Speed, power, certainty: The new playbook for site selection

Investors and corporates are reassessing where and how they deploy capital as supply chains reshore and industrial policy plays a bigger role in location strategy. Alongside “hard” inputs like cost, labour and infrastructure, decision-makers are placing greater weight on partner quality, planning speed, access to offtakers and long-term political support.

Incentives weigh on their mind too. Using specific investment zones and targeted tax sites in the West Midlands as practical case studies, participants to the roundtable will examine when incentives truly shift outcomes. The discussion will be grounded in live mandates across EV and battery supply chains, grid and storage technologies (including BESS), heat pumps and wider decarbonisation. It will close by analysing the signals that really matter such as track record, speed, coordination and aftercare.

Hosted by FT Locations in partnership with West Midlands Growth Company, this breakfast roundtable will convene site selectors and consultants to discuss how decision-making is evolving for advanced manufacturing, cleantech and future mobility projects, and what that means for UK regional competitiveness. The conversation will focus on what “investor-ready” looks like for complex mandates, and where public sector partners add value beyond incentives, from permitting and partnerships to talent and ecosystem connectivity.

● With changing priorities for corporate investors (supply chain issues, geo-politics, rising costs), what are becoming the key investment motives driving these investment decisions? (talent, connectivity, market access, stable regulations, ESG)

● What most reduces risk amid volatility and delivery constraints, and how do you evidence it?

● Where can IPAs/public partners add most value beyond incentives (permitting, partners, offtakers, talent)?

● How relevant are investment zones, free zones, freeports and special economic areas in practice?

● What’s most in demand in future mobility/clean tech, and what three changes would make the UK easier to recommend?

● When do incentives truly move decisions, when do they simply “sweeten” them and which type of incentives are most valued today (cash grants, tax relief, training & skills support, energy related incentives)?

Make informed decisions, attract corporate investment and stay competitive in the world of foreign and domestic direct investment. Our economic development data products and consulting services can help your organisation make better strategic decisions for long-term success.

henry.nichol@ft.com

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