The North West benefited from 98 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects in 2015 – the largest number in a decade – representing an increase of 118% on 2014 when the region attracted just 45.

According to the 2016 EY UK attractiveness Survey, Manchester continues to lead the way in the region and the North West is the fastest growing region in the UK for international investment.

The growth has resulted in a 190% increase in new jobs across the North West since 2014 to 4,026.

EY’s chief economist Mar Gregory said particularly strong growth was reported for projects from the software, business services, construction and retail sectors. Amazon.com, ALDI Group and HGS Europe were some of the largest FDI projects in the region.

While the US dominated in all regions, the next most important sources of investment for the North West were the Netherlands, Germany and France. China, which was ranked second in the UK, came seventh in the North West.

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