Foreign investment into the UK’s most productive industries has plunged since the 2016 Brexit referendum, official data showed, suggesting that uncertainty over future trading arrangements with the EU is stopping businesses from committing to the country.
The number of foreign investment projects into the UK dropped by 14 per cent to 1,782 in the fiscal year ending March 2019, marking the lowest level in six years, according to a report published on Wednesday by the UK’s Department for International Trade. It is the second consecutive annual fall since March 2017.
The data suggests that “foreign companies have become more cautious about investing in the UK due to Brexit uncertainties”, said Archer Howard, chief economic adviser at EY Item Club, a consultancy. “This may have led to the significant delaying of investment projects, at the very least, if not outright cancellation.” [...]
Figures from fDi Markets, a research firm that helps the DIT compile its investment data, show that the fall in foreign investment in the UK during the past three years came as the rest of the EU experienced an increase. [...]
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