Surge in enquiries could bring jobs to the region say Invest in Nottingham

Invest in Nottingham have released their Annual Report for the last year and it shows encouraging signs for the local economy, with a surge of activity coming since the start of 2021.

The review (available to read here), which covers the period from April 2020 to March 2021 paints an interesting picture of the local inward investment activity, unsurprisingly showing a significant reduction of new potential investment enquiries coming into the team in the period immediately following the first UK lockdown in March 2020, right through to the end of the year.

However, during the first 3 months of 2021, the team received 31 new enquiries – 65% of the annual total. This represents a significant increase and the report concludes that this, “…could be related to increased confidence in certain markets and the general ‘bounce-back’ that the economy is experiencing. It could also be that many of the projects delayed at the start of the pandemic have been re-ignited at the end of the financial year, as the UK roadmap out of lockdown has been clearer.”

Lorraine Baggs, Head of Investment at Invest in Nottingham said, “We saw a lot of live projects stall following the announcement of the first UK lockdown and many of these are now regaining momentum, which also mirrors the upturn in new enquiries that the team has been receiving. The really encouraging thing is that this trend is continuing as we move through 2021 and is giving us a healthy pipeline of potential inward investment into Nottingham.”

Invest in Nottingham provides free support for companies looking to grow or expand into Nottingham and Nottinghamshire, including identifying suitable premises, support with recruitment and accessing funding schemes. Since 2016, the team have supported projects that have created over 4,500 jobs, contributing more than £200m to the local economy.

Lorraine added, “Our clients value the impartial advice and support that we can offer, so we are keen to speak to any companies that think we might be able to help them to grow here in Nottingham and I would direct them to our website where they can get in touch with the team”

Invest in Nottingham is part of Marketing Nottingham, the place marketing organisation for Nottingham and Nottinghamshire. Paul Southby, Chairman of Marketing Nottingham said:

“Invest in Nottingham have been working hard behind the scenes throughout 2020 to promote Nottingham as the place to expand your business.

“It is great to see those efforts pay off with an influx of enquiries at the start of 2021 and continuing to come through at a high rate throughout the year. There are some very interesting projects lined up that could produce a lot of jobs for Nottingham in both the city and the county. We’ll look forward to sharing them with the business community once they come to fruition.”

Invest in Nottingham’s Annual Review for 2020-21 is available to read here.

If you’d like more information on expanding your business in Nottingham or Nottinghamshire, get in touch with the team via enquiries@investinnottingham.co.uk