WIREDGOV

The government is investing £150 billion on health, £45 billion on schools and £13 billion on transport in the Northern Powerhouse over this Parliament to help build on these strengths and make it an even more appetising prospect to investors.

The film is being promoted by British embassies across the world, as well as by supportive trade bodies and Northern businesses.

The stunning footage includes Salford’s MediaCity, Tees Valley’s PD Ports and the Exhibition Centre, Liverpool, which hosts this year’s International Festival of Business. It also features Anthony Gormley’s striking Angel of the North statue near Gateshead, Whitby Abbey of Bram Stoker’s Dracula fame and the spectacular settings of the Lake District.

The film was created by Leeds based agency Motiv Productions and is the latest instalment of the government’s Northern Powerhouse trade and investment initiative. This kicked off last July with a Northern Powerhouse trade mission led by the Prime Minister and Business Secretary to Singapore and Malaysia.

A subsequent trade mission to China was led by the Chancellor George Osborne which showcased a selection of £24 billion worth of investment opportunities in the Northern Powerhouse.

Northern Powerhouse Minister James Wharton said:

The Northern Powerhouse is a global investment hotspot and we are clear it is ready and open for business.

This film will help showcase the best of what the north has to offer the world and I look forward to welcoming those bold and ambitious businesses looking to buy into this.

The government has dedicated £15 million of funding to a series of trade missions and events to showcase the strengths of the North of England as a place to do business and to help businesses maximise their export potential. A further £7 million will fund a Northern Powerhouse Investment Taskforce, bringing civic leaders and Northern businesses together to present a single internationally competitive offer to compete on the global stage Sector strengths include advanced manufacturing, automotive and aerospace and the creative industries.

Recent Budgets have also committed to building on the North’s strengths in health science, as well as major new projects including the Sir Henry Royce Institute in Manchester, Cognitive Computing Centre at Daresbury in Cheshire, and Newcastle’s Institute for Ageing, and Manchester’s National Graphene Institute.

Additionally, the Spending Review committed £50 million for 2 new agricultural technology centres, headquartered in York, to support innovation and skills in the food and farming supply chain.

Little-known interesting facts about the Northern Powerhouse:

1. If it were a country, the Northern Powerhouse would have the 10th biggest economy in Europe
2. If it had competed at the 2012 Olympic Games it would have come sixth, ahead of Germany, France and Australia
3. In 2014, a new business opened in the Northern Powerhouse every 10 minutes
4. The same year Sunderland built more cars than the whole of Italy
5. While latest figures show Yorkshire has created more new jobs than the whole of France