Newcastle is continuing to attract high levels of inward investment despite challenging market conditions, according to analysis by NewcastleGateshead Initiative (NGI).
Over 1,700 new job opportunities were created across Newcastle and Gateshead in the financial year 2023/24 with the support of NGI’s inward investment team, Invest Newcastle.
793 of these jobs came from the 29 new companies that chose to open an employment site in Newcastle and Gateshead, the second highest number since Invest Newcastle was launched in 2013.
A further 939 jobs were created by the 23 companies that decided to expand their existing footprint in 2023/24, demonstrating that Newcastle is a place where businesses can scale and thrive.
The figures are in line with the long-term upward trend for inward investment flows across North East England, which continues to outperform all other regions of the UK on a per capita basis.
NGI analysis of Department for Business and Trade’s foreign direct investment (FDI) annual statistics for 2023/24 found that the North East has attracted 2.52 FDI projects and created 161.71 jobs per 100,000 people – the highest of any UK region outside of London.
Of the new companies that invested in Newcastle and Gateshead, over half (52%) came from the Digital and Tech sector, with 14% coming from Energy and Sustainability and Corporate Services and 7% coming from Health and Life Sciences and Creative Industries.
35% of the new companies were foreign owned, including global space and security company, Lockheed Martin UK Space, which has partnered with Northumbria University to build a space skills and technology centre, and global communications consultancy, Omnicom Media Group (OMG), which has opened an office in the city, creating up to 170 jobs.
Other key FDI projects included Swiss wealth manager Julius Baer, Belgian fintech Paynovate and Norwegian renewables specialist Gren Energy.
Cllr Nick Kemp, Leader of the Council, Newcastle City Council, said:
“These results demonstrate Newcastle’s enduring investment appeal and should give confidence to the market that our city is an attractive place to do business.
“The strength of our investment proposition is our ability to work together across the public and private sector to unlock opportunities for growth and development and nowhere does collaboration better than Newcastle.
“As a city council, we are committed to working with all parties to generate wealth that flows to all communities.”
Cllr Martin Gannon, Leader of Gateshead Council, said:
“It is fantastic to see so many new businesses coming into Newcastle and Gateshead in 2023/24 and we have been delighted to welcome recent additions Chatterbox and Run VT to our fast-growing creative cluster at Baltic Quarter.
“Working with our partners in Newcastle and across the North East of England, we look forward to building on this progress and deploying our new powers through the mayoral combined authority to make our region even more attractive to investors.”
The latest financial year figures take the total number of jobs created and safeguarded since Invest Newcastle was launched to more than 16,000. Over the last 11 years, the team have supported around 360 new businesses to relocate or expand in Newcastle and Gateshead.
Jennifer Hartley MBE, Director of Investment, NewcastleGateshead Initiative, said:
“Despite broader economic challenges and a slowdown in inward investment activity nationally, Newcastle has confounded expectations and demonstrated its resilience over the last 12 months.
“In addition to the 29 new companies we welcomed in 2023/24, we are particularly pleased to see such a surge in job creation as this will open up many unique pathways and career opportunities for our residents.
“Thanks to all our partners for their continued support and for working with us on the development of the city and its skills base.”
