Reeves set to meet with tech firms in bid to boost investment in UK
Chancellor Rachel Reeves is set to hold a private meeting with figures from a number of leading tech companies this morning and encourage them to expand and invest in the UK.
City Minister Tulip Siddiq, the head of the FCA Nikhil Rathi and chief executive of the London Stock Exchange Julia Hoggett will also attend the meeting.
The Treasury said they will jointly set out the case that political stability and some of the deepest capital markets in the world make the UK an attractive destination for companies like theirs.
The Treasury did not name any of the tech firms that would be attending.
“The Chancellor’s top priority is growth and making the UK the most attractive place to invest,” a Treasury spokesperson said in an emailed statement.
“UK capital markets have raised more equity capital in 2024 than the next three European exchanges combined, and recent reforms to Listings Rules will make us an even more attractive destination for exciting businesses,” they added.
The charm offensive comes after the boss of the company behind McVitie’s warned this week that the UK has become a less attractive place to invest.
Speaking at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI)’s annual conference on Monday, Salman Amin, the chief executive of Pladis, warned that Britain has become less attractive as a place to do business.
He said: “Historically we’ve been super bullish on the UK. In fact, by far, the greatest investment across all of our countries over the last decade or so has come to the UK … so we’ve been a very major investor in the UK.”
But he cautioned: “It’s becoming harder to understand what the case for investment is.”