Region reports a rise in its foreign investment levels

THE North East brought in 42 Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) projects last year - the region's highest total in seven years, a new survey has revealed.

- COREENA FORD

The region attracted 10.5% more projects compared to 2023, bucking a national trend which saw the UK bring in 13% less FDI projects year-on-year. Meanwhile, Newcastle was the UK’s seventh best-performing city, up from eleventh in 2023, with a total of 13 projects up from 11, according to EY’s latest UK Attractiveness Survey.

However, despite seeing a jump in the number of foreign investment deals in the region, the number of jobs they created dropped significantly, by 35% from 2,887 to 1,864.

Yet the North East’s increase in project numbers saw its share of UK FDI projects jump from 3.9% in 2023 to 4.9% in 2024. It was also the UK’s seventh best-performing region for attracting FDI projects in 2024, up from eighth in 2023 and the region's highest ranking since 2016.