After a year of strong progress in supporting economic growth across East Anglia, Freeport East is marking its third anniversary and setting out plans for continued investment and innovation into 2026.
In 2025, Freeport East:
• Continued to advance the £250m of private sector investment and employment opportunities already committed to Freeport East development sites
• Enabled over £200m of new international inward investment into the wider East of England region
• Invested nearly £20m into skills, innovation and business growth programmes, supporting high-value jobs and new commercial space across freeport tax sites
• Continued a range of high value industry collaborations helping to pursue new innovations across the maritime, clean energy, digital and logistics sectors
• Set out plans for delivery of up to 500MW of new electricity grid capacity to support new investment in the region
• Received backing from the UK Government as East Anglia’s only Industrial Strategy Zone, designed to spearhead delivery of the Industrial Strategy and priority investment sectors in the region
Steve Beel, CEO at Freeport East, said: “For Freeport East, 2025 has been about turning prospects into delivery on the ground. Building on the investment secured in previous years, our focus has been on enabling growth at scale, working to unlock infrastructure and grid capacity, and continuing to support international investors so that long-term growth delivers real benefits for 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.”
Strengthening East Anglia’s role in trade, manufacturing and logistics
2025 saw continued investment activity that reinforced Freeport East’s position as a gateway for international trade and advanced manufacturing.
Highlights included Freeport East supporting Ukrspecsystems, a Ukrainian drone manufacturer, in establishing a new facility at Mildenhall in Suffolk and connecting the business with regional supply chain partners. The investment will help to strengthen East Anglia’s position as a centre for defence and advanced digital technology.
Rory Chamberlain, UK Managing Director at Ukrspecsystems, commented: “We are grateful for the invaluable support and guidance provided by Freeport East to date and look forward to continuing to work with them closely as we seek to expand our footprint in the UK and establish it as a launch pad for export markets.”
In May 2025, Assan Panel, Turkey’s industry leader in sustainable construction materials, broke ground on its £45 million UK manufacturing facility at Gateway 14 in Stowmarket, which will create more than 100 high-value jobs and strengthen links between the UK and European markets.
Assan Panel and Freeport East further reinforced their partnership through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding, reaffirming a shared commitment to sustainable construction and green manufacturing in the East of England. This was followed by a joint meeting between Freeport’s Minister Alex Norris MP, the Turkish Ambassador to the UK Koray Ertas and Assan Panel Managing Director Ihsan Tolga Akar underlining the project’s role in supporting inward investment and strengthening UK-Turkey trade relations.
Ihsan Tolga Akar, Managing Director of Assan Panel, said: “Freeport East is the perfect place for us to expand our market into the UK. With the new manufacturing hub, I am confident that Assan Panel will create local job opportunities and accelerate skills and innovation development in the green manufacturing industry in the East of England and beyond.”
Meanwhile, July saw the final completion of a new distribution centre at Gateway 14 for international manufacturer Bauder Ltd. Bauder specialise in construction materials for green roofs and solar PV arrays. Their move to a Freeport East site is also enabling further investment in their long-standing Ipswich base at Landseer Road, strengthening their overall commitment to Suffolk and the UK in the sustainable construction sector.
Yvonne Higgins, Bauder’s joint Managing Director for the UK said: “The completion of our Gateway 14 distribution centre marks a milestone for Bauder. It represents both our growth and confidence in maintaining our high standards while meeting increasing demand in the UK market. We’re thrilled to have achieved this in line with our sustainability programme, and with the employment opportunities it brings to the region.”
Skills, innovation and business growth
Another key milestone at Gateway 14 in Mid Suffolk has been the development of an £18m, 35,000 sqft, state-of-the-art Skills and Innovation Centre, the Stowmarket Innovation Gateway, due to open in mid-2026. In total, more than 21 hectares of high-specification employment and innovation space are now in operation or under development, supporting almost 2,000 direct jobs, alongside wider benefits for surrounding towns and communities.
Freeport East also marked the launch of its new Head Office and Innovation Hub in Harwich, delivered with co-funding from the UK Government’s Prosperity Fund, which will strengthen local collaboration between businesses, research organisations and local stakeholders as well as act as a hub for clean energy, maritime and digital opportunities that are emerging in the area.
