Coventry and Warwickshire is among the fastest growing Local Enterprise Partnership regions in the country as a leading location for foreign investment.
The Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Intelligence Magazine has announced the winners of its bi-annual FDI European Cities and Regions of the Future Awards, where Coventry and Warwickshire has been placed in the top ten in three categories.
The area is second for Foreign Direct Investment strategy, seventh for economic potential and ninth for overall winner.
The awards will be officially presented at MIPIM – the world’s biggest property development and investment show – which takes place this month.
The award recognises the work done over the last two years to bring forward major initiatives including Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership’s Strategic Reset Framework, Warwickshire County Council’s Warwickshire Recovery and Investment Fund (WRIF), and the submissions made to the Department for International Trade Investment Atlas, launched at the pre-COP26 Global Investment Summit.
It is also a recognition of the quality of inward investment into key local sectors which include Zero Carbon Transport Technologies, Electric Vehicles and battery technology, and video games development.
In 2021, Coventry and Warwickshire saw major investments from REE Auto, Rimac, Classic Legends BSA motorcycles, Epic Games and Electronic Arts.
Official figures released last year showed that Coventry and Warwickshire continued to be a leading location for foreign investment with the creation of nearly 2,000 new jobs and almost 50 successful foreign direct investments being recorded in the area, representing a year-on-year increase of 10 per cent.
Sarah Windrum, Chair of CWLEP, said the superb results underlined the importance of Coventry and Warwickshire’s partnership approach.
She said: “During the pandemic, CWLEP developed a newly-focused partnership-led Strategic Reset Framework to re-set our economy and continuing to encourage inward investment is paramount in our key sectors.
“These results emphasise the resilience of businesses throughout Coventry and Warwickshire and that we are outperforming many other areas in England.
“That is largely due to the united private and public sector approach that we have always driven at CWLEP since it breaks down barriers and encourages companies to locate here, creating and safeguarding jobs which boosts our economy.”
Cllr Kam Kaur, Warwickshire County Council’s portfolio holder for Economy and Place and CWLEP board director, said: “This recent award is recognition of the excellent partnership work taking place here between the public and private sector, and the innovative and informed approach our teams are taking to attract and retain investment in the Coventry and Warwickshire area.
“The awards will provide an excellent profile for the area, and we hope will lead to further interest and investment.”
The Coventry and Warwickshire MIPIM Partnership is made up of private sector companies and public sector organisations from across the area and has been attending the show in France for more than two decades.
Caption: Sarah Windrum, Chair of CWLEP