Exclusive: Reeves poised to roll out ‘concierge service’ for investors
The Treasury is preparing to launch its ‘concierge service’ to help international firms invest and expand in the UK as soon as this week, CityAM can reveal, in a move ministers hope will attract as much as £10bn of foreign investment into the UK.
The new service – also dubbed an ‘investment hub’ – will be unveiled by the Chancellor Rachel Reeves on Friday during her trip to Washington for the International Monetary Fund’s annual jamboree, according to sources involved in its rollout.
The hub, plans for which were first mooted by the Chancellor at her Mansion House Speech in July, will provide “a tailored service” to companies hoping to set up or expand in the UK, helping them navigate complex visa and planning processes.
Officials behind the drive will aim to match firms’ needs to the variety of skills experience across the country, and encourage businesses to lay down foundations in the government’s so-called ‘regional hubs’ – established to boost economic activity outside of London.
The fledgling offering will be run out of the Office for Investment, an arms-length government body that sits in the Treasury and was revamped by the Chancellor in a bid to woo more foreign firms to UK shores.
International bosses have often lamented the lack of dedicated resource available to help facilitate and speed up investment. One European finance CEO told CityAM that whereas in France a team of officials will help with everything from red tape to school places, the UK offering amounted to “a PDF with the phone number of HMRC.”
UK foreign investment dropped before concierge service launch
The move was first proposed in a report by Canada policy chair Chris Hayward as a response to Britain’s declining status as a premier destination for international investment. The UK’s share of foreign investment projects dropped by four per cent between 2017 and 2024 as other key centres – like New York and the burgeoning investment scene in the Middle East – stole a march on London and other UK cities.
According to official data, foreign direct investment projects fell to their lowest number since records began last year, when just 1,375 FDI programmes broke ground. Since then, the government has trumpeted several big ticket foreign investment projects, including over £150bn of tech and private equity projects unveiled at Donald Trump’s state visit last month.
In his paper published in July, Hayward argued the concierge service would improve the foreign direct investment picture to the tune of £10bn, branding it a “generational opportunity to secure… new investment potential”.
“Through strong partnerships across government, regulators, industry, nations and regions, we must act with pace and purpose to deliver this ambition and secure the global competitiveness of the UK and economic growth for our nation,” he wrote.
The concierge service’s rollout comes shortly after former Darktrace chief executive Poppy Gustafsson resigned as investment minister last month, in a move that left the government’s front bench without notable of senior private sector experience. She was replaced by entrepreneur Jason Stockwood, under whose remit the Office for Investment and service will fall.
Nikhil Rathi, chief executive of the Financial Conduct Authority, said: “We want international financial services firms to expand in the UK – investing, creating jobs and fuelling growth while delivering great outcomes for consumers. We’re making it easier for firms to set up, thrive and grow, maximising the UK’s attractiveness as a place to do business.”
The Treasury did not immediately respond to a request for comment.