London Continues to Attract Foreign Investors

London remains the single most important location for foreign direct investment (FDI) in the UK and in fact across the whole of Europe, according to EY’s latest UK Attractiveness Report.

The 406 global executives surveyed in the report were asked to name the three most attractive European cities for FDI; over half (52%) cited London, well ahead of Paris (29%), and Berlin (28%).

There is no doubt that the UK has a strong and sustained perception by global investors as an attractive place to locate, says EY. They value ‘the quality of life, diversity, culture and language’, ‘the stability of the social climate’, infrastructure and education, plus access to the European market.

In addition, investors remain confident in the future of the UK as an FDI location, with 27% planning to develop activities here.

EY’s report reveals that the capital attracted 381 FDI projects last year – one more than in 2013 – which represented its strongest performance over the last decade.

As a country, the UK retained its position as Europe’s number one destination for inward investment, recording 887 foreign direct investment projects (FDI) in 2014 – the largest number ever secured in more than a decade – representing an increase of 11% on 2013 figures.

The UK was the leading FDI destination for US investors in Europe in 2014. Around 36% of all investment projects locating in the UK last year were from the US. The next nine most important origins of UK investment – including France, Germany, Japan and China – collectively accounted for 42%, demonstrating the UK’s heavy reliance on US FDI.

London secured a higher proportion of its FDI from the US, India and China than the UK as a whole, often from companies establishing their first European foothold in London.

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