West Midlands Investment Zone
Where breakthroughs begin
Turbocharging commercial opportunities for global businesses
The West Midlands is an advanced manufacturing R&D world leader across future mobility, medtech and net zero. The West Midlands’ Government-backed investment hub enables global businesses to take advantage of unique commercial opportunities, including tax incentives, capital funding and business rates retention.
The region is investing in our wider economy to ensure that investing businesses land in a vibrant ecosystem of business growth, skills development and innovation support.
A trusted heartland of R&D excellence
Centrally located at the heart of the UK, the £108bn West Midlands economy offers a world-significant cluster of R&D. A historic proving ground to test and validate; to make and scale – today the West Midlands remains the place where breakthroughs begin and where trusted manufacturing firms innovate at pace.
Combining over 100 collaborative tech hubs and four of the UK’s InnovateUK Catapult Centres, where our universities deliver leading-edge R&D, the West Midlands is where great minds meet and where Britain’s grand challenges are solved.
The Investment Zone consists of three key sites:
- Birmingham Knowledge Quarter
- DeepTech
- Lifesciences and MedTech
- Coventry Gigapark
- Battery tech
- EV supply chain
- Future mobility
- Wolverhampton Green Innovation Corridor
- Low carbon economy
As part of the West Midlands Investment Zone, companies will benefit from access to an enviable suite of investor incentives to help you land, build out and resource your operations.
Incentives*
Businesses locating in the West Midlands Investment Zone will benefit from a range of incentives.
These include:
✅ Full business rates relief (5 years)*
✅ First year capital allowances (FYAs): a 100% first-year allowance for expenditure on plant and machinery
✅ Full stamp duty land tax (SDLT) relief for land and buildings bought for commercial use or development for commercial purposes
✅ Enhanced structures and buildings allowances (SBAs): 10% straight-line deduction per annum
✅ Employer national insurance contributions (NIC) threshold raised from £9,100 (2023/24) to £25,000 in respect of new eligible employees for the first 36 months of their employment
*Tax incentives are available until 31st March 2034, for Birmingham Knowledge Quarter and Coventry & Warwick Gigapark
West Midlands Investment Zone
Coventry and Warwick Gigapark
West Midlands innovation is being focused on advancing battery tech at pace. The Coventry and Warwick Gigapark is the heart of the UK’s battery tech ecosystem.
Not only is it home to new and world-leading facilities like the Greenpower Park, but is within 30 minutes’ travel of a multitude of industry and academic R&D centres.
The Gigapark is an excellent location, especially for companies involved in:
- battery tech research, development and implementation
- the electric vehicle supply chain
- future mobility
Want to know how these facilities create a web of support for companies involved in battery tech, transport mobility, and low carbon, as well as their infrastructure, supply chain connections and logistics opportunities?
Warwick District Council
You can find out more about Warwick District Council, the business support they offer, and get local advice by visiting their website.
Birmingham Knowledge Quarter
- A truly distinctive and inclusive city-centre innovation quarter
- 210ha site for delivery of knowledge-intensive, R&D-driven real estate leveraging engineering, advanced digital technologies, and health tech research clustering
- supported by the delivery of homes, commercial and community spaces – creating a vibrant, inspiring and inclusive environment to work, learn, live and play
- 756,176 sqm of development capacity
- Academic strengths linked with the site include Aston University, Birmingham City University, and the University of Birmingham
Wolverhampton Green Innovation Corridor
Wolverhampton’s Green Innovation Corridor will drive the green industrial revolution, building on Wolverhampton’s sustainable construction, green and circular economy credentials.
It will become the home of the state-of-the-art School of Architecture and the Built Environment and the new National Brownfield Institute – a world-class research centre dedicated to developing modern methods of building.
Already home to over 100 businesses across a diverse range of sectors, new developments will accommodate the growing demand for workshops, laboratories, offices and new commercial space.
