Sheffield among ten most attractive European cities for foreign direct investment

Foreign direct investment has become the major economic driver of globalisation, accounting for over half of all cross-border investments.

Earlier this week, fDi Intelligence, a division of the Financial Times Ltd, announced the results of its ‘Cities of the Future Awards’ and Sheffield made it into the top ten; twice.

These league tables rank cities across Europe, in terms of how attractive they are for future inward investors. The results serve as a barometer for European cities that are proactively pitching themselves for inward investment.

This year Sheffield appeared seventh in the fDi’s ‘Mid-Sized European Cities of the Future 2016/17 - Connectivity’ category, and Sheffield City Region’s LEP was ranked second in the fDi’s ‘Local Enterprise Partnerships of the Future 2016/17 - Cost Effectiveness’ category.

Cllr Leigh Bramall, Sheffield City Council Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Business, Skills and Development, said: “Sheffield is a world class business destination. We are delighted to be ranked in the top ten European cities to do business in for our connectivity and cost effectiveness; two major factors for businesses looking for the right location to invest in.

“The city is experiencing a transformation both physically and in the way the public and private sector work together to grow Sheffield’s economy (a great example of this is the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District; a trailblazing initiative attracting international expertise and inward investment into the region) and critical to our success in this is ensuring that we are an internationally competitive city.”

fDi’s European Cities and Regions of the Future 2016/17 rankings provide an invaluable benchmark for assessing the continent’s investment landscape.

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