Strength of Derby’s economy helps attract major investments

The strength of Derby’s economy was a key talking point at this year’s UKREiiF – with the city continuing to land more major investments.

In highlighting the city’s strong investment proposition, John Forkin managing director of Marketing Derby said: “The fact that Derby is home to international companies such as Rolls-Royce, Alstom and Toyota UK is a great platform to attract the attention of investors. ”

As well as supporting the continued investment of its key employers, in recent times, the city is diversifying its economy and has recently attracted several international investors with a focus on net zero.

St. Modwen Park Derby has attracted a flood of international investments from the likes of German heating technology firm Vaillant, Swedish medical equipment manufacturer Getinge and South Korean car company Kia.

St. Modwen is part of US-based Blackstone’s portfolio of companies – and to date, it has invested around £110 million in Derby.

Speaking at a panel discussion held during UKREiiF, Rob Richardson, development director at St. Modwen Logistics, said: “The Derby scheme summarises perfectly what we do as a business – we invest, collaborate and work in partnership.

“Blackstone is extremely happy with Derby. We’ve attracted Kia, Vaillant, Getinge – and soon Rolls-Royce will be joining the site.

“Our Swan Standard of sustainable construction has helped us attract those leading businesses to the site.

“Marketing Derby did wonders to show those businesses that you could easily run an international business from Derby and recruit top talent.”

Over at SmartParc SEGRO Derby, German-owned recipe box giant HelloFresh has recently opened its largest European distribution centre – with more major names on the way.

Whilst the 100-acre commercial and technology park, Infinity Park Derby is home to Rolls-Royce’s Nuclear Skills Academy and the first High Value Manufacturing Catapult facility in the East Midlands – the Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre, and has been recommended by Derby City Council to be part of the East Midlands County Combined Authority’s bid for an Investment Zone.

In the city centre, investments have been made by market-leading Grainger plc in The Condor – Derby’s first Build-To-Rent scheme, and by national developers Wavensmere Homes, Compendium Living and Lovell into new residential schemes.

The foundation for many of these investments is the strength of Derby’s economy, with the city commanding the highest average salaries outside of London and the South East.nu

It is certainly one of the reasons why The Property Hub has identified the city as an “investment hot spot”.

The Property Hub is a popular podcast, aimed at property investors, hosted by Rob Bence and Rob Dix, who also write about property for The Sunday Times.

In conversation inside the Midlands Engine Pavilion at UKREiiF at an event called ‘What Makes a Good Investment Location?’, the ‘two Robs’ explained why they had named Derby in their top 10 investment hotspots for 2024.

They said: “We have been picking hotspots since 2015 – one of the reasons we’ve been promoting Derby is its high average salaries and good yields so there is a return to be made.

“There’s lots of opportunity in Derby already – and a strong business case to be built upon – that excites us.

“We went big on Manchester – but it felt like we’d not seen a place with such opportunity like Derby for a long time; the fundamentals are there, it’s not hard to get behind the business case.”