The United Kingdom has maintained its position as the No 1 destination for foreign direct investment (FDI) in Europe after attracting a record number of projects and associated jobs over the past year.

Annual figures from UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) for the 2014-15 financial year show the UK attracted 1,988 FDI projects - 12 per cent more compared with 2013-14 - estimated to have created almost 85,000 new jobs and 23,000 safeguarded jobs across the UK.

UKTI statistics show that FDI into the UK came from more than 70 countries.

China invested in 112 projects and created 5,927 jobs in the UK last year, ranking it as the fourth largest investor after the United States, France and India.

The UK's strong performance during last year has seen the country's inward FDI stock break the 1 trillion euro level for the first time. This is the highest in Europe and third in the world after the US and China.

"The scale of foreign investment is a huge success story which shows that Britain is the place to do business and is more evidence that our long term economic plan is working.

Securing investment from overseas is a key part of our One Nation policies to create thousands of jobs, provide security and opportunities for working people throughout the UK," said UK Prime Minister David Cameron.