Derby’s investment strategy named best in UK by FT

Derby’s strategy for attracting overseas investment to the city has been named the best in the UK in rankings compiled by the Financial Times.

Part of Marketing Derby’s Invest in Derby service involves attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) to the city.

And in the prestigious Financial Times’ fDi European Cities and Regions of the Future 2024 rankings, Derby has been placed third within the Top 10 Small European Cities for FDI Strategy category, which recognises the cities who have devised the strongest strategy for attracting investment.

The only cities placed higher than Derby this year were Cork, in Ireland, and Braga, in Portugal.

Councillor Baggy Shanker, leader of Derby City Council, said: “This top three ranking is a well-deserved achievement for Derby.

“It helps to highlight the robust and diverse FDI strategy that our city implements and is the reason why countless foreign-owned companies have chosen, and continue to choose, Derby as their home.”

John Forkin, managing director of Marketing Derby, said: “We have worked really hard to fly the flag for Derby as we seek to diversify our economy.

“The city has always prided itself as a UK home for the international business community and our recent successes illustrate this. The Financial Times award will add credibility to our message.”

fDi Intelligence is a service from the Financial Times and is the largest Foreign Direct Investment centre of excellence globally.

The rankings are one of the industry’s most prominent benchmarks of FDI competitiveness, measuring economic, financial, and business strengths.

For this year’s rankings, fDi’s research team assessed data from locations across Europe, made up of 330 cities, 141 regions and 38 LEPs.

In the same rankings, the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership was placed 9th in the Top 10 LEPs of the Future – Cost Effectiveness.

Following the Covid-19 pandemic, Derby has focused on diversifying its economy.

It is a strategy that is continuing to reap dividends, attracting international investments from major companies and investors.

They include German heating technology giant Vaillant, Swedish medical technology manufacturer Getinge and South Korean car manufacturer Kia.

All three companies have invested in new bases at St. Modwen Park Derby, a multi-million-pound business park being created by St. Modwen Logistics.

Earlier this month, Getinge officially opened its new UK headquarters and Global Centre of Excellence for Chemistry at St. Modwen Park Derby.

This was quickly followed by Kia, which has officially opened a new UK training academy at the site.

Elsewhere, Cale Street Partners, backed by the Kuwaiti Sovereign Wealth Fund, is continuing to invest in the Derbion shopping centre, which last year attracted over £5 million of new investment to the city.

Derby’s award will be presented at a ceremony to be held at MIPIM, the global property fair that is set to take place in Cannes, in the south of France, next month.