébaol-Pelleau, Sofipel
“As the fourth generation at the head of a family business, you realize that you are not alone. It’s a whole network that was made up of younger leaders, in Brest but also a little further afield, with Clément Quéguiner in Landivisiau or the Emily family in Tréflévénez. These are also companies that create growth and tend to transform, to become regional, even multi-regional.”
A new economic landscape
In Brest, a new generation of bosses took power. Over the past 15 years, transfers – family or not – have accelerated, giving rise to business leaders eager to set up projects and develop “their” territory. A new dynamism which also draws on the work deployed by Brest Métropole with economic actors (bosses, CCI, networks, etc.) for the metropolitan economic development strategy (SMDE) and the improvement of infrastructure.
A port that comes back to life
And it is at the port that the transformation is undoubtedly most visible. The economic crisis of 2008 (known as subprime) arrived with a delay of a few months at the tip of Finistère. And it was in 2011 that the city experienced a large-scale mobilization with employees of the Sobrena ship repair yard, finally taken over by Damen a few months later. However, it is difficult to imagine this complicated period when, in 2024, the port restaurants (and car parks) are crowded at lunchtime or when we start to see a little activity on the polder. Without forgetting the new Guyot tower which was erected at the southern entrance to Brest. An investment of €11 million from Guyot Environnement in the headquarters of the Le Saint distribution network, completed at the end of 2017 for €19 million, and located in the Lavalot area, at the northern entrance to Brest.
Local SMEs and international groups
The activity zones have multiplied and grown in the four corners of Brest and well beyond the port: Saint-Thudon, Prat-Pip North and South near the airport, L'Hermitage near Kergaradec. They have enabled many companies of all sizes to expand or with new buildings for Naval Group, Orange, Terres d'Embruns, Fortuneo, Soft, etc. Enough to help local businesses grow but also to show the dynamism of Brest and attract large groups. Unimaginable just a few years ago, this is how the digital consulting heavyweight Accenture chose Brest and the Capucins, at the end of 2022, to set up operations with the objective of 500 employees by the end of 2025.
