EEDA - East of England Development Agency

Foreign Investment secures 14,566 jobs for the East of England

26 July 2010

Investment by overseas companies created or safeguarded 14,566 jobs in the East of England over the last year, UK Trade & Investment announced today.

The inward investment figures were announced at the UK Trade & Investment Business Summit attended by over 100 of the leading overseas owned investors based in the UK.
 
Nationally, 1,619 foreign investment projects secured 94,346 jobs, a 20% increase from last year when 78,540 jobs were created.  The new figures reveal that 32,000 of the jobs were created or safeguarded in the manufacturing sector. The leading investor country was the USA for the second year running, helping to secure  31,566 jobs .
 
In the East of England, 14,566 jobs were created or safeguarded by 92 projects such as DP World’s London Gateway port project in Thurrock, Essex; Nestor Pharmaceuticals - an Indian-owned manufacturer and exporter of prescription drugs, based in Mildenhall, Suffolk; and Novus Biologicals  -  a Colorado-based life sciences company who  has  established its new European distribution hub in Cambridge.
 
In addition, the region secured 11 research agreements set up between commercial organisations and universities or research institutions across the East of England.
 
Deborah Cadman, chief executive of the East of England Development Agency (EEDA) said: “These figures confirm that the East of England is a magnet for overseas investors and businesses alike.
 
“The East of England Inward Investment and Investor Development teams have worked hard to secure and retain foreign investment in our region through their expertise, international networks and detailed regional knowledge. This combined with other business support services in the region make the East of England an ideal location for global enterprises.
 
“In the past year we have witnessed the openings of several major facilities in the region: Eisai in Hertfordshire, Nestor in Suffolk, Palm Paper in Norfolk and more recently Partner Logistics in Cambridgeshire. At DP World in Essex, we will see another major project develop with an estimated 12,000 jobs created in the next few years.  All these demonstrate the breadth and scope of the business community and the long-term nature of inward investment.
 
“The secret of our continued success includes our transport links to London and the rest of the globe, world-class universities, and the top R&D centre in Europe, which is supported by the largest venture capital funding base in the UK outside London. All these great attributes mean the East of England is rightly known as the UK’s most innovative region.”

Chief Executive of UK Trade & Investment Sir Andrew Cahn said: “Today’s results are a real vote of confidence in the East of England, but we must work harder to continue to attract inward investment in what is a very competitive global marketplace. Overall, inward investment fell by 10 per cent across Europe, but the UK remains the number one destination in Europe for FDI (foreign direct investment). UK Trade & Investment is committed to attracting high quality investment into the East of England, which is so important for the UK’s economic recovery.”

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