A major Chinese manufacturing firm will invest more than £1bn in Sheffield over the next 60 years, including around £220m by 2019, Sheffield City Council has announced. 

The bulk of the funds will be invested in the city centre, and although no individual projects have yet been confirmed, much of the investment is expected to go toward building new hotels, leisure and residential properties.

The large-scale investment in the city has been described as a “massive vote of confidence in Sheffield” by local Councillor Julie Dore.

“We have the skills and the connections to drive economic growth in our city,” she added.

The money, announced after council leaders visited Chengdu, is the biggest Chinese investment deal outside London, according to Dore.

Wang Chunming, Sichuan Guodong’s chairman, has personally visited Sheffield on numerous occasions and previously said it has “real growth potential”.