The UK attracted the highest amount of inward direct investment in 2022, extending its lion’s share of the European market to more than a quarter.
Releasing figures sure to infuriate pro-EU activists, the annual Ernst & Young (EY) attractiveness survey found foreign investors flocked to the City to fund 46 financial services projects last year, up from 39 in 2021.
By comparison, second place Paris enticed foreign investment for 35 finance proposals, sliding from 38 in 2021, while Madrid secured 22 foreign investment projects compared to 29 in 2021.
Anna Anthony, UK financial services managing partner at EY, said: “Investors recognise the strength, gold-standard governance and resilience of the UK’s financial system and see it as the preferred destination for growth, innovation and access to top talent.”
The Square Mile continues to be a beacon of prosperity
PA
Overall, the UK attracted foreign investment to 76 financial services projects in 2022, a 17 per cent rise on the 63 projects in 2021.
It puts clear blue water between the UK and France, which recorded 45 projects in total, down 15 on 2021 figures.
Andrew Griffith, economic secretary to the Treasury, told City AM: “We have a tremendous track record of attracting the brightest and best companies in the world built on the long standing competitive advantages of the UK and its attractiveness as a place to do business.”
The UK has topped EY consultancy’s finance foreign direct investment table every year since the research started, including every year since the 2016 Brexit vote.
Andrew Griffith pictured second to the right
PA
Likewise, London has led the European city table since it was first recorded in 1986.
America was the biggest source of foreign investment in financial services in Europe last year, accounting for 21 of the UK’s 76 projects in 2022.
Financial services investment projects created 2,603 jobs in the UK last year, a rise of four per cent on 2021.
Across Europe, 10,700 new jobs were created in financial services, of which 1,700 were recorded in France.
EY’s home in Canary Wharf at 25 Churchill Place
Cushman and Wakefield
Chris Hayward, policy chairman at the City of London Corporation, said: “London continues to lead Europe in attracting foreign direct investment in financial services, and the sector is proving resilient despite the global challenges facing the UK economy.”
Hayward added: “That is good news for every household, because a strong City creates the wealth and jobs that support the economy and fund our public services.”
EY has undergone a UK leadership shake up recently following a collapse in the consultancy firm’s plan to break up its audit and consulting operations globally.
The break up blueprint, coined ‘Project Everest’, attracted fierce internal criticism and was eventually abandoned but not before it had cost the firm £480million worth of internal work.
On the back of ditching the radical overhaul, EY has shrunk the UK executive committee from 13 to eight and announced that it will cut 3,000 jobs in the US.
The big four consultancy firm reported record levels of growth for its UK business in November 2022, with UK revenues up 17.2 per cent and UK fee income increasing to £3.23billion from £2.75billion.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 100 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in base metal and utility stocks, while U.S. stock markets were mixed.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 103.40 points at 24,542.48.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 192.31 points at 42,932.73. The S&P 500 index was up 7.14 points at 5,822.40, while the Nasdaq composite was down 9.03 points at 18,306.56.
The Canadian dollar traded for 72.61 cents US compared with 72.44 cents US on Tuesday.
The November crude oil contract was down 71 cents at US$69.87 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was down eight cents at US$2.42 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$7.20 at US$2,686.10 an ounce and the December copper contract was up a penny at US$4.35 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 16, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 200 points in late-morning trading, while U.S. stock markets were also headed higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 205.86 points at 24,508.12.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 336.62 points at 42,790.74. The S&P 500 index was up 34.19 points at 5,814.24, while the Nasdaq composite was up 60.27 points at 18.342.32.
The Canadian dollar traded for 72.61 cents US compared with 72.71 cents US on Thursday.
The November crude oil contract was down 15 cents at US$75.70 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was down two cents at US$2.65 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was down US$29.60 at US$2,668.90 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents at US$4.47 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 11, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was little changed in late-morning trading as the financial sector fell, but energy and base metal stocks moved higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 0.05 of a point at 24,224.95.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 94.31 points at 42,417.69. The S&P 500 index was down 10.91 points at 5,781.13, while the Nasdaq composite was down 29.59 points at 18,262.03.
The Canadian dollar traded for 72.71 cents US compared with 73.05 cents US on Wednesday.
The November crude oil contract was up US$1.69 at US$74.93 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was up a penny at US$2.67 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$14.70 at US$2,640.70 an ounce and the December copper contract was up two cents at US$4.42 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 10, 2024.
