Member Article

UKTI investigate North East potential for foreign investment

UKTI visited Newcastle and Gateshead on its nationwide tour yesterday to investigate the region’s potential to attract investment.

The Government body, which is responsible for inward investment in the UK, sent up to 30 managers responsible for industry and business to the North East.

The tour looked at the life sciences and bio-medical sectors, creative and digital industries as well as business, professional and financial services, and addressed how these sectors could encourage foreign investment.

UKTI visited Newcastle University’s Institute for Ageing and Health as part of its life sciences tour, as well as the Science Central site where work has just started on a new urban quarter for the city.

Sunderland also hosted the agency’s managers at its e-volve media and creative studios, the Toffee Factory and the Northern Design Centre as part of the creative and digital tour.

A focus on business and professional services took the visitors to companies based at the Cobalt business park and Quorum complex and firms such as BSkyB and Santander.

UKTI is working with North East Local Enterprise Partnership (NELEP) to fulfil the needs of foreign businesses looking to invest in the UK.

NewcastleGateshead Initiative Inward Investment has overseen the marketing for sectoral and functional propositions for NELEP and UKTI.

The director of the investment initiative, Catherine Walker, commented: “It’s great opportunity to showcase the assets that we have to the national UK agency responsible for attracting investment from overseas.

“We have some unique strengths in certain sectors and for the UKTI team to see these firsthand was immensely useful.

“A lot was packed into the tour and a real range of the key sector assets were explored, which will prove pivotal for attracting businesses from overseas.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Miranda Dobson .