West Yorkshire secures jobs and investment on UK-India trade mission
West Yorkshire has immediately benefited from the Prime Minister’s trade mission with over £7m investment and over 200 jobs secured for the region’s key sectors.
Championing West Yorkshire’s business interests, Mayor Tracy Brabin this week visited Mumbai, travelling as part of the prime minister, Sir Keir Starmer’s, major UK government trade delegation.
With joint trade already worth £1bn, West Yorkshire’s ties with India run deep. This week, the mayor has been working to build on the trade momentum from the UK-India free trade agreement (CETA), and support the development of West Yorkshire’s globally strong financial services, digital and creative industries businesses.
In what is the UK’s largest ever trade delegation to India, the visit has seen the announcement of hundreds of new jobs for West Yorkshire and laid crucial foundations for exporting goods from the region, as part of delivering the region’s Local Growth Plan. Initial investment comes from Tech firm Mastek, who confirmed a £2m investment to upgrade its Leeds office, creating 200 jobs. Algorithms Software also announced a £5m investment for a new Leeds office, creating 53 jobs.
Following her previous visit in 2022, the mayor’s high-level tour included a visit with the prime minister to Yash Raj Film Studios, which has agreed this week to film three new Bollywood films in the UK. This follows the region’s recent history of Indian filmmaking taking place in Headingley, for the soon to be released Chadka Express.
Building on this momentum, the mayor went onto participate in a high-level roundtable at the FICCI Frames conference, to meet industry leaders and strengthen ties between the UK’s creative industries and Indian filmmakers.
Finally, the mayor championed the region’s ‘Northern Square Mile’ of financial services companies and institutions, speaking on a panel at the Global FinTech Fest 2025 in Mumbai. There, she highlighted opportunities for Indian fintech firms to locate in West Yorkshire and access UK and European markets.
She was joined on the trip by a dedicated delegation of three key West Yorkshire businesses – Paxman Coolers (MedTech), Brandon Medical (Medical Devices), and Group Rhodes (Advanced Manufacturing) – to help ensure direct export and trade links were secured.
Tracy Brabin, mayor of West Yorkshire, said: “To be a part of the largest UK trade delegation ever sent to India was an incredible honour.
“There to champion West Yorkshire’s amazing strengths in the creative industries and financial services, we were building on the success of our previous trade missions to India, proving our worth as a global region.
“This is devolution in action: mayors working with government to secure the jobs and investment that will put more money in people’s pockets back home.”
The mayor’s leadership underscored the importance of devolved regions, a view supported by Indian prime minister Narendra Modi, who said the UK-India free trade deal will create job opportunities for young people, expand trade, and benefit the industries and consumers of both countries.
Investment secured for West Yorkshire: the successful trade mission secured significant investment and job creation across the UK, with 64 Indian companies investing a reported £1.3bn to create 6,900 jobs nationally. West Yorkshire was a direct beneficiary of this momentum, with Indian companies committing to significant investments and job creation in the region’s digital and construction sectors.
Business success and national value:West Yorkshire businesses secured a strong presence on the trip, with key firms highlighting the region’s strengths in MedTech and Advanced Manufacturing. Local companies Paxman Coolers, Brandon Medical, and Group Rhodes held focused meetings to boost their exports, while tech firm Mastek confirmed a £2m investment to upgrade its Leeds office, creating 200 jobs. Additionally, Algorithms Software announced a £5 million investment for a new Leeds office, creating 53 jobs.
Driving regional growth: securing overseas partnerships is crucial to the West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s Local Growth Plan. The mayor’s activities this week directly targeted high-growth opportunities, linking regional business priorities with the national trade deal.
The creative industries: one of six priority sectors for West Yorkshire, a recently published Cluster Action Plan from the Combined Authority aims to grow its value by £4.1bn to support the creation of 50,000 new jobs. Key highlights of the mayor’s trip this week included a visit with the prime imnister to Yash Raj Film Studios, highlighting co-production and creative technology opportunities for Bollywood films. The mayor also participated in a high-level creative industries and trade roundtable at the FICCI Frames conference.
Financial technology: by showcasing West Yorkshire’s Northern Square Mile and innovation in financial services, the mayor leveraged Leeds’ status as England’s second-largest financial district. She participated in the UK delegation’s key financial sessions and highlighted the sector’s readiness for partnership with India. The mayor also spoke at the prestigious Global Fintech Fest 2025 in Mumbai, where both the UK and Indian prime ministers delivered keynote addresses. Her speaking role was a direct pitch for investment, highlighting West Yorkshire’s FinTech ecosystem and strong talent pipeline.
Targeted engagement with Ministers: the mayor met with senior UK ministers (including The Rt Hon Peter Kyle MP) and participated in the Indian States’ Session, to match West Yorkshire’s strengths with India’s regional investment priorities.
Laying the groundwork for West Yorkshire’s future global growth: the Mayor’s participation in the delegation was coordinated to maximize the benefits for the region, and is a precursor to a planned regional trade mission to India in 2026 led by the Combined Authority. This will occur alongside separate visits to other key international markets where West Yorkshire’s high-quality business sectors can thrive. Beyond this week’s achievements, the visit has helped to lay the groundwork for West Yorkshire’s future global strategy, as part of the Combined Authority’s commitment to deliver the recently approved £7bn Local Growth Plan.
This proactive approach led by mayor Tracy Brabin aims to secure global opportunities for the region’s economy, and follows the successful template of the mayor’s October 2024 trade mission to Nashville, Tennessee, which resulted in the ‘Healthtech Bridge’ partnership to boost the region’s life sciences and digital health sectors.