Manchester best performing regional city for foreign investment
Manchester has been ranked as the best performing city in the UK – outside of London – for attracting foreign direct investment projects.
There were 45 FDI projects in 2017 and 43% of those were in the North West.
The North West recorded its highest number of FDI projects over the past decade, with a 17% increase in projects in 2017 compared to the previous year – up from 90 to 105.
The region gained the third largest number of projects in the UK, behind London (459) and Scotland (116), according to EY’s 2018 UK Attractiveness Survey.
The number of jobs secured by investments in the North West region in 2017 has more than doubled compared to the previous year (from 3,498 to 7,035) and marks the highest number of jobs secured in the region this decade.
Four North West towns or cities make the top 20 ranking by volume of investments, with Manchester, Liverpool, Warrington and Salford all making the cut.
Manchester continued to dominate the North West in terms of attracting FDI with 45 projects in 2017, but this figure was only up by 2% on 2016. Liverpool conversely had a less successful year than in 2016, falling to 17th place with a decline in projects of 10%.
Warrington out-performed neighbouring Liverpool, securing 10 projects and ranked joint 13th for UK FDI in 2017. Salford shares its 20th ranking with six other locations, securing 6 projects each.
The leading sector in the North West in 2017 was digital – also the leading sector for the UK as a whole. Digital projects across the region accounted for 19 projects in 2017 – a rise of 19% on 2016.
The second most popular sector in the North West was business services, with 13 projects in 2017. Although, in 2017 business services saw a decline of 32% compared to 2016 when 19 projects were recorded from the sector.
Bob Ward
Bob Ward, Managing Partner at EY in the North West said: “While Manchester’s inward investment figures stand out head and shoulders above all other cities outside London, the fact that Liverpool, Warrington and Salford also make the top 20 as significant locations attracting serious inward investment is also a major cause for celebration.
“The Northern Powerhouse message is one that plays well on the international stage and the North West, along with our near neighbours in Yorkshire and the North East, is seeing that translate into record levels of investment across a broad spectrum of sectors and importantly into jobs.
“The North West achieving the third highest number of investment projects in the UK (outside of London) last year tells a standout success story of the Northern Powerhouse and gives us solid foundations as we continue to work towards rebalancing the UK economy.”
