West Midlands among Europe’s top regions for foreign direct investment in 2024

The West Midlands was among Europe and the UK’s best performing regions for attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) projects in 2024, new data reveals.

The EY 2025 UK Attractiveness Survey ranked 259 regions across Europe according to the number of FDI projects each attracted in 2024.

The West Midlands attracted 86 FDI projects in 2024, making it Europe’s joint fourteenth best performing region for investment, alongside North West England.

Alongside the North West, the West Midlands was the UK’s joint-third best performing region for attracting inward investment, behind Greater London (265) and Scotland (135)

While the majority of UK regions saw FDI totals decline in 2024, the East Midlands was one of the few parts of the country - alongside Northern England and Wales – to attract more inward investment projects last year than in 2023.

Northampton was the region’s leading investment destination, recording six projects in 2024, double the number reported in 2023.

While the West Midlands maintained its position as a leading European destination for investment, the region also encountered challenges last year.

The 86 FDI projects recorded in 2024 represented a 32 per cent decrease from the 126 projects attracted in 2023.

Additionally, the West Midlands experienced a decline in the number of jobs associated with FDI projects, totalling 4,926 jobs in 2024, a 27 per cent decrease compared to the previous year.

This decline mirrors the broader national and European picture, with the UK recording a 14 per cent decline in FDI projects and Europe overall recording a 5 per cent decline.

The West Midlands’ leading sectors for FDI projects in 2024 were transportation manufacturers and suppliers (15), followed by the agri-food sector (11) and the machinery and equipment sector (9). 

When assessing investment by activity, the West Midlands attracted 30 manufacturing-focused FDI projects, 16 business services projects and 11 logistics projects in 2024. No other region in the UK recorded a higher share of logistics-focused FDI projects last year.

The United States has been the largest source of investment projects in the West Midlands over the last decade, contributing one in five (20 per cent) of inward investment projects in the region last year.

Birmingham was the UK’s joint-third most successful city outside London for attracting FDI investment last year, tied with Edinburgh at 24 projects. This followed Manchester (44 projects) and Glasgow (27 projects).

Birmingham remained the West Midland’s leading destination for investment, however its project total in 2024 was 66 per cent lower than the number it had recorded in 2023. Coventry (9), Telford (7), Warwick (6), and Nuneaton (6) were among the West Midlands’ other key local destinations for investment.

Simon O’Neill (pictured), office managing partner for EY in the Midlands, said: “The overall investment picture across the Midlands remained compelling last year as the West Midlands maintained its position as a key European region for FDI and the East Midlands became one of the few UK regions to increase its project total year-on-year.

“The region as a whole continues to be a key hub for logistics and manufacturing activity and that’s a signal to investors that we have the local skills and infrastructure required to excel in these operations and offer strong returns.

“Following a particularly strong FDI performance for the West Midlands in 2023, a subsequent drop-off in 2024 was not unexpected and mirrors the broader national and European picture.

“Looking ahead, it’s important that local policymakers continue to work closely with businesses and the government to develop a coordinated inward invest strategy for the Midlands that plays to region’s strengths and ensures a future recovery in inward investment is felt across the UK, rather than in a few concentrated areas.”