Official Statistics

DBT inward investment results 2022 to 2023 (HTML version)

Published 27 June 2023

Foreign direct investment (FDI) highlights

During the 2022 to 2023 financial year: 1,654 FDI projects landed in the UK.

79,549 new jobs were created in the UK through FDI.

6,646 existing jobs in the UK were safeguarded through FDI.

Source: Department for Business and Trade.

FDI projects

Figure 1: Number of FDI projects which landed in the UK between 2018 to 2019 and 2022 to 2023

In 2022 to 2023, 1,654 FDI projects landed in the UK.

Financial Year FDI projects
2018 to 2019 1,782
2019 to 2020 1,852
2020 to 2021 1,538
2021 to 2022 1,589
2022 to 2023 1,654

Source: Department for Business and Trade.

Between 2021 to 2022 and 2022 to 2023, the number of FDI projects which landed in the UK increased by 4%.

See the technical annex via the DBT inward investment results 2022 to 2023 landing page for details on definitions, methodology and interpreting % changes.

DBT support for FDI projects

Figure 2: Number of DBT-supported FDI projects which landed in the UK between 2018 to 2019 and 2022 to 2023

DBT supported 1,083 of the FDI projects which landed in the UK in 2022 to 2023.

Financial Year DBT-supported FDI projects FDI projects without DBT support Total FDI Projects
2018 to 2019 1,436 346 1,782
2019 to 2020 1,449 403 1,852
2020 to 2021 1,131 407 1,538
2021 to 2022 1,174 415 1,589
2022 to 2023 1,083 571 1,654

Source: Department for Business and Trade.

Figure 3: Percentage that DBT-supported FDI projects make of all FDI between 2018 to 2019 and 2022 to 2023

65% of FDI projects which landed in the UK in 2022 to 2023 were supported by DBT.

Financial Year DBT-supported FDI projects FDI projects without DBT support Total
2018 to 2019 81% 19% 100%
2019 to 2020 78% 22% 100%
2020 to 2021 74% 26% 100%
2021 to 2022 74% 26% 100%
2022 to 2023 65% 35% 100%

Source: Department for Business and Trade.

The estimated total economic impact of the DBT-supported FDI projects which landed in 2022 to 2023 was £5,769 million. See the technical annex via the inward investment results landing page for details and methodology.

New and existing investors

Figure 4: Number of FDI projects from new and existing UK investors which landed in the UK between 2018 to 2019 and 2022 to 2023

711 of the FDI projects that landed in the UK in 2022 to 2023 were from new investors.

Financial Year FDI projects from new investors FDI projects from existing investors Total FDI Projects
2018 to 2019 730 1,052 1,782
2019 to 2020 756 1,096 1,852
2020 to 2021 596 942 1,538
2021 to 2022 596 993 1,589
2022 to 2023 711 943 1,654

Source: Department for Business and Trade.

Figure 5: Percentage that FDI projects from new and existing UK investors made of all FDI which landed between 2018 to 2019 and 2022 to 2023

43% of the FDI projects that landed in the UK in 2022 to 2023 were from new investors.

Financial Year FDI projects from new investors FDI projects from existing investors Total
2018 to 2019 41% 59% 100%
2019 to 2020 41% 59% 100%
2020 to 2021 39% 61% 100%
2021 to 2022 38% 62% 100%
2022 to 2023 43% 57% 100%

Source: Department for Business and Trade.

Types of FDI

Figure 6: Number of the 3 types of the FDI projects which landed in the UK between 2018 to 2019 and 2022 to 2023

1,048 of the FDI projects that landed in the UK in 2022 to 2023 were new investment projects.

Financial Year New investment Expansions (including retentions) Mergers and acquisitions (including joint ventures) Total FDI projects
2018 to 2019 1,035 554 193 1,782
2019 to 2020 1,153 504 195 1,852
2020 to 2021 888 477 173 1,538
2021 to 2022 907 466 216 1,589
2022 to 2023 1,048 407 199 1,654

Source: Department for Business and Trade.

Between 2021 to 2022 and 2022 to 2023, the number of the 3 types of the FDI projects which landed in the UK:

  • increased by 16% for new investment projects
  • decreased by 13% for expansion projects (including retentions)
  • decreased by 8% for mergers and acquisitions (including joint ventures)

New and safeguarded jobs

Figure 7: Number of new jobs created and existing jobs safeguarded through FDI projects which landed in the UK between 2018 to 2019 and 2022 to 2023

79,549 new jobs were created and 6,646 existing jobs were safeguarded in the UK by FDI projects.

Financial Year Jobs created by FDI projects Jobs safeguarded by FDI projects
2018 to 2019 57,625 6,998
2019 to 2020 56,117 9,021
2020 to 2021 55,319 18,187
2021 to 2022 84,759 7,765
2022 to 2023 79,549 6,646

Source: Department for Business and Trade.

