City's link with Barcelona could benefit the healthcare sector

YORKSHIRE'S firms could cash in on Barcelona's burgeoning healthcare and biotech industry, according to a top British diplomat in Spain.

Martyn Warr, UK Trade & Investment director for Spain and Portugal, said health could be the next sector to see a major expansion as parts of the Mediterranean emerge from recession.

Mr Warr said that Leeds's legal and financial industries, which drove the city's boom over the last decade, could also have a major role to play in Barcelona.

The Hull-born diplomat, who splits his time between the Spanish financial centre and Madrid, said: "Health might be the next phase. Barcelona is probably the most innovative biotechnology region in Spain. People don't realise how much in life sciences is here."

Mr Warr, who attended Sydney Smith School in Hull, was speaking at Leeds in Barcelona, a three-day festival of commerce and culture put on by Marketing Leeds and UKTI.

He said the number of hospital and other NHS staff in Leeds had strong parallels with Barcelona and put the West Yorkshire city "very much on our radar screen".

Yorkshire has a high proportion of biotech, pharmaceutical and medical equipment firms, with many spun out of the region's universities.

Spain has weathered the recession better than some of its Mediterranean rivals and, although its economy is expected to contract slightly this year, it is forecast to grow by 1.8 per cent in 2011. It is the world's eighth largest economy and currently takes 3.2 per cent of UK exports – twice as many as go to China.

Mr Warr also said that the image of Yorkshire had not been badly damaged by Britain's financial crisis, which saw HBOS and the mortgage book of Bradford & Bingley nationalised and its savings arms sold to Spanish high street banking giant Santander.

"I would not say they paid it an awful lot of attention."

He also said that Santander, which acquired the former Abbey National, was looking at a "colossal" return on its investment in B&B.

Barcelona was one of several European destinations to compete to hold the "Leeds in..." events and the sessions are the first of their kind by any British city in the Catalan capital.

"Leeds in Barcelona did not happen by accident but because Leeds has made it happen. We bid for this programme because it is good to match the cohesion and enthusiasm to what we see in Barcelona.

"There is a very close relationship between local government and business here and I have been very struck by that is (also) the case in Leeds."

Mr Warr stressed, however, that it can take a while for a Yorkshire business to build up a relationship with a Spanish firm and that this was a feature of Mediterranean commerce, where there is a particular emphasis on face-to-face contact.

Sections of the Leeds delegation, which comprises 115 people from bodies including Financial Leeds, the city council, Screen Yorkshire, Creative Leeds and Leeds Hotel Association, as well as the property industry, have had sessions on issues such as sustainable development and the media in Barcelona.

They are due to return to Yorkshire today.

Spanish highs for industry

Spain and Britain have significant trade links despite the apparent rush to do business with the emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China.

Britain was the second-largest foreign investor into Spain in the 10 years to 2008, according to figures from UK Trade & Investment.

In 2006, Spain was the leading investor in Britain – although it has since slipped slightly – led by Ferrovial, which owns airports operator BAA, and Telefonica.

In the era since General Franco's rule ended, "Spain has come a long way in a very short time", Martyn Warr said.