Nearly 1,000 jobs have been attracted to the West Midlands region and a further nearly 400 jobs safeguarded in the past year thanks to the work of the Advantage West Midlands inward investment team.
In the year 2009/10 the team attracted 40 foreign-based companies to locate to the region or expand their current regional operations, creating 961 jobs and safeguarding another 389.
The companies involved are based all around the world, including Australia, China, America and Germany. And they are investing throughout the region.
Two major coups for the team were:
• Microsoft's Rare Games subsidiary establishing its cutting edge Games Design Studio at Digbeth, Birmingham, against strong competition from other regions across the UK, bringing with it 90 jobs (see case study herewith).
• Spanish automotive research and development company IFR Automotive establishing its newest electronics arm, Unidrive Technologies, at the University of Warwick science park so it could tap into local specialist talent (see case study herewith)
AWM head of inward investment Richard Butler said: "We are delighted with these results in a very difficult year for British industry and the West Midlands in particular.
"They mean that in the past 10 years we have encouraged foreign-based firms to invest in nearly 400 regional projects which expected to create or safeguard more than 32,000 jobs.
"On top of that, in-depth independent evaluation of our inward investment work shows that every £1 invested has generated £22 for the regional economy."
The inward investment figures were announced today at the UK Trade & Investment Business Summit attended by over 100 of the UK’s leading investors.
The figures for total inward investment to the West Midlands in 09/10, which includes projects in which AWM was not directly involved, are 84 projects creating 1,548 jobs and safeguarding 4,318 jobs.
Nationally, more than 1,600 foreign investment projects throughout the country lead to creating or safeguarding more than 94,000 jobs.
Chief Executive of UK Trade & Investment Sir Andrew Cahn said: “Today’s results are a real vote of confidence in the West Midlands region, 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 Foreign Direct Investments(FDI).
“UK Trade & Investment is committed to attracting high quality investment into the West Midlands region, which is so important for the UK’s economic recovery."