Rishi Sunak unveils £29.5bn investment boost for UK industries

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has revealed some of the world’s leading investors have committed £29.5 billion in new UK projects and capital.

It will see thousands of jobs created across the UK in innovative sectors, including technology, life sciences, renewables, housing and infrastructure.

The announcement comes ahead of the Global Investment Summit (GIS) in London on Monday which will see more than 200 of the world’s leading chief executives, investors, innovators and politicians attending.

The investment is triple the sum raised at the last Global Investment Summit in 2021.

The event is designed to attract investment into the UK's technology companies and is being held at Hampton Court Palace, one of the favourite residences of King Henry VIII. The event comes days after Chancellor Jeremy Hunt used the autumn statement to cut taxes for businesses and unveiled a multibillion-pound funding package for car makers, aerospace companies, clean energy firms and other “strategic” sectors.

“Today’s investments, worth more than £29 billion, will create thousands of new jobs and are a huge vote of confidence in the future of the UK economy. Global CEOs are right to back Britain – we are making this the best place in the world to invest and do business,” Mr Sunak said.

“From giving businesses the biggest tax cut in recent history last week, to our culture of innovation and thriving universities producing some of the finest minds in the world, ours is truly a nation of opportunity.

“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.”

The summit will be opened by the Prime Minister and Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch, with notable CEOs in attendance including Stephen Schwarzman from Blackstone, Amanda Blanc at Aviva, David Soloman from Goldman Sachs and Jamie Dimon at JP Morgan Chase.

Ms Badenoch said the investment was a “huge vote of confidence” in the UK economy, as the Department for Business and Trade pointed to a range of investments in renewable energy projects.

Among those was Australia’s IFM Investors, which will sign a memorandum of understanding with the department with the intention to invest £10 billion over the next four years for large-scale infrastructure and energy projects.

“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,” Mr Badenoch said.

BioNTech, which developed the mRNA-based Covid vaccine with Pfizer, has committed to a new lab in Cambridge, as well as a centre of expertise for artificial intelligence in London.

Ministers also announced plans for a new expert panel to look into how to best create a UK corporate re-domiciliation regime, to make it easier for foreign firms to relocate here.

A reception is also scheduled to take place later at Buckingham Palace, hosted by King Charles III.