UK Government hails £63 billion of investment brought in by global summit

The UK Government has hailed a “vote of confidence in the UK” after businesses committed to invest £63 billion at Monday’s International Investment Summit.

The announcements, made both during and in the immediate run-up to the summit, are expected to create almost 38,000 jobs and include investments in green energy, infrastructure and life sciences.

Several had already been announced in the week before the summit, but on the day itself, ports giant DP World confirmed an investment of £1 billion in its London Gateway container facility – despite a row over the weekend between the company and the Government.

The investment was reportedly placed under review by DP World’s chairman after Transport Secretary Louise Haigh criticised one of the company’s subsidiaries, P&O Ferries, for its sudden dismissal of 800 workers two years ago.

‘Bumps in the road’

But Monday saw the announcement go ahead as planned, with Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds saying: “When you get some bumps in the road, you get on the phone and you sort it out.”

Monday also saw Associated British Ports announce a £200 million investment in a new freight ferry terminal at Immingham, in Lincolnshire, while Imperial College London announced £150 million for a tech innovation project in West London.

Mr Reynolds said: “Global investors should be in no doubt that under this new government, Britain is truly the best place to do business.

“The record-breaking investment total secured at today’s Summit marks a major vote of confidence in the UK and our stability dividend across industry and innovation.

“We’re determined to deliver economic growth in every part of the UK and these investments, together with our forthcoming Industrial Strategy, will give global businesses the certainty they need as we lead the charge for the innovation and jobs of the future.”

The largest investment announced around the summit consists of £12 billion from energy company Iberdrola over the next four years, including £4 billion for the East Anglia 2 wind farm.

Other significant investments announced on or before Monday include:

– £10 billion from Blackstone to build one of Europe’s largest data centres in Blyth, Northumberland;

– £8 billion from Amazon Web Services, expected to support around 14,000 jobs per year at local businesses;

– £8 billion from investors in carbon capture and storage technology including Eni, BP and Equinor;

– £8 billion from Orsted and £2.5 billion from Greenvolt in offshore wind projects;

– £2.5 billion from US data centre developer CyrusOne to build two data centres by the end of 2028;

– £2 billion from Octopus Energy in renewable power projects;

– £1.9 billion from CloudHQ for a new data centre in Didcot;

– £1.3 billion from Australian company Macquarie for new green infrastructure at a solar farm near Stow and electric vehicle charging points across the UK’s motorway network.

Optimism

Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, said: “After the investments secured as part of this summit, my optimism for Britain burns brighter than ever.

“It’s a sign of the confidence in the British economy. And it matters because it will support the growth of businesses big and small across the UK. Helping them create new jobs and making people better off.”

Other investments included:

– £1.15 billion over five years from ServiceNow to develop AI;

– £1.1 billion from Manchester Airports Group to expand the terminal at Stansted Airport;

– More than £1 billion in brownfield regeneration by Network Rail and London & Continental Railways;

– £750 million from CoreWeave to support “AI-critical infrastructure”;

– £325 million from US nuclear engineering company Holtec to build a new factory in South Yorkshire;

– £500 million from BW Group for battery energy storage projects;

– £279 million from Eli Lilly and Company for tackling significant health challenges;

– £130 million from Haleon to build a new “oral health innovation centre” in Surrey.