NORTH-EAST businesses are investing more money in research and development, a new report has revealed.

The North East Design Innovation survey was compiled by the North East Chamber of Commerce (NECC) and Stanley Black & Decker, and showed a growth of more than 54 per cent in R&D staffing over the last five years.

Building and energy firm Esh Group, airport scanner experts Kromek and offshore wind farm suppliers TAG Energy Solutions were among 11 businesses in the region used as case studies.

Those businesses who had a specific R&D budget, has seen it grow by an average of 27.5 per cent in the same time period, and the average increase in R&D employees was shown to be 8 per cent.

Kevin Hewitt, vice president of global engineering at Stanley Black & Decker, said: "Design innovation is at the heart of many North-East companies which are thriving, despite poor economic conditions.

"As a company which succeeds on a global scale because of its perpetual focus on innovation and product development, we felt it was important to illustrate the positive impact which can be achieved through focusing on this key business area."

Andrew Sugden, the NECCs director of membership and policy, said: "The research in this report showed a significant growth in budgets and staffing in research and development and design during the last five years.

"Through placing an increased focus on this area of their business, each business featured has made significant steps forward in developing their product offering and many are already seeing valuable returns on their investment."