What attracts foreign Investment to business opportunities in the UK?

Feb 13
08:59

2008

Jenny Simpson

Jenny Simpson

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People don’t tend to locate their business where they don’t want to live and I have discovered why the North East is so popular for relocating a business.

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There is a buoyant housing market in North East England however housing prices remain competitive and are 34% less than the national average which is a good reason why you may want to relocate or expand your operations in the North East.

Costs remain noticeably lower than those in many other parts of the UK,What attracts foreign Investment to business opportunities in the UK? Articles considerably in comparison with London and South East England, enabling the region to offer you a wide range of quality affordable housing.

Because North East England is less crowded than other regions, with a proportionately lower population, there is more land available for housing development yet there is a large hinterland of unspoilt countryside around the main cities and urban centres, with attractive towns and villages served by good transport links within the region and outside of it. This is why North East England is one of the most popular student destinations in the UK.

Within a radius of only 45 miles there are five universities – Durham, Newcastle, Northumbria, Sunderland and Teesside. There is also a large network of further education colleges and 18 of these offering higher education courses.

Between them these institutions attract around 96,000 full and part time students. The retention rate of graduates in the region is the highest outside London with the aid of agencies such as Entrust and their Graduates for Business scheme.

Around 10 per cent of the students in the region are overseas students, adding to the cultural diversity and increasingly outward looking perspectives of North East England. This gives an extra dimension to the unique Regional Language Network, set up to increase the language skills of the region in business expertise.

Employment levels stand at 71.7% (2006) with a working population of 1.03m. Proportion of working age population qualified to GCE A level / equivalent or higher is 47% (2006). The latest unemployment rate in North East England is 6.1% - year on year reductions since turn of the century and unemployment in the region is now falling faster than the national level (latest decrease of 0.7% between 2005 and 2006). 10% of the region’s jobs are now in the tourism sector and the industry contributes around £1bn annually to the economy.

North East England is home to 588 overseas companies from 32 countries, employing over 27,000 people therefore making an ideal place for overseas investors looking for business opportunities in the UKor  business opportunities in England.