As many as 60% of the United States (U.S.) businesses that have operations in the United Kingdom (U.K.), plan to increase their investment in the U.K. in the next 2-3 years, despite concerns over the lack of a trade deal between them and Brexit.
Around 68 U.S. based companies were surveyed by leading transatlantic trade association – BritishAmerican Business and Consultancy Firm – Bain & Company. These companies employ more than 275,000 people in the U.K.
60% of the respondents said they would invest in U.K. in the next 2-3 years. On a scale of 1 to 10, the majority of U.S. companies rate their confidence as 7 or higher, with an average confidence rating of 7.8 and about 1/3rd of respondents rating their confidence at level 9 or 10.
The survey covered businesses from sectors such as financial services and manufacturing to technology, media and telecommunications. Respondents included firms such as insurance group Marsh McLennan and payments company American Express.
Taking it to twitter, BritishAmerican Business tweeted,
BAB, in partnership with @BainAlerts has launched the inaugural Transatlantic Confidence Index – measuring the confidence of U.S. companies active in the UK, including their views on investing in UK operations over the next 2 to 3 years.
— BritishAmerican Business (@BritAmBusiness) July 12, 2021
Read: https://t.co/3WKwozft3R
Bain & Company tweeted,
Today we launched the inaugural Transatlantic Confidence Index with @BritAmBusiness, which finds that business confidence is high for US companies in the UK, but future confidence may depend on the UK’s relationship with the EU. Read the report: https://t.co/EMNGhU4Zkn pic.twitter.com/2PKOVoX7Bm
— Bain & Company (@BainAlerts) July 12, 2021
Leading factors that contribute to such a high confidence rating include a stable and predictable regulatory and legal environment and the quality of environmental, labour and planning regulations. The country’s talent pool is also a draw, as well as the first-class academic research environment, which synergises with science and technology ecosystem.
Inspite of Coronavirus (COVID-19) led lockdowns and Brexit, companies see London as a hub for world-class financial and tech services, with an average response of 7.2 on our 10-point scale from all respondents. Another point of confidence is the U.K.’s ability to perform as a hub for innovation. Across all respondents, the average confidence rating for this statement is 7.5 out of 10.
However, the survey also highlighted some concerns about Brexit and U.S.’s trade relations with the U.K. The major problems that have affected business in the U.K. include regulatory barriers, supply chain management and the ability to access talent from the European Union (E.U.). About 17% of the U.S. companies surveyed said they had relocated jobs to the E.U.
Speaking on the occasion, the President of Global Commercial Services, American Express – Anna Marrs said, “The combination of a strong and multilingual talent base, a supportive business environment, and geographical and time zone advantages continues to make the UK an ideal jumping-off point for our operations outside the US.”
The President & C.E.O., Marsh McLennan – Dan Glaser said, “The UK is a large and dynamic economy with outstanding regulatory and educational systems. Top talent from around the world want to work and live in Britain.”
Around 40% of the companies said that the top priority for U.K. should be to improve the political and economic relationship with the E.U. as it would help it to remain a hot destination for U.S. investment.
The C.E.O. of BritishAmerican Business – Duncan Edwards said, “The UK is very well-positioned to continue to attract companies from the US and from around the globe. But this positive outlook will be enhanced by a comprehensive trade deal with the U.S, a more positive political and trading relationship with the EU, and more business-friendly domestic policies.”
Besides, they companies also expressed hope of a U.K.-U.S. trade deal in the near future. The Secretary of State for International Trade, U.K. – Liz Truss will be travelling to U.S. this week to finalize a trade deal.
