East Mids lags behind in foreign investment
The East Midlands is behind the rest of the UK when it comes to foreign investment, according to an influential survey.
The EY 2015 UK Attractiveness Survey recorded 37 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects in 2015 – the second largest number recorded in a decade, representing an increase of 28% on 2014 when the region attracted 29 projects.
According to the EY 2015 UK Attractiveness Survey, the East Midlands has secured between 3% and 3.6% of UK FDI projects for three years running. The East Midlands contributed 29% of the projects secured by the ‘Midlands Engine’ area in 2015. The best performance of the area, relative to the West Midlands in the last decade, was in 2008 when East Midlands accounted for 46% of the total Midlands projects.
Investment into the East Midlands was led by Nottingham with four recorded projects. The only other locations recording three or more projects in the region were Boston, Derby and Leicester, each with three FDI projects in 2015.
When employment secured from FDI is considered, the East Midlands recorded a modest increase on 2014 of 18% to 1,523 jobs – this was below the average of 1,706 jobs for the region over the last decade.
The employment secured in 2015 also represents a decline in the market share of the East Midlands for UK FDI employment. With a market share in 2015 of 3.5% the East Midlands recorded its second lowest share of employment for a decade – only eclipsed by 2007 when the region recorded less than 1% of the UK total.
Sara Fowler, senior partner at EY in the Midlands: “It’s been another steady performance for the East Midlands with 28% growth in the number of projects in 2015, bringing more jobs, and contributing 29% of the projects secured by the Midlands Engine area. However, the East Midlands is still lagging behind the other UK regions, with 2015 representing the joint second lowest performance of any of the English regions.”
