When Real Madrid and Juventus take to the field on June 3 for the UEFA Champions League Final in front of a television audience of 200 million people worldwide, the economic impact for Cardiff and the wider region is expected to be around £45m.

The city has a rich business history - the first million-pound cheque in the world was signed at the Coal Exchange in 1904.

And fast forward a century or so and a diverse range of organisations from blue-chip to start-up have made the city the home to their success.

With a population of 1.5m in the city region, the city’s smart, young, fast-moving and transformational.

Less than two hours from London, it is Cardiff’s culture, character, connectivity, people and passion for life which sees it score so highly in quality of life surveys across Europe.

Find out more:Meet Cardiff’s inward investment team and view a 3D model of the city at City Hall

Here’s what investing in Cardiff has done for these businesses:

Admiral Group

Admiral launched in Cardiff in 1993 with just one brand, zero customers and 57 members of staff. The Group now has operations in Spain, Italy, France and the US, and has over four million customers.

David Stevens, CEO, of Admiral Group said: “Cardiff is a special place to us. It has been the location of our headquarters since we launched in 1993 with just one brand and 57 members of staff.

"Almost a quarter of a century later we’ve got over 8,000 staff and multiple businesses around the world, but Cardiff is still our home. It’s a great city which has consistently allowed us to recruit fantastic people.

"And it’s a great place to live. Nothing beats the atmosphere in Cardiff for a big sporting occasion, and we can’t wait to see the city showing itself off to the world for the Champions League Final.”

Principality Building Society

(Image: Nick Treharne)

The sixth largest building society in the UK, Principality has been headquartered in the Welsh capital for over 150 years. In its 2016 annual results, the Society’s balance sheet had grown to £8.3bn with pre-tax profits of £50.3m.

Steve Hughes, chief executive, Principality Building Society said: “Whether you come to Cardiff to shop, socialise or watch sport it’s a fantastic city and is also a great place to work.

"Principality has been based here since 1860. We have more than 800 colleagues based in the city. Having our headquarters here allows us to attract fantastic people to work for our Members in Wales and beyond.

"As a big football fan I’m thrilled the Champions League final is here at the stadium we sponsor. The atmosphere at Principality Stadium will be fantastic. The focus of the world will be on Cardiff and indeed Wales.”

IQE

Chances are your smartphone contains a compound semiconductor designed and manufactured by IQE in Cardiff. The company supplies wafers for over two billion wireless chips and more than one billion optoelectronic chips each year.

Working with Cardiff University, plans are underway for a world-first cluster which could bring 5,000 hi-tech jobs to the region.

Chief executive officer, Drew Nelson, said: "​IQE, the world’s leading manufacturer of advanced semiconductor products, set up in Cardiff almost thirty years ago and its site in St Mellons now serves as both a high-tech manufacturing facility and the company’s global headquarters.

"Cardiff was an ideal location thanks to its proximity to the University with its wealth of academic expertise, but the region has proven to be the ideal home for an international, high-tech company.

"Cardiff is a small, young, accessible and vibrant city that offers many attractions to both our people and to visitors. IQE has been highly successful in attracting and retaining a highly skilled and talented team of people, which is clearly attributable to the lifestyle choices that the Cardiff region offers, from major sporting events to world-class entertainment, but with access to stunning coastal scenery and mountain activities right on our doorstep.”

Celsa UK

Across the UK every day, most people use bridges, railways and buildings constructed with steel made by Celsa UK. Part of the international Celsa Group, Celsa UK has its headquarters in Cardiff, where it supports over 3,400 jobs in south Wales alone and thousands more across the rest of the country.

Its operations generate over £120m in gross value added to the Welsh economy each year – but the company is keen to make sure its contribution to Welsh life is not just economic.

Luis Sanz, CEO and MD at Celsa Steel UK Ltd, Celsa (UK) Holdings, said: “Manufacturing is a core part of Cardiff’s identity and sense of community purpose.

"To stay relevant and competitive against overseas producers, Celsa has stayed at the forefront of new technologies.

"Visitors to the Cardiff plants find a company using big data analytics and increasing digitalisation to tailor its solutions to customers’ needs. And through its Ingenium programme Celsa is mentoring the next generation of innovative start-ups.

“Innovation comes in many forms. Celsa’s steel manufacturing plant in Cardiff has become a showcase for sustainability, responsible sourcing and the circular economy. The plant produces the highest-quality products using recycled steel and with low environmental impact. It is considered as a very efficient steel works, where productivity is well above industry standards.

