A group of key industry figures tell Director what's giving their corner of the country the edge

South-west

Stephen Peacock, enterprise and innovation directorate, South West Regional Development Agency
We're not over-reliant on any one sector here and that has helped us to ride out the recession. But there are a couple of industries with real growth potential that we're perfectly poised to exploit.

The south-west's investment in the low-carbon agenda is well known, with high-profile developments including the Eden Project. We've seen a string of green businesses take root here. This trend has been boosted by the region being designated Britain's first low-carbon economic area, which comes with a £20m investment commitment.

The Wave Hub project off the north Cornish coast is a facility where companies can test full-size marine technologies-a hugely important step in creating renewable energy options.

With the help of European and US investment we're building on this development, creating a research facility that will not only spin out opportunities across the region but also be at the centre of a national programme.

A real regional strength is the aerospace region, with nine of the world's top 11 aviation companies having sites here. All must face up to the low-carbon question, which means there are opportunities on the doorstep.
Running alongside low-carbon technologies is the recent government commitment to fund a National Composites Centre in Bristol. Composites such as carbon fibre will be much in demand in the future, not least in the aerospace sector.

We see the south-west as the starting point for a new generation of exciting technologies, offering a stimulating future for the region.

London

Danny Lopez, group director, business support and promotion, London Development Agency
London continues to be one of the world's most vibrant cities, with huge diversity both in terms of the businesses here and the workforce. Most importantly, though, there continues to be investment on an enormous scale. More than £40bn of investment will go into the capital over the next decade-the largest investment programme since the Victorian era. More than £9bn will be invested in the 2012 Olympics, and projects such as Crossrail, the redevelopment around King's Cross, the Thames Tideway scheme and the renewal of the West End will also boost the city.

This sort of investment in infrastructure is important to ensure that the diversity of London's economy is maintained. The capital attracts agile and nimble companies that, in the face of recession, have showcased the sort of innovation necessary to survive. London's an ideal place to make that happen, and we need to continue to ensure that keeps happening.

The city has remained open for international trade and is still a hub for entrepreneurialism and innovation. Business conditions here—from the legal system and the political environment to the transport connections and the highly skilled workforce—mean overseas investors still want a base in the city.

Tourism has been a key driver in helping London through the recession. In 2008, we saw nearly 15 million overseas visitors and 11 million domestic visitors. The sector supports more than 250,000 jobs and brings in £22bn through visitor spending. And, of course, the Olympics will boost those figures further still.

West Midlands

John Phillips, regional director, IoD West Midlands
The West Midlands has long had a reputation for large-scale manufacturing and although we've lost the jewels in the crown, such as Rover at Longbridge, in their place are smaller operations that have been able to capitalise on the big workforce once employed in these larger plants. But to really make things work, manufacturers have had to be flexible, whether it's about adapting what they produce to meet changing economic needs or looking for new markets.

Oleo International is one such company. Based in Coventry, it used to make parts for fighter aircraft during the war but has diversified and now manufactures heavy steel for railways. It was on its knees until it trebled its export marketing and networking. As a result, it has won contracts in China and France, and is flourishing.

Similarly Worcester Bosch, which makes central heating components, has exploited green technology and taken advantage of the demand for energy-saving devices, weathering the storm in the process. Another success story is Tyrrells Potato Chips, a £20m Herefordshire business that is booming, exporting its products all over the world.

A changing economy needs smaller, adaptable, innovative businesses that can replace big corporations, and that's what we're seeing in the West Midlands.

North-west

Darrell Matthews, regional director, IoD North West
In the north-west, we have just about every sector under the sun and they've been affected by the recession in different ways. One area that has benefited is digital creative technology and online services.

Part of this is down to the fact that when companies started to explore cost-cutting, they looked at taking certain operations online and seeing how they could automate processes.

We've seen companies such as Mando Group in Liverpool and ANS and NCC in Manchester all turning good profits. Telecoms companies such as Daisy and Chess are also doing well.

Manchester has always been at the forefront of technological development—there's a real "can do" attitude, so it's not surprising to see that sector thriving here. What's even more positive is MediaCityUK, which is developing in Salford Quays. It's already been confirmed that the BBC is moving a lot of staff up here and many new technology companies are gearing up for that. They feel there's less risk in expanding as this is going to be a growing market in the years to come.

It's not just technology companies that will profit. The BBC grabs the headlines but MediaCity is such a huge development I think there's no doubt that all types of subsidiary companies will benefit. It's a reason to be positive about the future.

