£29.5 billion of investment unveiled at Global Investment Summit

Leading global investors have committed £29.5 billion for UK projects and capital ahead of the Global Investment Summit at Hampton Court Palace.

The investments will support thousands of jobs in the UK across sectors ranging from tech, life sciences and green energy, to infrastructure and housing. This year’s summit has already seen investors commit to triple the sum raised by the 2021 event.

The Global Investment Summit takes place today (27th November) and was opened by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Business & Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch, welcoming business leaders including the CEOs of financial services giants such as Blackstone, Aviva, Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan Chase.

The Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: 

“Attracting global investment is at the heart of my plan for growing the economy. With new funding pouring into key industries like clean energy, life sciences and advanced technology, inward investment is creating high-quality new jobs and driving growth right across the country.”

Among the deals announced include a £2.5 billion pledge from Microsoft to bring critical AI infrastructure, including AI datacentres and graphic processing units, to the UK. Spanish renewable energy business, Iberdrola, meanwhile, have confirmed a £7 billion investment in the country’s green energy infrastructure, joined by a £500 million commitment by North Start for offshore wind energy infrastructure to bring 400 jobs to the sector.

Business & Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch said:

“The numbers speak for themselves: we have the third highest levels of inward investment in the world at $2.7 trillion, we’re number one in Europe for new investment projects, and last year alone we created 107,000 jobs through inward investment.

“People want to invest in a country with vision, ideas and growth, and our Summit showcases all these qualities and proves why the UK is the most exciting and innovative place in the world to invest.“

Australian investors, IFM, have also announced their intentions to invest  £10 billion over the next four years for large-scale infrastructure and energy transition projects, and will sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the Department for Business & Trade at the summit.

David Neal, CEO of IFM Investors said:

“Australia’s ‘super funds’ system can be a trusted long-term partner with the United Kingdom. We’re proud to sign this Memorandum of Understanding with the UK Government, which is a signal of the confidence IFM and Australian super funds have in the UK as a place to invest.

“Our presence in the UK continues to grow and we look forward to working closely with the Government to drive investment into large-scale infrastructure and energy transition projects across equity and debt funding.

“Partnerships between governments and long-term investors are necessary to unlock the potential of pension funds to invest in system-level risks such as climate change.”

Private sector investment into the UK being announced at the summit follows a £4.5 billion government investment package for the manufacturing sector announced last week, as well as the creation of new Investment Zones, including one in Greater Manchester that will focus on advanced manufacturing.