UK remains Europe’s most attractive spot for financial services investment
The UK continues to be Europe’s most attractive location for international investment into financial services, however the gap with France – the second largest recipient of investment – has narrowed.
In 2020 the UK secured 49 foreign investment projects in financial services, just 14 per cent more than France, and considerably less than the 99 projects secured by the UK in 2019, according to data from EY.
Across Europe foreign investment fell by 23 per cent in 2020 as Covid impacted business confidence and travel.
As markets and economies across the globe start to recover from the economic effects of Covid-19, investor sentiment suggests that the UK is expected to continue outperforming the rest of Europe in attracting financial services investment, EY said.
In a survey of global investors, the UK came out as the European country with the most investment friendly Covid-19 recovery plans (backed by 48 per cent of respondents) and the most attractive for financial services investment (scoring 50 per cent).
Germany came second on both these metrics with 38 per cent and 33 per cent respectively, while France and Switzerland came in joint third place on both with 21 per cent each.
London continues to be seen as Europe’s most attractive destination for financial services foreign investment, followed by Stockholm and Amsterdam.
Half of investors surveyed by EY said they planned to establish or expand operations in the UK over the next year, suggesting foreign investment in the UK is set to rise.
Anna Anthony, UK financial services managing partner and EY, said: “The UK has consistently been the number one location for international financial services investment since EY started tracking foreign direct investment levels and market attractiveness over twenty years ago.
“While its lead may have narrowed in 2020, most likely only short-term in response to pandemic-related business disruption and Brexit, investor sentiment suggests that the UK is looking to a strong future, and will continue to outperform the rest of Europe in attracting post-Covid-19 financial services investment.