THE North-East has lost its appeal to overseas investors, according to a new survey.
The report by business advisors Ernst and Young revealed that the region won 11 projects last year, a fall of 35 per cent on the 17 recorded in 2000.
This puts the North-East second bottom in the UK league table for overseas investment, ahead only of the South-West.
The decline in the region's fortunes reflects the national trend with new investment projects to the UK falling from 575 in 2000 to 377 last year, a 34 per cent decline.
The only areas of the UK to record an increase in projects were East Anglia, the East Midlands and Northern Ireland.
The UK's share of the European investment market fell from 26 per cent to 19 per cent.
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