High Growth Markets: US medtech firm poised for major Leeds investment

A MAJOR US-headquartered medtech company is on the brink of choosing Leeds as its first UK location.

TheBusinessDesk.com understands that divisional chief executives of the company in question are making regular visits to the city and that the government and UKTI are working closely with the firm to secure the deal.

Phase one would see the company invest £1m in an eight month informatics pilot, after which it would go straight to market and then scale it up to the UK, potentially bring a manufacturing plant here with a new build and more jobs following with a phased investment approach over five years.

The news comes as TheBusinessDesk.com publishes a major new supplement looking at High Growth Markets in the Yorkshire region.

All this week we will be reporting on the international opportunities that are being grasped by businesses from the region and also the potential for new business success.

To read the supplement just click here.

Anne Avidon, UKTI lead inward investment representative for the US and widely regarded as the foremost expert in government on US healthcare trade and investment, said that the UK’s reputation for innovation against a background of cost effectiveness presents a golden opportunity for both inward investment and exporting to a US market now more focused on value than volume.

She said: “Leeds has for many years been seen as the core hub for developments in orthopaedic technology and informatics, now the city is beginning to use that global reputation as leverage to create growth in the broader health sector.

“The key to foreign direct investment for Leeds is the NHS has chosen to base some of its key functions right here, so products can not only be designed and developed but there is direct access to the market.”

This story forms part of a 24-page supplement on doing business with High Growth Markets. To read and download it click here.