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UK: Attracting Investment

A survey by global business consultancy EY has
revealed that the UK is seen as the most attractive inward investment
destination in Europe. The June 2021 survey of 550 C-suite executives
also revealed that 41% of those surveyed planned to place R&D
investment projects in the UK within the next twelve months.

It’s a remarkable turnaround from an October 2020 survey which placed the
UK third in terms of post-pandemic attractiveness behind Germany and
France. EY commented that the success of the vaccination programme
has played a major role in improving the level of confidence in the
UK as an inward investment destination, with digital technology,
health and wellbeing being singled out as key growth areas. This is
hardly surprising as the UK was the European leader in digital
projects in 2020, and second only to France in the area of health and
wellbeing.

Interestingly, whilst London is seen as the top city in Europe for attracting
foreign direct investments, since the last survey the effect of
‘levelling up’ has started to show with foreign investors looking
further afield in order to place projects across the UK. For example,
6% of those surveyed are looking towards the South West, compared
with 4% in the 2020 survey.

Should UK investors follow suit and place their confidence in the UK
marketplace? Well possibly, but investors should also remember the
importance of spreading investments across countries and business
sectors rather than looking in too narrow a band.

If you are looking for advice on investments, or if your situation has
changed and you may therefore need to review your existing pensions
or investments, contact Beckworth by using one of the links on our
website.

Image: Photo by Elena Mozhvilo on Unsplash