2021 was a strong year for Inward Investment in Warwickshire
Warwickshire Inward Investment returned another strong year in 2021, reports Warwickshire County Council's Inward Investment Manager (Automotive, Advanced Engineering & Manufacturing Lead) Ian Flynn...
As January is well under way, it’s a good time to look back over the last 12 months, and another strong year for UK and FDI (foreign direct investment) inward investment into the Coventry & Warwickshire area.
Despite the pandemic, and in some cases because of it, the Warwickshire and Coventry area enjoyed another strong year of inward investment. The list below comprises some of the highlights of the year, announced in the press and online over the last 12 months.
Automotive and Future Mobility, and logistics and ecommerce continued to drive investment around the county, but there were also some major announcements around acquisitions in the digital creative sector, and games development studios in particular, which saw £2billion of overseas investment in a seven-month period.
Invest in Warwickshire, the inward investment service at Warwickshire County Council, together with partners across Coventry & Warwickshire and the Department for International Trade, supported on some of these projects.
The continued strong performance in the area is a credit to the local industry, commercial agents and property developers and planners, who continued to support investment during the challenging pandemic period.
Auto and Future Mobility
An all-electric Jaguar range and hydrogen propulsion for Land Rover were among changes announced by JLR CEO Thierry Bolloré and the ‘Reimagine’ Strategy.
Aston Martin announced a switch to hybrid cars over the next four years, with electric-only models from 2025, following a tie with Mercedes Benz
At BMW Hams Hall, V12 and V8 engines were added to the portfolio, and around 20% of engines built there in 2021destined for plug-in hybrids.
REE Automotive UK announced a new £66m Engineering Centre of Excellence at MIRA Technology Park, Nuneaton, creating 200 jobs.
Ox Trucks set up in Warwickshire after securing a range of funding to support the development of its electric truck for the developing world.
Croatian auto company Rimac set up a UK Technical centre at University of Warwick Wellesbourne Innovation Campus, stating that ‘British engineers are world-class in the field of electrification and future of mobility’
Viritech set up at MIRA Technology Park to develop a 1100bhp hydroge hypercar, aiming to become “the world’s leading developer of hydrogen powertrain solutions.”
Octopus Hydrogen, Octopus Renewables and MIRA Technology Park confirmed plans for a green refuelling forecourt, providing hydrogen and EV charging
Bladon Micro Turbine signed a 20-year lease on a 61,076 sq ft unit at Spa Park, Leamington Spa.
Maeving, Coventry, launched its practical electric bikes that “channel the best of British motorcycle design heritage into a new type of electric vehicle.”
TVS owned Norton opened a new 73,000sqft factory and tech centre in Solihull;
Mahindra backed Classic Legends relaunched the BSA Goldstar. A technical centre has already been set up in Coventry where a new electric model would be developed.
The Wells Vertige broke cover, with a factory in Bishops Itchington to manufacture the £40k sportcar.
Porterbrook, rolling stock owner and asset manager, added the 135-acre Long Marston Rail Innovation Centre to its portfolio of railway assets.
A planning application for a Gigafactory at Coventry Airport was submitted, delivering 5.7m sq ft of space for production and recycling, creating 6,000 jobs. Planning permission was granted in January 2022
The Prime Minister officially opened the £130m UK Battery industrialisation Centre (UKBIC), a pioneering 18,500 square metre national facility, developed to support the UK battery industry.
And if you're heading along the M6 at Rugby...
MOTO Services at Rugby opened following a £40m site investment creating 120 jobs at J1 M6, featuring 24 ultra-rapid electric vehicle charging points, the largest rapid charging site on the motorway.
Creative Digital
EA (Electronic Arts Inc.), a global leader in interactive entertainment, announced the completion of its acquisition of Codemasters based in Southam, valuing the business US$1.2 billion.
Mediatonic, who have a studio in Leamington were acquired by industry giant Epic Games in April 21 who are best known for titles such as Fortnite. Mediatonic are the development studio behind the hit sensation, Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout which launched on the 10th August 2020 and by the 26 August 2020, more than 7 million copies of Fall Guys had been sold on Steam, and it was the most downloaded monthly PS Plus game of all time.
Tencent‘s £919m acquisition of Sumo Group revealed in 2021 recently got the go ahead as planned. Sumo Group comprises Sumo Digital as well as 11 other studios. Sumo and Lab 42 have studios in Leamington and are expanding locally.
Supersonic Software Ltd and its subsidiary Appynation Ltd, based in Leamington Spa, were bought by Miniclip, the Swiss headquartered world leader of market-defining mobile game titles.
Facebook acquired Unit 2 Games, the developer behind the free-to-play game creation and sharing tool Crayta. The social network said that the addition will help expand its categories of gaming content creators.
The TV & Film sector has seen strong growth locally, with more productions choosing to film in the region, a West Midlands commitment and investment programme from the BBC through the advocacy of Create Central and the establishment of a Sky Blue Studio in Coventry in the former Ikea building.
Ecommerce and Other Sectors
Off Grid Energy secured a £1.25m investment enabling the move to its new 30,000sq ft premises at Stepnell Park, Rugby, creating 30 jobs.
DB Shenker created 100 jobs with expansion at Centurion Park on the edge of North Warwickshire, with 153,064sqft of space
Chinese global logistics company will create 500 jobs at it’s new fulfilment centre at Dordon, on the spec built St Modwen TF321 site
E-commerce business Furnolic Co., the UK subsidiary of Ziel Group, has taken a 10 year lease at Prologis Ryton. The firm specialises in homeware, furniture and pet furniture. The 10-year lease for the 148,461 sq ft unit is Furnolic’s first physical site in the UK.
Royal Mail confirmed it is building a second parcel hub Prologis’ DIRFT III scheme on the outskirts of Rugby. The planned 840,000 sqft Midlands parcel hub will become Royal Mail’s largest parcel hub
The Amazon Sortation Centre at Redditch Eastern Gateway started operation this year and will create 200 new permanent jobs over two years.
Plastics company Berry Global announced a new plastics facility of 138,675 sq ft at Spa Park in Leamington.
Aluminium window and door maker Deponti is establishing its new UK base at Midland 42, Rugby.
CORE 42 Business Park, at Dordon, North Warwickshire, pre-let a new 25,000sqft unit to Marshall Fleet Solutions.
Over One million COVID-19 tests were processed at the new 223,000sqft Rosalind Franklin Megalab in Leamington Spa. Opened in June this year, the laboratory is part of the current Test and Trace network and is at the heart of the UK Health Security Agency’s (UKHSA) plans for managing coronavirus (COVID-19)
This year will also see a global focus on Birmingham and the wider West Midlands, including Coventry & Warwickshire, as it hosts the 2022 Commonwealth Games, building on the national profile provided by City of Culture in 2021/22.
The Coventry & Warwickshire area looks ahead to another strong year for FDI and UK inward investment, with new opportunities as the economy adjusts to EU exit, reshoring and supply chain localisation, new zero carbon technologies and digital technologies. Access to local talent and supply chain continue to make this an attractive location for investment in in high value jobs and R&D.