500 Global Tech Firms Planning Expansion into UK

New wave of inward investment to be revealed at Global Expansion Summit

Our latest inward investment survey, ahead of the annual Global Expansion Summit which takes place next month in London, reveals that more than 500 global technology firms are actively planning to expand into the UK.

We monitor the global expansion plans of businesses around the world and gather intelligence for clients on identifying the next wave of inward investors who are in the process of setting up a new facility or office.

Highlights of our research include:

- More than 500 first-time inward investors are planning to expand into the UK

- Between 15 and 20 firms each month confirm they are planning their first UK operation

- Almost 200 firms have started to plan a UK entry since last June’s Brexit vote

- More than half of the firms tracked were from the United States; while India provides the second largest source, then Australia, followed closely by Canada and France.

Top Source markets:

1. United States (53%)
2. India (9%)
3. Australia (8%)
4. Canada (8%)
5. France (4%)

- Just over half of the businesses are in the software sector (with significant numbers involved in data analytics and internet of things); while 1 in 6 is in Business Services (mostly related to online retail or B2B services).

Top Sectors:

1. Software/IT (51%)
2. Business Services (16%)
3. Life Sciences (8%)
4. Advanced Manufacturing (8%)
5. Financial Services (5%)

Announcements since last June’s EU referendum by Apple, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google have committed millions of pounds of new investment and thousands of tech jobs for London. Last week, Amazon announced the creation of an R&D hub in Cambridge for its drone research that will house around 500 researchers.

While the tech giants like Google and Apple get the headlines, it’s the smaller fast-growing globally ambitious firms which are going under the radar. Fuelled by venture capital, these startups may not be household names, but they are the next big things and they are choosing to expand into the UK.

We track company moves in real time across the world and there is certainly no detectable decline in the attractiveness of the UK as a business location in the last year. There was a slight pause in the weeks following the Brexit vote, but in the last nine months, the interest in establishing a UK operation is as high as it was at any stage ion the last 5 years.

Fernando Faria, Founder and MD of the Global Expansion Summit, notes the EU referendum has not changed expansion trends:

“These findings emphasise the UK’s attractiveness to business is still strong and won’t go away anytime soon. Many companies have been reconsidering their European footprint since the EU referendum, but most realise the UK’s differentials aren’t that easy to replicate. This is especially true for American companies. I am looking forward to seeing hundreds of Heads of International Expansion at our annual event next month.”

I’ll be presenting this research at the Global Expansion Summit, which brings together 400+ C-Suite and 50+ Heads of International Expansion, from 700+ companies and 62 countries to discuss international & cross-border business strategy. The event will be held at the InterContinental O2 London from 18-20 June 2017.

Check out www.gxpsummit.com for tickets