North-east

Simon Goon, head of business investment, One North East
About five years ago we started looking at how the north-east could close the GVA (gross value added) gap between ourselves and the rest of the country, how we could diversify industrial activity in the region, drive that activity forward and future-proof it.

We have learnt our lessons about relying too heavily on one area and, as a result, we wanted to capitalise on the geography, the infrastructure, the skillset and the business base of the region to create multiple opportunities in many areas. Three areas were identified as having potential growth-new renewable energy, healthcare, and the process industry, supported by a further two sectors, new materials and digital technology.

There's a symmetry about the north-east being involved in new renewable energy. The region has a long history of energy manufacturing and heavy engineering. We were the engine room of the industrial revolution, with our shipbuilders and steelworks. That work continues with the New and Renewable Energy Centre (Narec), which focuses on offshore wind and marine technologies. It's the only place you can test an 80m blade for a wind turbine. Add in the fact that the only way you can really transport an 80m blade is by water and you can see why it makes sense for this sort of industry to be based here.

If we can attract large industries with our unique offering-the ability to transport, test and manufacture -then that's going to filter down the supply chain, giving a boost to smaller, existing local businesses and the region as a whole.

Northern Ireland

Michael Smyth, head of School of Economics, University of Ulster
The wider economy of Northern Ireland has been protected to some extent by the Barnett formula, which calculates public expenditure in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, relative to adjustments in England. This means that Northern Ireland's overall standard of living hasn't taken too much of a battering. Public expenditure has also propped up the job market—about a third of the population is employed in the public sector, and another third again work in jobs that depend on the public sector. That said, unemployment stands at around 55,000, but this is a drop in the ocean compared to previous recessions.

Border shopping has been the main beacon of hope. In Northern Ireland, we've seen huge numbers of people flocking from the Irish Republic to take advantage of the strong euro. Somewhere between half a billion and a billion euros has come in from the south, and that's between three and five per cent of the total consumer spend in Northern Ireland.

Food, drink and tobacco have been the key retail sectors that have outperformed because they're relatively small and efficient—they're an absolute godsend for us.

Wales

Leighton Jenkins, head of policy, CBI Wales
In the autumn of 2008, there was a lot of debate about what the role of government should be in an economic crisis-should it intervene, or step back and let the market do its work?

We knew it would be important to support companies in temporary trouble so we welcomed the introduction of the ProAct and ReAct schemes, financed by the Welsh Assembly Government.

ProAct was designed to help viable businesses cope with the downturn. Under the scheme, if a company needed to scale back employee hours, financial support for training could be provided temporarily to try to avoid job losses. Similarly, under ReAct, individuals that had been made redundant could apply for financial support to help them retrain, to improve their chances of returning to work.

The schemes have helped both individuals and companies, but alongside this a new social partnership model was developed. This has seen monthly meetings between the first minister, the Welsh secretary and key stakeholders. The aim has been not only to work out what is needed to help support business in Wales but to force individual departments to show how they were reacting to the recession.

What we need now is a plan for post-recession Wales that will look at attracting investment and developing existing businesses. This means the government overcoming historical resistance to public-private partnerships. At the moment there's a £5bn infrastructure gap between Wales and England, and if the government is serious about closing this, it has to embrace the private sector.

Scotland

Carole McCarthy, director of innovation and commercialisation, Scottish Enterprise
When it comes to academic institutions, Scotland punches above its weight with a disproportionately large number of high-level institutions for a region of its size. The reputation that they've built up means they're able to attract impressive global partners and serious funding for research. They have a great track record when it comes to invention and, in the current economic climate, it's become clear that this is an area we should be capitalising on more.

Far too often academic teams do not recognise the commercial potential of the work that they are doing and that's why one of our priorities over the past decade has been to commercialise academic research and use it as the basis for more tech-based companies here.

This has been successful. Over the past eight to 10 years, our Proof of Concept programme, which helps researchers from Scotland's universities, research institutes and NHS boards export their ideas and inventions from the lab to the global marketplace, has resulted in the investment of more than £41m and the creation of 47 new tech companies.

This is something we need to build on and so the next step is to look at making these companies scaleable, whether that's through developing more products or expanding into other markets.

We're bringing entrepreneurs into academic departments, setting up global networking opportunities and looking at how we can use Scottish ideas to build up companies that will not only offer employment opportunities in the region but also attract further inward investment.