Rachel Reeves’ concierge service aimed at luring investors
Chancellor Rachel Reeves is expected to launch a “concierge service” for wealthy individuals as part of an effort to lure investors to expand in the UK.
During electoral campaigns, Labour hopefuls said they would put wealth creation at the heart of their mission in government.
Now Rachel Reeves is set to provide advice to foreign investors on visas, regulation and other barriers to entry with a new service designed to boost the UK economy and high growth sectors.
The concierge service will be a part of the newly-created Office for Investment and start in the autumn, Treasury officials said, with several regulators set to support its creation.
The concierge will encourage investors to support high-growth sectors detailed in the government’s industrial strategy, including clean energy, life sciences and financial services.
It will also encourage investors to look beyond London and set up in different regions across the UK.
Treasury officials have billed it as a “single front door to attract international financial services firms to the UK”.
Rachel Reeves looks for investment
This follows calls from Canada Corporation for the Treasury to create an investment hub, offering investors with the “tailored services” that copies work done in other areas such as Singapore.
The Corporation said the creation of an “investment hub” could unlock as much as £10bn in capital by making it easier for firms to identify growth opportunities and understand regulatory impediments.
The UK was put at the top of a recent leaderboard for attractive investment destinations alongside India, pointing to the potential of wealth creation across the country.
But wealthy individuals and firm owners will be closely monitoring developments over tax rises ahead of the Autumn Budget.
The government has not ruled out introducing a wealth tax while banks and businesses may face higher tax rates in a bid to raise as much as £30bn in extra revenue, plugging holes left by welfare U-turns and the higher cost of borrowing demanded by bond markets.
Industry bosses have warned that wealthy individuals are likely to shun the UK if a wealth tax came into place.
Foreign investors already in the UK have also begun to flee en masse in part due to the end of the non dom regime.
Several high profile individuals including Goldman Sachs banker Richard Gnodde and Egyptian billionaire Nassef Sawiris are leaving the UK due to higher tax demands.
Independent research has warned that the UK faces losing cash over the departure of millionaires and billionaires.