“Football fans at the Champions’ League Final will enjoy the game in a stadium built with steel made in Cardiff. By staying at the forefront of new technology, Celsa’s steel workers should be building the stadiums of Britain for decades to come.”

Alert Logic

From its Cardiff headquarters, Alert Logic offers customers a fully integrated solution that monitors, analyses, and protects customer environments with security software (network intrusion detection, vulnerability assessment, web application, and log management), threat research, security content, and round the clock security that keep customer applications and data secure and compliant.

David Howorth, senior vice president of sales, EMEA at Alert Logic said: “In 2014, we made the decision to expand our operations into EMEA and in doing so selected Cardiff as our European Headquarters.

"Alert Logic now employs over 170 people in the UK, 125 of which are based in Cardiff – the location for our state of the art Security Operations Centre. Since our initial decision to invest in Cardiff, we have continued to be impressed with the level of support we have received from the Welsh Government and Cardiff Council in helping us to establish our operations in the UK.

“The fact we have been able to attract and recruit such a large number of highly skilled employees since its initial inception to being fully operational is testament to the ambitions of local government and the surrounding universities, to cement the region as a UK hub for cyber security.”

Capital Law

A founder member of the Consulegis international network of law firms, the Legal 500 chose Capital as their Welsh law firm of the year for 2015-16.

The firm delivers commercial legal services to businesses with ambitions anywhere in the world, whether working on complicated mergers, commercial disputes or intellectual property protection.

Senior partner, Chris Nott, said: “Being considerably smaller than London, Cardiff is a lot more accessible, the people are friendlier and the rent is cheaper.

"More than that, Cardiff is unique – it’s a capital city as well as a hustling University city. And the culture’s first-class - you can go to the opera on a Friday and the Six Nations, Ashes or Champions League Final on a Saturday (if you can get a ticket).

“As a result, the best talent from all over the UK is concentrated here and those people stay here for the great standard of living- it’s one of Europe’s greenest capitals. Its small-world-meets-capital-city character gives you the opportunity to work with a huge variety of clients and companies, all working towards unlocking the city’s huge potential.”

Bar 44

All of this business makes people hungry. One food business which has flourished since opening in the city is the Spanish restaurant group run by brothers Tom and Owen Morgan, which now has four locations in and around Cardiff.

The directors at Bar 44 and Asador 44 said: "We opened our first Bar 44 tapas bar just outside Cardiff 15 years ago and in that time the city has turned into a hugely diverse, independent and cosmopolitan destination.

“It is easy to see why Cardiff is one of the most interesting and vibrant cities to visit, live and work in in the UK. The fascinating cultural mix in the city has gone a long way to ensuring the success of Bar 44 Cardiff (opened 2015) and, most recently, Asador 44, our modern take on a northern Spanish grill restaurant."

Box UK

The digital sector in Cardiff is an exciting place to be, with start-ups and scale-ups bringing real innovation to the city.

Box UK is an award-winning Agile software consultant, bespoke software developer and UX practitioner, who work with some of the world’s leading organisations from their headquarters in the shadow of Principality Stadium.

Founder and managing director Benno Wasserstein, said: "With Wales reported as having the fastest-growing digital economy outside of London, we couldn't imagine any better place to base ourselves than its capital city, Cardiff.

"We're of course proud to support the region's continued growth in this sector, and proud to employ so many of its incredibly talented, innovative and creative people too.

"We also love the fact that Cardiff is both big enough to offer all of the benefits and opportunities expected of a capital city, yet compact enough to retain a strong sense of community. In fact, we've only recently surveyed our team on all the reasons they love working here - and we were inundated with responses about this very thing."

Park Plaza Cardiff

Cardiff has been host to some of the world’s biggest events justifying the shrewd move made by the owners of Park Plaza Cardiff 12 years ago.

The four-star hotel in the heart of the city has 129 guest rooms, conference and meeting suites, luxury space and fitness facilities and an award-winning restaurant and bar.

Caroline Sims, director of sales and marketing said: “Our family owners chose Cardiff as their very first venture into the hotel business in 2005. They spotted that Cardiff was taking off and could see an opportunity for developing a high end luxury hotel and have been delighted with the success of the hotel and the development of the capital over the past 12 years.”

Cardiff Council’s Inward Investment team are hosting a series of Welcome Sessions at Cardiff City Hall between 10am and 4pm on Wednesday May 31, Thursday June 1 and Friday June 2. Whether you’re a visitor, resident or business, this is your chance to find out about Cardiff’s rich business history, past and present. You’ll also get the change to view our 3D model of the city which showcases Cardiff’s venues and lanscapes.

For more information on investing in Cardiff, visit www.investincardiff.com