As the Government announces today that the UK has maintained its position as the number one destination for FDI in Europe, nearly 900 new jobs will be set up in the west of England, particularly in Bristol.
According to figures from UKTI, within this total, 552 new jobs were specifically as a result of foreign direct investment successes, namely 26 new companies attracted into the region from overseas.
Matthew Cross, head of inward investment at Invest Bristol & Bath, the agency that leads the region’s programme said: “It is clear that our strategy for attracting new investment into the West of England is paying off.
“It is excellent to see that the contribution we are making is not only beneficial to the region, but to the UK as a whole, thanks to the large proportion of inward investment projects that hail from overseas.”
The inward investment agency’s strategy is to develop a strong investment pipeline through careful research, generating new leads, long-term campaigns and projects through partners such as UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) and providing intelligence to investors that will secure the investment.
As well as Inward Investment, Toby Bland head of sales from IBEX Global said that they are also looking to recruit.
“We currently have over 85 people at our Bristol base and are looking to scale up our operations in the city in line with our strategy to grow the business.”
In total, 886 new jobs have been committed in the region thanks to the arrival of 37 companies in locating here in 2014/15 – beating the region’s target for job creation of 850.
