Flurryof Activityputs Ukbackon Themap
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FT SPECIAL REPORT Investing in Britain Wednesday November 20 2013 www.ft.com/reports | @ftreports Flurry of Inside » Business boom UK strength is in vehicles, activity puts food innovation and pharma Page 2 UK back on Infrastructure work slows Construction revival is still stuck at first base the map Page 2 Biotech under the microscope Results point to a performance second only to Life sciences get a shot in the arm China, though fears over potential EU exit may from government be tempering enthusiasm, says Brian Groom Inflows: the £1.5bn London Gateway container terminal is just one of the UK’s big internationally financed projects Bloomberg Page 3 ritain, helped by its lan- France’s EDF to build a £16bn nuclear DP World, has just opened in Essex. London and guage, location, a flexible power station at Hinkley Point in Work is also progressing on plans to workforce and its role as a southwest England – the country’s Competition ‘Fight on hands’ to stay ahead of Germany redevelop London’s Battersea Power the world gateway to the European first for a generation – with the Station, bought last year by a Malay- Cheerleaders for Union – has been a leader in involvement of two state-owned Chi- The UK’s quality of life, diversity, per cent) and corporate taxation (up sian consortium for £400m. Binward investment for 30 years. Since nese companies, China General culture and language are the leading from 53 per cent to 61 per cent). Ian Livingston, the former chief the City point to the financial crisis its performance Nuclear Power Group and China aspects of the country that attract The UK maintained its position as executive of BT Group who will take its advantages has faltered, though now there are National Nuclear Corp. investors, says EY, the advisory group. Europe’s number one destination, over as trade minister from Lord signs that things are picking up Other Chinese investments include Those factors were cited by 91 per winning 697 projects in 2012. Green in December, says: “One of the Page 3 smartly again. Industrial and Commercial Bank of cent of 200 investors worldwide in its But Steve Varley, EY’s UK and things I am going to do is talk the UK Inflows of investment to the UK in China putting £650m into a business annual attractiveness survey for 2013. Ireland managing partner, warned that up. If we keep telling people how the first half of this year, at $75bn, district at Manchester airport, prop- Not far behind were technology and the country had “a real fight on its rubbish we are, then others will take Ties that bind were greater than in any country erty group Dalian Wanda investing telecommunications infrastructure, and hands” to stay ahead of Germany. the same view.” except China, according to data from £700m in a luxury hotel development the stability and transparency of its For the first time, Germany overtook The UN said Britain bucked a global A new hope for the Organisation for Economic Co-op- in London and buying yachtmaker political, legal and regulatory the UK for new projects, as opposed to decline in investment last year with a Britain as the eration and Development, a club of Sunseeker for £300m, and Advanced environment. reinvestments. Investors rated Germany 22 per cent rise in inflows: its accumu- mostly developed nations. That is an Business Park planning a £1bn office The biggest increases in relative as the most attractive location over the lated stock of investment was worth former empire improvement on 2011, when it slipped complex in the capital’s former dock- terms were in investors’ assessments next three years. $1.3bn, behind only the US and Hong strikes back to sixth in the world. lands. of the attractiveness of the UK’s labour Kong. EY, the advisory group, said Some big projects have been landed, London Gateway, a £1.5bn container costs (jumping from 48 per cent to 63 Brian Groom Page 4 not least the long-awaited deal for terminal developed by Dubai’s Continued on Page 2 2 ★ FINANCIAL TIMES WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 20 2013 Investing in Britain Construction revival still stuck at first base Nissan has led renaissance in With the government provider, foreign investors capital – outside your home the business lobby group, Infrastructure busy cost-cutting and the took a substantial invest- country – Britain ticks most have spurred the govern- economy in recession, more ment in 19 of 66 projects of the boxes.” ment to take action. In 2011, car production The money is out projects were axed or scaled that received financing in Nevertheless, the problem the government tried to there, but the back than created. the 21 months since Janu- remains that, despite push things along by identi- The £55bn Building ary 2012. This includes projects such