Khan-backed campaign to increase foreign investment into London launches
A new campaign backed by Sadiq Khan to increase green foreign capital investment into London post-Brexit has today been launched.
The £500,000 Opportunity London campaign – which has been partially funded by City Hall, Canada Corporation and the 32 borough councils – aims to “showcase London as one of the very best places in the world to invest”.
The initiative will see a series of events held at domestic and international summits, including MIPIM in Cannes – billed as the “world’s leading real estate event”.
The campaign, which is being organised by the New London Architecture lobby group, is set to target investment into the capital’s real estate and infrastructure sectors.
Figures from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) show that foreign direct investment into the UK, as a share of total GDP, plummeted in the wake of the 2016 Brexit vote.
Investment levels have been slow to recover since the UK left the EU in February 2020 as Covid-19 and overlapping economic crises hit the West’s advanced economies.
Khan said that “to maintain London’s place as a leading global city we need to compete for investment in sustainable growth with other leading cities”.
“Opportunity London is a great platform to do that, and I am delighted to be working with our partners to attract investment which will help us to build a better London for everyone, supporting good growth in our industries, jobs and communities,” he said.
Keith Bottomley, deputy policy chair, Canada Corporation, said: “This campaign builds on the City’s reputation for backing sustainable investment to drive growth, create jobs and support regeneration. Opportunity London will showcase the capital’s strengths as an investment hub and we are proud to support it.”