Between 2021 to 2022 and 2022 to 2023, the number of new jobs created through FDI projects which landed in the UK decreased by 6% and the number of existing jobs safeguarded through FDI which landed in the UK decreased by 14%.

FDI projects and jobs in 2022 to 2023 by UK region

Figure 8: Number of FDI projects and the jobs created and safeguarded through them in 2022 to 2023, by UK region

West Midlands saw the most FDI projects and jobs created, outside of London.

Region FDI projects Jobs created by FDI projects Jobs safeguarded by FDI projects
North East 61 3,047 298
North West 137 5,820 724
Yorkshire and The Humber 103 7,378 c
East Midlands 84 2,839 352
West Midlands 181 8,252 400
East of England 75 2,613 c
London 528 20,647 c
South East 130 3,941 456
South West 91 3,908 770
Scotland 130 3,428 1,240
Wales 47 3,062 984
Northern Ireland 33 1,416 c

Source: Department for Business and Trade.

c: Indicates data is disclosive.

Note: 54 multiple location projects associated with 13,198 new jobs and 872 safeguarded jobs are not included.

FDI projects and jobs in 2022 to 2023 by Local Enterprise Partnership

Figure 9: Number of FDI projects and the jobs created and safeguarded through them in 2022 to 2023, by Local Enterprise Partnership

Of Local Enterprise Partnerships in England, Greater Birmingham and Solihull and Greater Manchester saw the most FDI projects and jobs created, respectively.

Local Enterprise Partnership Single-sited FDI projects Jobs created by FDI projects Jobs safeguarded by FDI projects
Black Country 13 634 c
Buckinghamshire c c c
Cheshire and Warrington 18 600 c
Coast to Capital 11 226 c
Cornwall and Isles of Scilly 11 216 c
Coventry and Warwickshire 50 3,195 166
Cumbria c c c
Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire 38 1,152 c
Dorset c c c
Enterprise M3 18 608 c
Gloucestershire c c c
Greater Birmingham and Solihull 76 3,776 c
Greater Cambridge and Greater Peterborough 29 1,361 c
Greater Lincolnshire 20 1,159 c
Greater Manchester 76 3,888 c
Heart of the South West 16 957 c
Hertfordshire 15 253 c
Hull and East Yorkshire c c c
Lancashire 17 419 c
Leeds City Region 45 3,193 c
Leicester and Leicestershire 18 430 c
Liverpool City Region 19 747 c
New Anglia 12 367 c
North East 43 1,631 c
Oxfordshire 31 1,268 c
Solent 11 444 c
South East 24 433 c
South East Midlands 35 1,358 c
South Yorkshire 28 2,724 c
Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire 21 145 c
Swindon and Wiltshire 14 579 c
Tees Valley 18 1,416 c
Thames Valley Berkshire 28 746 c
The Marches 20 468 c
West of England 36 1,408 c
Worcestershire 14 236 c
York and North Yorkshire 12 372 c

Source: Department for Business and Trade.

c: Indicates data is disclosive.

Note: 55 multiple location projects associated with 13,218 new jobs and 872 safeguarded jobs are not included. Some local authority districts can be allocated 2 LEPs resulting in overlapping LEP boundaries. Where a single-sited project has occurred within these districts, it is attributed to both associated LEPs . Therefore, project and job totals in this table may not sum to headline totals reported earlier in these results.

Top source markets for FDI projects in 2022 to 2023

Figure 10: Number of FDI projects and the jobs created and safeguarded through them in 2022 to 2023, by source market

United States was the top source market for FDI in 2022 to 2023.

Country FDI projects Jobs created by FDI projects Jobs safeguarded by FDI projects
United States 418 20,434 1,665
India 118 8,384 c
Germany 105 10,201 628
France 81 4,257 c
Italy 67 2,165 1,884
Canada 66 2,261 511
Netherlands 62 3,177 c
Ireland 60 2,564 c
Sweden 57 1,773 240
Australia 49 2,268 c
Japan 45 1,814 c
Spain 43 890 c
China 40 2,814 c
Switzerland 34 879 c
Denmark 29 1,649 c
Turkey 27 1,214 c
Austria 26 593 c
Belgium 25 1,756 c
Hong Kong 24 361 c
Poland 21 599 c
Israel 20 1,150 c
Singapore 19 455 c
South Africa 19 825 c
Norway 16 800 c
United Arab Emirates 16 543 c
Brazil 14 447 c
Finland 14 369 c
New Zealand 14 614 c
South Korea 11 1,077 c

Source: Department for Business and Trade.

c: Indicates data is disclosive.

Note: 114 FDI projects associated with 3,216 jobs created relate to countries not shown.