as Hinkley fying 40 “nationally signifi- projects are not, Schools for the Future pro- some of the biggest deals of moving ahead, the spades cant” building projects. It Manufacturing of Japan and Siemens of reports Gill Plimmer gramme was cancelled the year for the UK market are unlikely to hit the also launched a £40bn “UK Germany, failed to achieve almost as soon as the gov- – an offshore wind farm ground for some time yet. Guarantee” aimed at help- their early promise, ernment came to power. near the Lincolnshire coast, Even if the Hinkley deal is ing important but stalled Sunderland was the although the sites have David Cameron donned a Road projects, including the cables for a new offshore approved by the European schemes to raise finance. industry’s saviour, gone on to other employ- hard hat and overalls at proposed upgrading of the wind farm in the Thames Commission next year, con- Critics say even this has ment-related uses. Hinkley Point in Somerset A21 near Tonbridge in Estuary, and new trains on struction will not start until failed to gain traction – it says Chris Tighe But, apart from a setback last month to announce the Kent, were also postponed. the intercity and Thames- 2015. Other projects remain has been used for the Drax in early 2009 when the glo- construction of the first Although the government link railway lines. stuck at first base. Cross- power plant (biomass con- bal recession forced Nissan nuclear power station in revealed a wishlist of more Hitachi, Dong, Vinci, Veo- rail, approved by the last version) and approved, From the moment in 1981 to shed 1,200 jobs, its Sun- Britain for a generation. than 570 projects in the lia, Siemens and Itochu all Labour government is going though not yet closed, for that Nissan announced it derland project has been an “This is a very big day for Autumn Statement of 2010, took a stake in projects, ahead, but HS2 is looking the Northern Line tube was seeking a UK location extraordinary story of sus- our country,” the British it soon emerged that there while the Japanese banks increasingly contentious. extension. But analysts for a European car plant, tained growth, underpinned prime minister said. “The were few concrete means of Done deal: wind farm also provided much of the Richard Abadie, infra- argue that many of the hit the Japanese carmaker’s by a relentless quest to first time we’ve built a new delivering them. backing. Bank of Tokyo structure partner at PwC, list of 40 priority projects move was seen to have squeeze costs as a way to nuclear power station for a George Osborne, the Mitsubishi lent big tickets says: “The real problem is that have been approved political and manufacturing remain competitive. very long time.” chancellor, had hoped that projects at short notice did on 10 of the 66 projects the dearth of new investa- are too small. This includes significance that potentially The site has become by The £16bn deal between private investors would not help to win investor closed. Sumitomo Mitsui ble projects. There is a lot Mersey Gateway, for exam- threatened the status quo. far the northeast’s biggest EDF Energy, the French stump up 64 per cent of the confidence. Nor did regula- Banking Corp lent on 12 of of money out there, which ple, a new bridge that has So much about UK manu- private sector employer, utility, and two Chinese £310bn cost of the hundreds tory reforms such as the the 66, according to Infra- people are ready to invest, received the goahead. facturing has changed since with 6,100 currently on its companies was hailed as a of new energy, road, rail overhaul of the electricity structure Journal. but there is also real frus- Nevertheless, Mr Murphy the signing of the agree- payroll. It also indirectly victory for the government, and water projects. market. The value of new This shows, says Darryl tration that there are so few remains optimistic that the ment to set up the com- supports around 12,000 sup- which had been wrangling But, although pension orders for infrastructure Murphy, partner in global new projects ready to get market is changing. pany’s plant in Sunderland plier jobs in the Sunderland over the extent of the sub- funds made an initial show dropped by 33 per cent infrastructure at KPMG, off the ground.” “Eighteen months ago, – including its growth to area, out of 26,000 UK sup- sidy for the past two years. of seeming willing – setting between 2009 and 2012. that Britain has “always Mr Murphy agrees. “The you would have been hard become the UK’s biggest car ply chain jobs. Most compo- Although private-sector up the £2bn pension fund But although investment been an attractive market frustration for the Chinese pressed to find institutional producer for the past 14 nents are sourced within investment in infrastruc- infrastructure platform – in infrastructure remained for foreign investors.