Strategy recommendation: Boosting UK growth through investment and regulatory stability

To deliver on this, the government should focus on:

Attracting foreign investment – prioritising initiatives to ensure an open economy and support the UK to become the world’s leading centre for investment, as well as implementing the recommendations from Lord Harrington’s Review of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).

Advocating for export-led growth – focusing on the benefits of international trade and investment against the backdrop of rising economic protectionism and regulatory fragmentation and prioritising innovation in strategic sectors such as green infrastructure, life sciences and digital technologies.

Embedding a constructive relationship with the EU – building on the more constructive post-Windsor Framework relationship and maximising opportunities presented by the review of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) in 2026 to seek improved market access for services.

• Launch an ambitious new investment attraction strategy by committing to implement the Harrington Review’s recommendations on attracting FDI, in particular a new concierge service to provide a one-stop shop for investors.
• Refresh the UK’s trade strategy and work with our industry to deploy the full range of trade policy instruments, including Digital Economy Agreements, FinTech bridges, and Mutual Recognition Agreements, to boost trade, investment and reduce regulatory frictions.
• Actively engage with our industry to understand its priorities for the TCA review and the challenges faced within the EU-UK relationship for financial and related professional services.
• Advocate with EU institutions and Member State counterparts for an ambitious and wide-ranging review of the TCA in 2026 which seeks to improve the agreement in a mutually beneficial way.

• Work with our industry to enhance the UK’s attractiveness as a destination and global hub for international investment, by setting out the strategic sectors in which the government will seek to crowd in domestic and international investment.
• Develop an outward bound ‘Team UK’ approach, where domestic investors, universities, regional mayors, investment cluster leads and regulators work together to take investment opportunities to external markets.
• Work with the private sector to refine the form, timing and extent of investment screening controls, to ensure that they focus on transactions that pose national security risks and provide a smoother environment for the vast majority of investments that do not pose such concerns.
• Ensure financial regulatory dialogues with key markets, such as the US, EU, Switzerland, Singapore and Japan, and focus on delivering stability and growth in the global economy by improving transparency, industry engagement and external reporting on deliverables.
• Increase and deepen partnerships with emerging international financial centres in the Middle East, ASEAN and Africa to promote the UK as a key partner of choice and increase trade and investment flows.
• Ensure that HM Treasury and the Department for Business and Trade work with leaders in devolved and regional government to promote UK trade and investment internationally by sharing examples of international best practice in attracting investment.
• Continue to prioritise enhancing trade and investment in all regions and nations in all future trade agreements and Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs).
• Engage with EU institutions and Member State counterparts to understand where we can collaborate on strategic areas of mutual priority, such as financing the green transition, the opportunities and challenges presented by technology and innovation and increasing economic resilience across Europe.
• Ensure that relevant departments work closely with industry when developing their proposals to increase trade in services between the UK and EU including short-term business mobility and the recognition of qualifications as well as the interoperability of regulatory regimes and future-proofing of regulatory dialogues.
• Promote greater cross-border provision of financial services, providing more efficient access to capital and lower costs for businesses.