FDI projects and jobs in 2022 to 2023 by sector

Figure 11: Number of FDI projects and the jobs created and safeguarded through them in 2022 to 2023, by sector

The software and computer services sector saw the most FDI projects and new jobs in 2022 to 2023.

Sector FDI projects Jobs created by FDI projects Jobs safeguarded by FDI projects
Advanced engineering and supply chain 141 3,327 1,371
Aerospace 53 3,208 c
Automotive 76 3,807 1,689
Biotechnology and pharmaceuticals 57 2,089 c
Business and consumer services 45 3,373 c
Chemicals and agriculture 48 847 c
Creative and media 55 3,003 c
Electronics and communications 37 2,079 c
Environment, infrastructure and transportation 150 7,710 38
Extraction industries 12 399 c
Financial services 236 8,722 434
Food and drink 101 5,596 647
Life sciences 93 3,546 577
Renewable energy 67 3,773 c
Software and computer services 382 19,584 190
Wholesale 101 8,486 c

Source: Department for Business and Trade.

c: Indicates data is disclosive.

Sectors are built up from categories defined in DBT’s internal database.

DBT’s Global Entrepreneur Programme

A subset of the DBT-supported FDI projects are related to DBT’s Global Entrepreneur Programme (GEP).

This programme attracts and enables high potential, internationally mobile entrepreneurs and their fast growth, innovation-rich companies to scale and internationalise from a UK global headquarters.

Figure 12: Number of GEP FDI projects which landed in 2022 to 2023 and the jobs they created

There were 109 GEP FDI projects in 2022 to 2023.

Financial Year GEP FDI projects Jobs created by GEP FDI projects
2018 to 2019 83 1,740
2019 to 2020 89 1,691
2020 to 2021 69 1,647
2021 to 2022 68 1,649
2022 to 2023 109 2,544

Source: Department for Business and Trade.

Between 2021 to 2022 and 2022 and 2023, the number of GEP FDI projects and associated jobs created increased by:

  • 60% for GEP FDI projects
  • 54% for new jobs created

Net zero

The Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution sets out the approach government will take to build back better, support green jobs, and accelerate our path to net zero.

Since the 2021 to 2022 financial year, DBT has reported the number of investment projects (both FDI and non-FDI) which align with the Ten Point Plan and the new jobs that these projects created. For information on how alignment to the Ten Point Plan is verified, see the technical annex via the DBT inward investment results 2022 to 2023 landing page.

Figure 13: Number of investment projects which aligned with the Ten Point Plan and landed between 2021 to 2022 and 2022 to 2023 and the jobs they created

211 investment projects which landed in 2022 to 2023 were aligned with the Ten Point Plan.

Financial Year All projects New jobs
2021 to 2022 91 8,804
2022 to 2023 211 20,635

Venture capital and large capital

DBT measure the value of 2 specific types of capital investment: venture capital and large capital. Some of this investment meets the criteria to be classified as FDI but some is either non-FDI capital investment or commitments to invest. See technical annex via the inward investment results landing page for full details.

Venture capital

Venture capital attracts overseas investment from corporate venture capitalists and venture capital funds into high-value start-ups, growth companies and funds.

Figure 14: Value of the venture capital investment projects which landed between 2018 to 2019 and 2022 to 2023

Venture capital investment worth £1,239 million landed in 2022 to 2023.

Financial Year Investments (£m)
2018 to 2019 583
2019 to 2020 1,031
2020 to 2021 773
2021 to 2022 960
2022 to 2023 1,239

Source: Department for Business and Trade.

Large capital

Large capital involves overseas institutional investment into large capital projects in real estate, infrastructure and energy.

Figure 15: Value of the large capital investment projects and commitments to invest which landed between 2018 to 2019 and 2022 to 2023

Large capital investments worth £17,253 million landed in 2022 to 2023.

Financial Year Investments (£m) Commitments to invest (£m)
2018 to 2019 3,732 7,373
2019 to 2020 4,023 11,151
2020 to 2021 3,821 7,503
2021 to 2022 4,683 13,911
2022 to 2023 17,253 25,777

Source: Department for Business and Trade.

How the Department for Business and Trade can help you

Whether you are a start-up, a medium-sized or family business, a corporate or an institutional investor, Department for Business and Trade (DBT) supports the realisation of your international business ambitions.

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Got a question about these statistics? Get in touch with DBT’s Investment Performance Team.

Contact DBT’s Investment Performance Team

Email: investmentperformance@trade.gov.uk


Disclaimer

Whereas every effort has been made to ensure that the information in this document is accurate, the Department for Business and Trade does not accept liability for any errors, omissions or misleading statements, and no warranty is given or responsibility accepted as to the standing of any individual, firm, company or other organisation mentioned.