The Midlands has overtaken every other part of Britain outside the capital for foreign direct investment (FDI) employment, creating almost 6,000 jobs last year even as investment into the UK slumped to a ten-year low.
According to the EY 2026 UK Attractiveness Survey, the region generated 5,970 FDI-related jobs in 2025, more than Scotland and Wales combined and equivalent to roughly one in five of all such jobs created across the UK. That makes it the leading location for overseas-backed employment outside London, a notable result in a year when global investors turned cautious.
The region also landed 102 FDI projects, ranking it behind only Greater London and Scotland for the volume of inward investment won. The figure represents 14 per cent of all UK projects, the Midlands’ third-highest share in a decade.
Investor sentiment, meanwhile, is pointing upwards. Among companies planning to invest, the West Midlands is now seen as the third most attractive UK region, and Birmingham ranks as the second most sought-after city outside the capital, despite the reputational knocks the city has absorbed over the past year.
The headline numbers are all the more striking given the wider backdrop. Project numbers across Europe fell by 6.6 per cent in 2025, while the UK recorded a sharper 14.4 per cent decline, securing 730 projects nationally, the lowest tally in ten years.
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