Freeport East looks to generate fresh economic boost for region in 2026

The organisation has pledged to focus on facilitating strategic growth across Ipswich and Colchester, including new commercial space linked to garden communities, university-led innovation hubs, and research-based economic development.

Supporting critical transport infrastructure, from regional to local levels, will also be a priority, with recent approval of growth plans at London Stansted Airport highlighting the importance of connectivity improvements such as the A120, said CEO Steve Beel.

Two senior additions have been made to Freeport East’s leadership team already this year. Alex Courage has been appointed as Head of International Partnerships, bringing extensive experience in international trade and investment from the Department for Business and Trade.

Tom Nickalls joins Freeport East as Head of Strategic Partnerships, bringing more than a decade of experience across diplomacy, international trade and economic development. Previously acting as Deputy Consul General to New England, Tom played a key role in strengthening political and economic ties between the UK and US.

As Freeport East enters its fourth year, it remains focused on leveraging its Industrial Strategy Zone status to attract international investment, drive innovation, and ensure sustainable economic growth that benefits businesses and communities across East Anglia, Beel said.

Over the past three years, Freeport East has enabled more than £200 million of international inward investment into the East of England and delivered nearly £20m in skills and business growth programmes, supporting jobs, innovation and regional competitiveness.

In the past 12 months, Freeport East has:

· Advanced £250m of private sector investment and employment opportunities across its development sites

· Enabled over £200m of international inward investment into the wider East of England

· Invested nearly £20m in skills, innovation and business growth programmes, supporting high-value jobs and new commercial space

· Strengthened industry collaborations across maritime, clean energy, digital and logistics sectors to drive innovation

· Set out plans to deliver up to 500MW of new electricity grid capacity to support regional investment

· Secured backing from the UK Government as East Anglia’s only Industrial Strategy Zone, supporting delivery of the Industrial Strategy and priority sectors

Beel said: “2025 was about turning prospects into delivery on the ground. We focused on unlocking infrastructure and grid capacity, supporting international investors and ensuring long-term growth benefits communities and businesses across the region.

“The ports of Felixstowe, Harwich and Ipswich continue to act as a key attraction for many advanced manufacturers, traders and clean energy companies looking to grow in the UK. In addition, the growing depth of digital technology and defence capabilities in the region, together with alignment with our world-class Universities, presents a range of high value opportunities we look forward to pursuing into 2026.”

2025 saw continued investment activity that reinforced Freeport East’s position as a gateway for international trade and advanced manufacturing.

Key highlights included supporting Ukrspecsystems, a Ukrainian drone manufacturer, to establish a new facility in Suffolk, strengthening the region’s defence and advanced digital technology capabilities. The investment will help to strengthen East Anglia’s position as a centre for defence and advanced digital technology.

In May, Assan Panel, Turkey’s leader in sustainable construction materials, broke ground on its £45m UK manufacturing facility at Gateway 14, Stowmarket, creating more than 100 high-value jobs and strengthening UK-European trade links. A Memorandum of Understanding was also signed to highlight a shared commitment to sustainable construction.

In July, Gateway 14 saw the completion of a new distribution centre for Bauder Ltd, supporting further investment in the company’s long-standing Ipswich operations and reinforcing Suffolk’s role in sustainable construction and green technologies.

Investment in skills and innovation has remained a central focus. At Gateway 14, development continued on the £18m Stowmarket Innovation Gateway, a 35,000 sq ft Skills and Innovation Centre due to open in mid-2026.

Across Freeport East sites, more than 21 hectares of employment and innovation space are now operational or in development, supporting almost 2,000 direct jobs and wider benefits for local communities.

Freeport East also launched its new Head Office and Innovation Hub in Harwich, delivered with co-funding from the UK Government’s Prosperity Fund, strengthening collaboration between businesses, research organisations and local stakeholders in clean energy, maritime and digital sectors.

Alongside physical infrastructure investment, Freeport East expanded its innovation-led business support programmes in partnership with regional education and research institutions. These included the launch of Cyber Innovate to Elevate with the University of Essex, supporting SMEs to strengthen cyber resilience, alongside skills and clean growth programmes delivered with Suffolk New College, the University of Suffolk and Tech East.

To date, 15 businesses across clean energy, infrastructure, agriculture and MedTech have been supported through Freeport East innovation and business funding programmes, with nearly £500,000 in grant funding awarded, supporting job creation, skills development and the adoption of new technologies across East Anglia.

Alongside its business support activity, Freeport East has continued to champion practical clean energy solutions, including the launch of the From the Rooftops solar campaign with Ipswich.co.uk to promote rooftop solar adoption across the region.

The recent award of development consent for the Five Estuaries Offshore Wind Farm, just off the Harwich coastline, marks another major step forward for offshore wind in the East of England, highlighting the scale of future opportunity for ports, supply chains and advanced manufacturing across the region.

Clean energy remains central to Freeport East’s long-term growth ambitions with ongoing development at Sizewell C, a range of ongoing developments in green hydrogen and sustainable aviation fuels and continued transport decarbonisation demands, all offering new development and investment opportunities.