Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership highlights the region’s global economic strengths
Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership (OxLEP) has drawn attention to new data released by the Department for International Trade which shows the county’s ability to attract worldwide business as the economy continues to recover from Covid-19.
In the last year, the region’s economy has seen millions of pounds of investment from 38 foreign direct investment projects, with sectors such as life sciences and space leading showing particular strength across the 21/22 financial year.
Sebastian Johnson, head of innovation and inward investment at OxLEP, said: “These are very positive figures for Oxfordshire and we are delighted to learn that the county continues to build on our strong reputation of being well-positioned to attract significant international investment through our many world-leading sectors and businesses.”
“We are a county that embraces business, encourages sustainable growth and looks to create an economic climate that backs investment and in-turn, job creation – these are key ingredients for both our local and UK economies as we continue to emerge from the pandemic and the global economic challenges currently being faced.
“By continuing to highlight to an international audience the major strengths of the Oxfordshire economy, OxLEP is well-positioned to support an ambition to build on these positive trends, ensuring we are able to garner the interest of the international business community.”
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Oxfordshire is also home to some important innovation and enterprise locations, with Oxford Science Park and Oxford Business Park drawing significant investment through large acquisitions and large-scale capital investments.
This investment has positively impacted job levels in the county, with data indicating that Oxfordshire's FID investments support over 450 jobs across the county.
These positive figures follow Oxfordshire’s top-five ranking in the Financial Times’ fDi Intelligence overall rankings for 2022 and as the highest-ranking Local Enterprise Partnership for FDI strategy.
Lucy Buzzoni, director of investment at the Department for International Trade, said: “OxLEP’s consistent approach to attracting foreign direct investment sets a fantastic example, that supports job creation and economic growth that will level-up the whole of the UK.
“The 2021/22 set of inward investment results are an outstanding effort, not just the results, but evidence of the strong partnerships forged, and bridges built along the way.
“This approach has been reflected in consistently good FDI wins over many years now. I am confident OxLEP will continue to build on its recent success attracting even more attention for the UK from across the globe”
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