Booming Britain is the world’s second-favourite place to place to invest – just behind the USA – according to a survey of global business leaders.
Around 14 per cent of the near-5,000 corporate bosses surveyed by PwC say they expect the UK to receive the most international investment in the next year.
The survey, published as the World Economic Forum gets underway in Davos, will be a boon to Chancellor Rachel Reeves after criticism of her Autumn Budget and higher-than-expected inflation.
Britain’s second-place ranking in the PwC CEO Survey is its best since the poll began 28 years ago, and is two places up from fourth last year.
It came second to the US (30 per cent) – and ahead of Germany, China and India (12, nine and seven per cent respectively).
The results suggest Britain is in a prime spot for an influx of investment as competing nations face growing economic crises.
Germany is in the midst of a years-long recession, while China is battling uncertainty after the EU slapped import tariffs on cars while Donald Trumpmulls over tough taxes for Chinese goods.
Britain has been named the second best place to invest this year in a poll of 5,000 CEOs from 109 countries
The survey has been welcomed by Chancellor Rachel Reeves, who said it was proof CEOs were ‘backing Britain’ under Labour
And 61 per cent of British CEOs say the country is in line for economic growth – up from just 39 per cent last year.
Experts speaking to MailOnline say there are a number of reasons Britain may attract investment from abroad, including in property, where prices are steady amid an ongoing housing shortage.
Jonathan Gordon, director of wealth at property investment firm IP Global, said: ‘In the context of property, the UK offers much needed stability to global investors.
‘This is not just applicable to London, but up and coming markets like Manchester and Birmingham have shown resilience in the face of global turmoil due to a constant flow of demand.’
Responding to the survey, the Chancellor said: ‘These latest results show global CEOs are backing Britain and the UK is one of the most attractive destinations for international investment.
‘And it’s this investment that will help drive economic growth and improve living standards across the UK.’
Marco Amitrano, senior partner at PwC UK, said: ‘Our CEO survey findings are a vote of confidence in the UK as a place for business and investment.
‘The UK’s relative stability at a time of instability should not be underestimated, nor should its strength in key sectors including technology.
‘However, there is no room for complacency.’
The Bank of England (pictured) is expected to announce a cut in interest rates next month amid wage growth in the private sector – a boon for business
There are concerns the UK’s economy is stalling after official figures showed it grew just 0.1 per cent in November, and a run on UK Government bonds, known as gilts.
The survey data suggests more than half of UK CEOs plan to increase the size of their workforce this year – even as the Chancellor imposes hikes in national insurance and a cut in the threshold at which NI is paid from April.
Interest rates are set to be cut next month after wages rose 5.6 per cent in the three months to November, up from 5.2 per cent the previous three months.
But British bosses are also slightly less positive about the future of their own firms than they were before Labour came in – with confidence dropping from 61 per cent in 2024 to 57 per cent now.
David Belle, a broker and founder of Fink Money, has warned that the UK’s weak pound means investors may simply be using Britain to do business on the cheap before taking their money elsewhere.
‘With a weaker sterling and almost zero demand from UK citizens to own shares in UK companies, there is no bid keeping share prices higher like there is in the US, Canada and Australia,’ he told MailOnline.
‘So any foreign investor is going to see the UK as a place where they can buy assets cheap relative to future cash flows.
‘It’s a sleight of hand to hail this as a UK win. In reality, it’s the opposite.’
Rachel Reeves is travelling to the World Economic Forum in Davos this week, where she will urge company bosses to invest in the UK – likely boosted by the survey results and an upgrade of Britain’s forecasted growth by the IMF.
The international body believes Britain will see a 1.6 per cent expansion this year – slightly up from the 1.5 per cent it pencilled in last October.
‘The time to invest in Britain is now,’ she said in a statement.
She had last been seen gallivanting in China to secure £600million of investment – criticised as a meagre amount in a country with a nominal GDP of $18.5trillion –
But Ray Dalio, billionaire founder of hedge fund Bridgewater, told the Financial Times that the UK could be heading for a debt ‘death spiral’ in which it has to borrow more to cover its rising interest costs.
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