NW a magnet for foreign investment says E&Y
THE North West cemented its position as one of the most attractive locations for foreign investors, a survey revealed today.
The study by business advisory firm Ernst & Young, also showed that the UK continued to be Europe’s top inward investment location, and revealed strong growth in the number of investments secured by the region.
In 2008 there were 51 foreign direct investment projects in the North West compared to 37 in 2007.
Of this figure 29 projects located in Greater Manchester, 11 in Cheshire, eight on Merseyside and three in Lancashire.
The top four investors in the region by country were the US with 18 FDI projects, followed by Switzerland, Sweden and Germany that invested four each.
FDI projects locating in the region included: a production expansion for Icelandic food manufacturer, Hitchen Foods Ltd in Wigan; new UK headquarters for US business services company InfoUK in Manchester; and the expansion of Indian owned Land Rover at Halewood.
E&Y’s Manchester senior partner, Simon Allport said: “The North West was one of five UK regions out of 12 to experience inward investment growth last year.
“With a large supply of labour and a diverse skills base, the region attracts a wide mixture of projects cross sector.
“International investors – particularly in the finance and business services industry – that already have operations in London are increasingly considering secondary locations outside the capital, which is good news for the region.
“Regional locations are a more cost effective alternative, less competitive and are proving that they can meet the needs of foreign investors. Manchester, which has a positive reputation amongst international investors and examples of successful projects such as Bank of New York, State of India Bank and TeleTech, will benefit.”
Colin Sinclair, chief executive of the Greater Manchester’s inward investment agency MIDAS said: “These figures are great news because they reflect the success of MIDAS and other key agencies in continuing to attract investment and employment to the Manchester City Region despite the global recession – in the past year MIDAS exceeded its targets by being directly involved with the safeguarding and creation of 4,735 jobs.
“The figures show the ongoing importance of US investment to the UK and our region in particular and the growth of investment from India, a key strategic target for MIDAS and the North West Development Agency (NWDA). They reflect our ambition of having a balanced economy with a complementary mix of foreign and domestic investment.
“The E&Y findings show the strength of both the North West and the Manchester City region, which will be underlined by official figures being released in the coming weeks by the North West Development Agency and UK Trade and Investment.”
