In a packed room at MIPIM in Cannes last week the strength of the Sheffield City Region and its Enterprise Zone was recognised as a top European choice for international investors.

A report produced by the Financial Times has ranked Sheffield City Region Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) as number one for foreign direct investment (fDi) strategy.

The City Region finds itself in good company in the fDi Magazine European Cities & Regions of the Future 2014/15 report, joining areas like Amsterdam, Zurich and Stockholm.

Ellen Cutler, Sheffield City Region Director of Inward Investment said: “I am delighted that the City Region has been recognised for its attractiveness to foreign investors.

“This reinforces to an international audience what great assets we have and our appetite to seek out new opportunities in the global market place.

“Being here at MIPIM is important to positioning Sheffield City Region in the minds of investors.”

Sheffield City Region scored highly in the report ranking in the top 25 European city regions overall, in the top ten Northern European Regions and Northern European Regions for fDi strategy and taking the top slot and ranking as the number one UK Local Enterprise Partnership in terms of its foreign direct investment strategy.

A total of 13 top rankings were awarded to Sheffield, Doncaster and the City Region.

The awards are judged by an independent panel of investment analysts and experts which takes into account matters such as economic potential, local labour infrastructure, business friendliness and strategy for encouraging foreign investment, scrutinising a huge range of data across 468 European cities.

Councillor Leigh Bramall, Cabinet Member for Business, Skills and Development at Sheffield City Council said: “The fDi awards demonstrate the international significance of Sheffield as a leading European city for business investment.

“Of course we are pleased to see both Sheffield and the City Region ranking in a number of top tables alongside the likes of London, Helsinki and Stockholm. What we need to do now is to deliver on that strategy and continue to attract investment to Sheffield, creating jobs and opportunities for local people.”

Sheffield ranked in the top ten for Northern European cities for fDi strategy (ninth), mid-sized cities overall (seventh) and mid-sized cities European cities for fDi strategy (fourth) where Doncaster also received a placement in the top ten (tenth).

The news comes after a week of good news for Sheffield’s Enterprise Zone, with family business Holdsworth Foods announcing a major expansion on the zone. Developers Harworth also laid out their plans for Yorkshire’s first speculative business development since 2007.