Manchester tops foreign direct investment league table outside London

Manchester was the top performing UK city outside London for attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2017, according to research.

Data published today (June 11) by professional services giant EY shows that Manchester drew 45 FDI projects last year.

In a further win for the city, EY found that almost half (43%) of all the North West’s FDI projects were in Manchester.

The number in the North West was up 17% in comparison to the previous year, rising from 90 to 105. Compared with FDI project figures in other regions, the North West as a whole came in third place, behind only London (459) and Scotland (116).

The number of jobs secured in 2017 thanks to investments in the North West more than doubled from 3,498 to 7,035 – the highest the region has seen so far this decade.

Four of the region’s towns and cities made it into the top 20 by volume of investments – Manchester, Liverpool, Warrington and Salford.

Digital was found to be the leading sector for FDI in the North West, accounting for 19 of the projects. It was followed in second place by business services (13 projects).

EY’s managing partner in the North West, Bob Ward, 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 data formed part of EY’s 2018 UK Attractiveness Survey.