Projects in tech, life sciences, infrastructure, housing and renewable energy have secured the investments, with funding planned to create more than 12,000 jobs, furthering the government’s “levelling up” agenda.
Sunak said it was a “huge vote of confidence in the future of the UK economy”, adding the government is making Britain the “best place in the world to invest and do business”.
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He also pointed to the business tax cuts announced in last week’s Autumn Statement as part of his plan to attract global investment and grow the economy.
Business and trade secretary Kemi Badenoch said the UK has the third highest levels of inward investment in the world at $2.7trn, sitting at number one in Europe for new investment projects.
She claimed 107,000 jobs were created in the past year alone through inward investment.
CEOs attending the summit included Stephen Schwarzman from Blackstone, Amanda Blanc from Aviva, David Soloman from Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan Chase’s Jamie Dimon.
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Barclays, HSBC and Lloyds Bank will also attended as principal partners of the summit, to celebrate “British ideas – past, present and future”.
Renewable energy
Several companies committed billions in investments to the UK’s renewables sector on the back of a rise in inward investment for renewables in the UK, rising from £19bn in 2021 to £55bn in 2022, with 11,500 jobs created in the industry last year alone.
Iberdrola, a renewable energy company, has confirmed £7bn of investment as part of a total £12bn programme between 2024 and 2028; while North Star, an infrastructure support company owned by Partners Group in Switzerland, committed £500m and 400 new jobs to offshore wind infrastructure.
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Gren, another green energy company, said it plans to invest up to £1bn in district heating and local energy systems that will deliver affordable green energy to over 200,000 homes and thousands of businesses in the UK, in places such as Wick, Sheffield and Nottingham.
Australian companies IFM Investors and Aware Super have also committed £10bn and £5bn, respectively, to projects in the various sectors, including renewable energy.
Energy security secretary Claire Coutinho said the UK was expected to lead the “second industrial revolution” through renewable energy investments.
Tech
The summit will also see billions for the UK’s tech sector, which was claimed to attract the highest levels of investment in Europe and last year became the third in the world to be worth $1trn.
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Microsoft has pledged £2.5bn to build AI infrastructure, bringing more “next-generation” AI datacentres and graphic processing units to the UK.
Aira, a clean energy company, will invest £300m into heat pump rollouts, new jobs and upskilling.
R&D
The Ellison Institute of Technology will also invest £1bn into its recently announced Oxford Campus. Oxford Quantum Circuits is also raising £85m for R&D projects.
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BioNTech, developer of the first mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine, said it intends to give a rolling ten-year investment of approximately £1bn for a new laboratory in Cambridge as well as a centre of expertise for artificial intelligence in London. Its plans estimated the creation of 400 highly skilled jobs.
Housing
PATRIZIA, a global investment management company, has announced £100m for the development of highly sustainable affordable and social housing in England.
