Recently, a series of reports on the investment climate in the United Kingdom have been released, and the new Labour government has received good news.
According to the latest data from the United Kingdom British Business Bank, United Kingdom has overtaken India to become the world's third-largest venture capital market, behind United States and China.
Data shows that between 2021 and 2023, United Kingdom companies raised a whopping £72 billion in venture capital. Despite this, the amount of VC investment in the United Kingdom fell 48% to £8.8bn last year compared to 2022, and the number of deals fell 25% to 2,152.
The data also shows that United Kingdom's share of global VC investment has risen from 3.4% to 5.8% over the past decade, the largest increase among the world's 12 largest markets, cementing its international position.
Among all types of venture capital sectors, the United Kingdom's technology sector is the most eye-catching.
According to a report published by Dealroom, the United Kingdom became Europe's number one tech venture destination in the first half of 2024.
Data shows that in the first half of this year, United Kingdom tech start-ups and scale-up companies raised £7.4 billion, an increase of 16% over the same period last year, accounting for nearly one-third of European tech venture capital financing.
Among them, the amount of venture capital financing of United Kingdom technology companies exceeds that of their France and Germany counterparts combined, and more than five times that of their Switzerland counterparts.
This was driven by multiple rounds of large funding rounds from self-driving car technology company Wayve (£861 million), credit technology company Abound (£400 million), long-term energy storage company Highview Power (£300 million), online bank Monzo (£150 million) and electric vehicle charging group Char (£100 million).
Among the many cities in the United Kingdom, London attracted the most tech venture capital financing, more than double that of second-place Paris in France.
The latest data from accounting firm Ernst & Young (EY) also shows that London has become the city that attracts the most new foreign direct investment (FDI) in Europe.
London attracted 359 FDI projects in 2023, up 20% from 2022 and the highest annual total since 2019, with the technology and financial services sectors dominant, the data showed.
The number of FDI projects in Scotland and the West Midlands increased by 14% and 72% respectively, thanks to the growth of the wind power industry.
In 2023, the United Kingdom will have 985 FDI projects, ranking second in Europe, and its share of the European inward investment market has increased to 17.3% from 15.6% in the previous year.
The EY survey also found that 69% of respondents intend to invest in the United Kingdom in 2024, with more than half planning to invest in London.