Midlands Continues to Attract New Business

The Midlands remains one of the UK’s most attractive destinations for inward investment, according to the latest European Attractiveness Survey by accountancy firm Ernst & Young.

This makes the Midlands the most attractive destination for inward investment projects outside of London and shows an increase of more than 35% on last year’s figures. These projects resulted in 3,769 jobs being created in the region, an increase of 150% and the largest increase in England.

Across the region, Birmingham was the biggest centre of activity with 14 new investment projects in the city, there were also 13 investment projects in Nottingham and five in Coventry. Manufacturing, software and business services all had multiple investments in the region. The majority of these investments originated from the USA (27), while there was also considerable investment from Germany (11).

Sara Fowler, Ernst & Young’s senior partner in Birmingham, identified manufacturing as a key asset to the region. She said: “As in previous years the report has shown the strength of the manufacturing sector in the region with 30% of the investment projects coming from this sector.

“Foreign businesses are continuing to invest in the region because of its strong reputation and expertise in the sector.

“This year we have also seen investment projects in a variety of other sectors, including software, business services and electrical. This proves the versatility of the Midlands and the excellent opportunities it presents to businesses.”

Fowler says that overall the UK remains successful in attracting investment; “The UK has shown strong resilience in the face of adversity, pulling through the recessionary years to reinforce our position as the leading base for investment by foreign companies into Europe.

“The international business community report continues to cite our technology infrastructure, stable social environment, quality of life, culture and language as what makes the UK the most attractive investment destination in Europe.”

Commenting on this report, Wouter Schuitemaker, Investment Director for Business Birmingham, the city’s inward investment programme, said: “Foreign investors are attracted to the Midlands because of its strong reputation and expertise in manufacturing, digital media and business services. The quality of our proposition means we have much repeat investment, particularly from the US and Germany. The challenge now is to remain competitive by securing this repeat custom while widening the breadth of our investor portfolio and attracting more countries to the area.

“We also have to build awareness of the diversity of the region’s offer – while a key strength, we are about more than just manufacturing.

“This report highlights that investors believe major urban infrastructure projects (38%) are key in making a city attractive as an FDI destination. With a £600million redeveloped transport hub in New Street station, a £65million runway extension at Birmingham Airport and potentially, High Speed Rail on the statute books by 2015 – Birmingham is well placed to become a leading European centre for inward investment.”