Welcome
Bryan Bletso
Head of International
+44 (0)20 7650 3820 +44 (0)7770 795 703 bryan.bletso@irwinmitchell.com
We are at an incredibly exciting time for the UK and for investment opportunities. This government’s number one mission is to promote growth.
Investors from the UK and overseas are seeing the opportunities that a forward looking, stable and mature democracy, coupled with world class access to talent and skills has to offer.
This report underlines the number of sectors we have to drive our growth. Success is being seen across the length and breadth of the UK in a wide array of sectors:
1. Advanced manufacturing
2. Clean energy industries
3. Creative industries
4. Defence
5. Digital and technologies
6. Financial services
7. Life sciences
8. Professional and business services.
This report further underlines the success of the UK’s Freeports & Investment Zones, which are a key part of the UK’s Industrial Strategy to develop these important sectors and provide clusters of excellence in both supply chains and access to specialist talent from the UK’s world leading Universities.
As my colleagues and I travel the world we have seen that the UK is seen to offer excellent connectivity to global markets, and access to talent & a skilled workforce to ensure products and services remain at the cutting edge. We are here to support investment and promote growth, and the Office for Investment, Department for Business and Trade and HM Treasury are here to help you flourish.
Baroness Gustafsson
Minister for Investment, Department for Business and Trade and HM Treasury
We’re excited to share our latest UK Attractiveness Index, building on the insights from the report we released earlier this year.
This updated report revisits our previous findings and provides new perspectives, crucial for UK businesses in a competitive landscape. Incorporating the latest statistics from the Office for National Statistics and the Department for Business and Trade, our analysis is grounded in the most current data available.
A key highlight of this report is the revised league table, which ranks how attractive the UK’s cities are to overseas investors. Working with our research partner, the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr), we’ve updated the Gross Value Added (GVA) predictions for 50 leading locations across the UK. This offers fresh insights into potential growth areas.
The Index also explores the benefits of being near Investment Zones or Freeports, such as job creation and the strategic advantages. We believe these are critical factors in boosting the UK’s appeal as an investment destination.
We also explore the origins of foreign investments and identify the sectors within the UK that are most successful in attracting overseas capital.
We believe this report will be an invaluable resource for business leaders, investors and policymakers, providing actionable insights to strengthen the UK’s position as a prime destination for foreign direct investment and support domestic growth.
Key findings
London remains the most attractive city for investment, supported by a highly skilled workforce and business creation.
Every city aside from Brighton has improved on its Q3 2024 score, even as GVA forecasts were downgraded for all but one city.
Edinburgh replaces Brighton as the highest-ranking city outside London, with a consistently robust performance across all three pillars.
Aberdeen was the biggest riser from the July 2024 edition, jumping 18 places to 21.
Liverpool, another significant climber, finished 15 places higher to rank 12, benefitting from its status as a Freeport and Investment Zone.
Milton Keynes was the biggest faller this Index, falling by 18 places to now rank 39.
Methodology
The table below shows the three pillars of investment attractiveness which make up the Index. Each pillar is made up of two or three indicators, sourced via a combination of national datasets and Cebr’s in-house forecasts.
A detailed methodology note on the index construction is outlined in the appendix.