The Brexit vote has dealt short-term damage to the UK’s offering as a foreign direct investment location, a report claims, with the country experiencing a 42pc fall in greenfield capital investment year-on-year.
The number of projects dropped by 9pc, as did job creation, according to the data from the ‘Financial Times’ FDI Intelligence unit.
The UK remained at the top of the European league table by far, however, by project numbers and market share.
There were 1,039 FDI projects into the UK last year, compared with 472 in Germany, which was in second place, and 187 for Ireland. The Irish figure was up 6pc year-on-year. The UK has a 22pc market share in Europe, with Ireland on 4pc.
“What we can see already is that Brexit has done short-term damage to the UK’s once enviable FDI position,” said Courtney Fingar, editor-in-chief of fDi magazine, and head of content for fDi Intelligence.
“Despite admirably solid economic growth – at least in western terms – the UK experienced a 42pc decline in greenfield capital investment year-on-year and a 9pc decline in job creation via greenfield FDI. The number of projects has declined 9pc”.
Ms Fingar said many investors have opted to postpone UK expansion or investment plans until there is more clarity on what kind of agreement the UK is able to strike with Brussels.
“Despite these uncertainties, the UK has held on to its top-ranked position as an investment destination in Europe, showing that its FDI appeal, while dented, does retain some of its strength.” Globally, greenfield FDI continued to rise, with capital investment increasing by 6pc. In the US, inward investment jumped nearly 40pc in January.
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