The Coventry and Warwickshire area has again been recognised in an annual international awards - sponsored by The Financial Times - recognising foreign investment strategy and economic potential.
Coventry & Warwickshire’s place as a leading centre for FDI foreign direct investment has been recognised in the latest ‘fDi Intelligence’s European Cities and Regions of the Future 2024’ awards.
The Coventry & Warwickshire area placed second for FDI Strategy, up one place on last year, and with top 10 placings for Economic potential and business friendliness. The rankings benchmark European cities and regions according to their economic, financial, and business strengths.
Investment from overseas companies remains a significant driver of economic activity and employment in the city of Coventry and the county of Warwickshire.
The awards results follow data released last year that revealed that the Coventry & Warwickshire area remains among the best performing locations in the country as a leading destination for FDI, continuing to outperform the overall UK average.
The area attracted 56 foreign investment projects in the year 2022-23, the most recent data available maintaining a strong trend of recent years. With 45 projects in the previous year 2021-22, the latest figures represented a 24% increase in projects, bettering the equivalent UK increase of 4%. The number of jobs created also increased, up at 3,195 compared to 1,534 last year, while the UK saw a fall of almost 7% for the same period.
Key sectors for Coventry & Warwickshire included automotive and future mobility (17 projects) and digital creative and software (13 projects) and e-commerce and logistics (5 projects). The area also accounted for 17% of the total UK automotive projects. Recent investors into the area included Berry Global, DHL, Rhenus, REE Auto, and Switch Mobility, from countries as diverse as Australia, China, Germany, India, Japan, Sweden and the US.
The Coventry & Warwickshire area is the highest performing area in the Midlands per capita, where the number of projects is compared to the local population. For 2022 the area scored one project per 26,000 people, with the next comparable LEP area coming in at one project per 31,000, and elsewhere as low as one in 71,000.
The latest data confirms the city and county as leading UK destination for FDI over the last decade. The Coventry and Warwickshire area has seen 22,714 jobs created from 403 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects over the last nine years.
The West Midlands is the best performing region outside of London and the South-east for FDI investment. The West Midlands area also won 2nd place for FDI strategy in its category, emphasising the attractiveness of the inward investment offer in the West Midlands.
Martin Watson, Portfolio Holder for Economy at Warwickshire County Council, said: "Warwickshire is one of the most attractive investment locations for business in the UK, and we continue to be innovative and proactive in the support we provide to business, such as the Property Infrastructure Fund the unique offer around Warwickshire Skills Hub.”
“These rankings emphasise the strength of our FDI proposition to new and existing investors, the work we do with partners and the innovative approaches we are taking to attract investment, including foreign investment to the Coventry & Warwickshire area”.
Councillor Jim O’Boyle cabinet member for jobs, regeneration and climate change at Coventry City Council said, “We work very hard to attract new investment to our city – to create jobs for local people and to support the economy. And these results back up what we know – that our city and the wider area is a good place to invest.
“The fact that we have done so well in new and emerging sectors including automotive and future mobility is encouraging and matches our ambition to lead the green industrial revolution.”
Invest Coventry & Warwickshire provides soft-landing support to businesses looking to set up in the West Midlands. More information can be found on the dedicated website, www.investcw.co.uk
