Our unmissable weekly email of all the gossip, rumours and covert goings-on inside the Square Mile
Sign upI would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.
Global investors being courted by Rachel Reeves in New York have begun signing up to a UK-based summit aimed at boosting investment as part of the Government’s growth strategy.
The Chancellor is on a three-day visit to the US and Canada where she is pushing the message that “Britain is open for business”.
The International Investment Summit, which Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer will host on October 14 – two weeks ahead of the autumn Budget – is seen by ministers as a way of demonstrating that the UK “is back on the world stage” after a period of political and economic turmoil.
The message is clear: Britain is open for business
Rachel Reeves
The chief executives of BNY, Blackstone and CyrusOne, whom Ms Reeves is meeting in New York, have all confirmed their attendance at the gathering, according to the Treasury.
The Chancellor, whose trip takes place against a backdrop of violent disorder across the UK, detailed her efforts to bring about economic stability since Labour’s election win last month.
Last week, she scrapped a series of infrastructure projects and announced the winter fuel allowance for pensions would be means-tested, among a series of measures aimed at filling a £22 billion black hole in the public finances.
She declined to rule out raising capital gains tax in October’s Budget, telling Bloomberg TV on Monday that the Government will “strike the right balance” on tax policy following speculation she could target the capital gains levy.
In a meeting with artificial intelligence infrastructure startup CoreWeave, Ms Reeves will also set out a new Government commitment to support the building of data centres across the UK.
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner is already reviewing two appealed planning applications for data centres in Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves in her office at No 11 Downing Street (Jordan Pettitt/PA)PA WireRead More SponsoredMs Reeves said: “The message is clear: Britain is open for business. And as more investors sign up for our International Investment Summit, it shows they believe it too.
“They recognise we have taken some difficult decisions to fix the foundations of our economy and set us on a path to sustained economic growth as government’s number one mission – it is only by doing so that we can capitalise on Britain’s immense investment potential.
“By rebuilding Britain we can make every part of the country better off. Aiming to have datacentres across the country is part of that. We are already reviewing two planning applications in the South East, but I’m determined to see new digital investments up and down the UK.”
Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds added: “This summit is an important opportunity to show Britain is back on the world stage and build long-term relationships that will boost investment across the UK in the months and years ahead.”
Visiting Toronto on Wednesday, Ms Reeves will meet former Bank of England governor Mark Carney, who is part of a nine-strong taskforce working on the new national wealth fund designed to attract billions in private sector investment to support UK growth.