Alongside physical infrastructure investment, Freeport East has continued to expand its innovation-led business support offering. In partnership with the University of Essex, Freeport East launched Cyber Innovate to Elevate, a new programme designed to help businesses strengthen their cyber resilience and respond to rising cybersecurity demands. With its first projects approved and the programme underway, small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) in the region are now working towards boosting their digital skills.
In parallel, other University collaborations have included the Freeport East Skills Escalator, led by Suffolk New College and the Freeport East Clean Growth Pre-Accelerator, run by the University of Suffolk and Tech East, which will culminate in an Innovation Challenge Day in February 2026.
Freeport East has also continued to build momentum through its business and innovation funding programmes, with 15 businesses across clean energy, infrastructure, agriculture and MedTech supported by nearly £500,000 in grant funding to date. Six projects have already been completed, supporting employment, education and green technology adoption in East Anglia.
One of the businesses to receive support through Freeport East in 2025 was Revolve Labs, a creative media company located in East Anglia, using immersive technology to transform healthcare training.
Hamish Mackenzie, Founder at Revolve Labs, said: “The support from Freeport East has allowed us to significantly increase production of key training modules. By combining immersive technology with real-world healthcare challenges, we’re able to deliver training for the NHS and other healthcare providers that’s not only more engaging but also more impactful and lower cost. It’s incredibly rewarding to see how these modules are already making a difference for professionals on the ground.”
Alongside its business support activity, Freeport East has also continued to champion practical clean energy solutions across the region by highlighting how unused roof space can be used to make a difference. Partnering with Ipswich.co.uk, Freeport East launched the From the Rooftops solar campaign, promoting rooftop solar adoption and helping businesses and communities better understand the benefits of locally generated renewable energy.
Jack Abbott MP for Ipswich and the Government’s East of England Growth Mission Champion offered his support for the campaign:
“Pushing forward more rooftop solar in the commercial and industrial market is a no-brainer. It will help deliver lower costs for businesses, make our energy system more resilient and reinforce the East of England’s reputation as a leader on sustainability and clean energy. This campaign will also position Ipswich and Suffolk to be at the forefront of Government aspirations on a rooftop solar revolution and ensure we can attract additional support and financing for those businesses interested in pursuing their own clean energy options.”
Ongoing opportunities in clean energy
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.
In 2025, the organisation continued to strengthen East Anglia’s position as a hub for offshore wind, clean energy and advanced manufacturing. , with Harwich seeing continued interest as a vital node for clean energy activities. Freeport East activities included supporting sector engagement through clean energy cluster events, a successful summer reception in Harwich, engagement with a range of businesses and investors, and participation at major industry forums such as Global Offshore Wind and Offshore Energy.
Looking ahead: future growth aligned to the Industrial Strategy
Delivering on commitments made in 2024, Freeport East has continued to build momentum through 2025 and is focused on sustaining this progress into 2026.
As the only designated Industrial Strategy Zone in East Anglia, Freeport East plays a key role in supporting delivery of the UK’s Industrial Strategy, and provides a prime opportunity to attract wider funding and investment to support the region’s growth aspirations. Its focus spans four priority sectors – clean energy, digital, advanced manufacturing and defence – alongside its core strength in ports and logistics, positioning the freeport as a key mechanism for translating national policy into regional investment and growth. Enabling inward investment is only one part of these objectives – with an increasing focus on supporting local high-potential businesses to grow and scale, including through accessing viable international export opportunities.
Looking forward, Freeport East continues to engage on helping to facilitate strategic growth locations, including investment opportunities in and around Ipswich and Colchester, where new commercial space can link into longer-term plans to support sustainable economic development and job creation across the region. These include new garden communities and University and research-based innovation and economic hubs.
Identifying and supporting the delivery of critical transport infrastructure, from the regional down to the very local level, will also be a key area of focus for 2026. The recent approval of growth plans at London Stansted Airport bolsters investment attractiveness of the region as well as focusing attention on the transport connectivity requirements, such as the A120 trunk road, which are necessary to maximise the economic benefits on offer.
As Freeport East enters its fourth year and looks ahead to 2026, the organisation remains focused on maximising the benefits of its Industrial Strategy Zone status to unlock further international investment, enable innovation and ensure that growth across East Anglia delivers lasting benefits for businesses and communities alike.
