UK 'favourite' for market entry

Britain is the favourite destination within Europe for foreign direct investment, a new report has suggested.

Research conducted by accountants Ernst & Young found that the UK attracted 18 per cent of total investment last year, ahead of France (14 per cent) and Germany (ten per cent).

A total of 3,718 new investments were made in 2008 across Europe, an increase of six per cent on the previous year.

However, Ernst & Young forecast that market entry figures could fall this year in Europe, as a result of the global economic downturn.

The Country Attractiveness Survey also indicated that the north-west of England witnessed an increase in foreign direct investment last year, despite the recession, attracting 51 out of 686 projects in the UK.

"International investors - particularly in the finance & business services industry - that already have operations in London are increasingly considering secondary locations outside the capital, which is good news for the region," Simon Allport, senior partner of the Ernst & Young Manchester office, commented.

Derek Williams of the Marketing Donut recently suggested that the ground for market entry could actually be "most fertile" in many ways at the moment, as some of the world's best-known companies were started during recessions.

Written by Julian Poulter and Copyright "Selling People 2009"