Inward investment on the rise as Olympics brings £2.5 BN to UK
Britain’s successful ‘Summer of Sport‘ delivered an initial £2.5 billion boost in foreign direct investment (FDI) over the past year.
The royal barge Gloriana carries the Olympic flame along the river Thames on the final day of the Torch Relay, Friday, in London. (AP)
Britain’s successful ‘Summer of Sport‘ delivered an initial £2.5 billion boost in foreign direct investment (FDI) over the past year bringing with it more than 31,000 jobs, according to preliminary figures published today.
The investment projects generated following the 2012 Olympics’ British Business Embassy programme of global business summits have helped ensure that the UK has again retained its position as the leading European destination for foreign direct investment.
The preliminary data published today at the Global Investment Conference shows that during 2012-13, UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) recorded 1,462 projects which brought with them or safeguarded 163,489 jobs. Of these 58,170 are new jobs – beating both the quantity of investment attracted and employment secured in the previous year.
The Prime Minister, David Cameron joined other high profile delegates from 40 countries at the Global Investment Conference, including the German and Canadian finance Ministers, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund Christine Lagarde, global chief executive officers, sovereign wealth funds representatives and corporate investors.
Senior Ministers Chancellor George Osborne, Energy Secretary Ed Davey, Trade Minister Lord Green, Treasury Ministers Greg Clark and Lord Deighton and London Mayor Boris Johnson also spoke to delegates about the UK’s compelling offer as both a hub for global growth and an international investment destination.
Trade and Investment Minister Lord Green said:
“Foreign investment creates hundreds of thousands of jobs and helps to increase the productivity and competitiveness of the UK economy. It’s a vital strand of the Government’s plan for growth.
“The 2012 Olympics were a once in a generation opportunity for the UK to showcase to the world Britain’s compelling investment offer and these preliminary figures are very encouraging. Despite strong competition from our traditional competitors and emerging economies, Britain has retained its position as the leading destination for foreign direct investment in Europe.
“To retain the UK’s enviable position as one of the most attractive global locations of choice, Britain will need to continue to work hard to attract high value foreign investment in the coming year and beyond.“
The preliminary data published today compares favourably with last year’s 1406 recorded projects (4% increase) and 112,659 jobs (45% increase). Of the 163,489 jobs, 58,170 are new jobs and 105,319 safeguarded jobs. UKTI and its partners were involved in delivering nearly 84% of the projects. Full results will be published in July.
According to the latest Office for National Statistics report of February 2013, as of the end 2011 the value of UK Inward FDI was £766 billion.
Notes to editors
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The UK enjoys a healthy flow of investment from the world’s leading economies including the US, Japan, Germany, China, India and France. The UK has a developed or developing relationship in all of the growth markets for outward investment. This year we received valuable investment from 59 countries.
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The UK is the lead destination for foreign investment in Europe according to the Financial Times (FT). The FT FDI Report 2013 records the UK attracting 812 projects, compared to Germany 410, Spain 278 and France 244.
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The government’s economic policy objective is to achieve ‘strong, sustainable and balanced growth that is more evenly shared across the country and between industries.’ It set four ambitions in the ‘Plan for Growth’ (PDF 1.7MB), published at Budget 2011: • To create the most competitive tax system in the G20 • To make the UK the best place in Europe to start, finance and grow a business • To encourage investment and exports as a route to a more balanced economy • To create a more educated workforce that is the most flexible in Europe. Work is underway across government to achieve these ambitions, including progress on more than 250 measures as part of the Growth Review. Developing an Industrial Strategy gives new impetus to this work by providing businesses, investors and the public with more clarity about the long-term direction in which the government wants the economy to travel.
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UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) is the government department that helps UK-based companies succeed in the global economy. We also help overseas companies bring their high quality investment to the UK’s economy – acknowledged as Europe’s best place from which to succeed in global business. UKTI offers expertise and contacts through its extensive network of specialists in the UK, and in British embassies and other diplomatic offices around the world. We provide companies with the tools they require to be competitive on the world stage. For more information on UKTI, visit UKTI or visit the online newsroom at UKTI media