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Inward Investment

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Inward Investment

For more information about the GREAT campaign and the information found in these scripts, please contact Annette Craze: annette.craze@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

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  • The UK has many strengths that attract the world’s best companies, including an open and liberal economy, world-class talent and a business-friendly environment.

  • The UK is number one in Europe for inward investment stock (more than Germany and France combined) and third in the world, behind the US and China (Source: UNCTAD World Investment Report 2023).

  • The level of UK inward FDI stock reached over £2 trillion at the end of 2021, up 4.3% compared to 2020. The United States was the biggest driver of the increase, rising by £90 billion (15.4%). (Source: ONS FDI involving UK companies 2021).

  • The UK attracted the third highest amount of Greenfield FDI in the 20 years to 2022 , behind only China and the United States, and more than Germany and France combined. Greenfield FDI comprises both new inward investment and expansions (Source: DBT overview of greenfield foreign direct investment).

  • The UK secured the highest number of FDI jobs in 2023 and Europe’s highest number of “new” investments by first-time investors, reflecting underlying dynamism in the economy. The UK has now led Europe on new projects for the past five years (Source: EY UK Attractiveness Survey 2024).

  • The UK is the world’s fourth most “innovative economy” (Source: WIPO, Global Innovation Index 2023).

  • The UK is the highest ranked G20 country in the “global connectedness” index, which assesses global flows of trade, capital, information and skills (Source: DHL, Global Connectedness Index, 2022).

  • On a global scale, the UK ranks third globally for venture capital (VC) investment, behind the US and China. UK VC investment was over $20 billion in 2023, the third highest total on record. That is double the investment of any other European country, and more than France and Germany combined (Source: Dealroom).

  • The UK is home to a third of all of Europe’s unicorns (startups that have grown achieving a valuation of at least $1bn). Latest figures show the UK has over 150 unicorns – more than France, Germany and Sweden combined (Source: Dealroom).

GREAT Inward Investment

The GREAT Global Trade campaign is the UK’s flagship investment campaign to attract foreign companies. It targets audiences across the nine HMTC regions using multiple channels, including direct in-market engagement with senior business decision makers, thought-leadership pieces and local events. It also supports the Global Entrepreneurship Programme, which has enabled almost 1,000 internationally mobile entrepreneurs to set up in the UK.

For further information, please see: www.great.gov.uk/international/