UK boosted by post-Brexit investment appeal

In the wake of Brexit, the UK has risen to become the fourth most attractive nation in the world for future investment, according to a survey of global business leaders.

David Sapsted

12 March 2021

The annual survey by PwC of 5,050 chief executives in one hundred countries found that the UK had overtaken India to claim fourth place, with the US, China and Germany retaining the top three spots.PwC found that 11 per cent of global CEOs selected the UK as one of their top three targets, up from nine per cent in the last survey.“The findings are a vote of confidence in certainty and stability, which have undoubtedly increased on the trade front. Not only has the UK grown in appeal to some of our newer trade targets, but it remains an important market among our European neighbours,” said Kevin Ellis, PwC chairman.“CEOs are largely confident the crisis has turned a corner. This improvement is fuelling activity and momentum, as chief execs plan ahead. “We’re seeing this evident in deal activity, which is building apace, and it should also translate into headcount increases in growth sectors like tech." The survey found that almost a quarter of chief executives in India were looking to Britain for investment opportunities, while the interest since the completion of Brexit increased from three per cent to 11 per cent among CEOs in China."This certainty is translated into UK chief executives’ own optimism. UK bosses are now even more optimistic about the global economy and their organisations’ growth prospects than their global peers," commented City A.M."The vast majority – 89 per cent – are confident revenue prospects will improve to some extent over the next year and the three-year outlook is even more bullish. The optimism is likely in large part due to the success of the UK’s vaccine rollout, which has allowed companies to plan for normality to resume."Globally, there was record optimism among the executives over the prospects for economic growth. The survey found that 76 per cent of respondents expected growth this year, up from 22 per cent a year ago, when the Covid-19 outbreak had just been declared a global pandemic.CEOs in the technology and telecommunications sectors expressed the highest levels of confidence while those in hospitality and leisure, and transportation and logistics were least confident."After a year of human tragedy and extensive economic hardship, it is encouraging to see that the people responsible for making investment decisions and hiring staff are feeling cautiously optimistic about the year ahead," stated Bob Moritz, chairman of the PwC Network."CEOs have faith that growth will return, boosted by the rapid development of vaccines and their rollout in many parts of the world."Optimism was particularly strong in North America and Western Europe, at 86 per cent and 76 per cent, respectively. More than half those surveyed also expected the size of their workforces to increase this year.