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West Midlands Investment Zone
West Midlands Investment Zone
For general enquiries on the Investment Zone as a whole, please contact: WMInvestmentzone@wmca.org.uk
For all investor enquiries, please visit: West Midlands Investment Zone | Invest West Midlands
Introducing the West Midlands Investment Zone
Having been the home of the first industrial revolution, manufacturing remains the beating heart of the West Midlands and is key to our region’s economic success. But now we’re looking to the future of industry: from electric vehicles and alternative fuel technologies to low-carbon buildings, from cutting-edge digital platforms to innovative health-tech solutions. The West Midlands is host to a multitude of world-class companies and research institutions at the forefront of this new industrial revolution – a revolution powered by technology, skills and enterprise that will make the world a better place for future generations.
The West Midlands Investment Zone will draw on an unprecedented range of tools to support growth in the region’s Advanced Manufacturing sector – broadly defined to encompass electric vehicle and battery technology, green industries, health-tech and the critical underpinning digital platforms. These sub-sectors intersect and overlap, creating a fertile ecosystem for new investors to land in the region and flourish, creating new jobs and skills opportunities for all our communities and securing the West Midlands’ position as a key driver of national economic success.
The West Midlands Investment Zone will transform our regional economy:
- Over 30,000 jobs created
- £5.5bn private sector investment catalysed
- £1.5bn business rate growth retained for reinvestment into sites and wider economic growth across the region
West Midlands Investment Zone - Sites and Programmes
The West Midlands Investment Zone will be driven by 3 key sites – each focusing on areas of strength, but each coming together to present compelling investment propositions across the region. Each site will be catalysed by an unprecedented combination of public capital investment, and in some instances, tax incentives.
Birmingham Knowledge Quarter
The Birmingham Knowledge Quarter (BKQ) will develop research institutes and advanced manufacturing facilities to boost innovation and economic growth.
Coventry & Warwick Gigapark
The Gigapark, anchored by Greenpower Park at its heart, aims to establish a large-scale facility for commercial battery manufacture, recycling, and reuse.
Wolverhampton Green Innovation Corridor
The Wolverhampton Green Innovation Corridor, will invigorate the region's advanced manufacturing sector by supporting the supply chain adaptation and to address constraints in the local labour market.
Enabled by a collaborative regional governance model, as well as a set of interventions and tools empowered by Government:
- 25-year Business Rate Retention for two sites
- 10-year Tax Incentives across two sites
- Regional Business Support, Skills and R&D Programmes and Delivery Capacity Funding
- Site Unlocking Capital and Revenue Funding
Tax Incentives
- 10% p/a rate of structures and buildings allowance compared to 3% outside Investment Zone tax sites. This significantly accelerates tax relief for businesses on qualifying expenditure for constructing, renovating or adapting premises.
- Available for qualifying expenditure on non-residential structures and buildings where construction commences from the date a tax site is designated and the asset is brought into qualifying use by 30 September 2034.
- Total relief from Stamp Duty Land Tax on property used for qualifying commercial purposes, until 30 September 2026. This makes it easier to establish premises within an Investment Zone.
- Outside of Investment Zones, purchasers buying non-residential land and buildings pay 0% on the first £150,000, 2% on the next £100,000 and 5% on the remaining amount.
- 100% first year allowances for qualifying expenditure on plant and machinery which is primarily for use in an Investment Zone tax site. This significantly accelerates tax relief on qualifying expenditure.
- Available for expenditure incurred from the date a tax site is designated until 30 September 2034 – a longer window than full expensing.
- Full relief from business rates on qualifying new properties and partial relief for expanded properties in Investment Zone tax sites.
- Claimable until 30 September 2034, with the relief applying for five years from the point at which you receive it.
- 0% Employer NICs paid on salary up to £25,000 p/a, for 3 years per eligible employee.
Eligible employees are new hires that spend more than 60% of their working time in the Investment Zone and are hired between April 5, 2024, and 6 April 2034.