Official Statistics

DBT inward investment results 2023 to 2024 (HTML version)

Updated 24 July 2024

Foreign direct investment (FDI) highlights

During the 2023 to 2024 financial year: 1,555 FDI projects landed in the UK.

71,478 new jobs were created in the UK through FDI.

11,613 existing jobs in the UK were safeguarded through FDI.

Source: Department for Business and Trade.

FDI projects

Figure 1: Number of FDI projects which landed in the UK between 2018 to 2019 and 2023 to 2024

In 2023 to 2024, 1,555 FDI projects landed in the UK.

Financial Year FDI projects
2018 to 2019 1,782
2019 to 2020 1,852
2020 to 2021 1,538
2021 to 2022 1,589
2022 to 2023 1,654
2023 to 2024 1,555

Source: Department for Business and Trade.

Between 2022 to 2023 and 2023 to 2024, the number of FDI projects which landed in the UK decreased by 6%.

See the technical annex via the DBT inward investment results 2023 to 2024 landing page for details on definitions, methodology and interpreting % changes.

DBT support for FDI projects

Figure 2: Number of DBT-supported FDI projects which landed in the UK between 2018 to 2019 and 2023 to 2024

DBT supported 1,018 of the FDI projects which landed in the UK in 2023 to 2024.

Financial Year DBT-supported FDI projects FDI projects without DBT support Total FDI Projects
2018 to 2019 1,436 346 1,782
2019 to 2020 1,449 403 1,852
2020 to 2021 1,131 407 1,538
2021 to 2022 1,174 415 1,589
2022 to 2023 1,083 571 1,654
2023 to 2024 1,018 537 1,555

Source: Department for Business and Trade.

Figure 3: Percentage that DBT-supported FDI projects make of all FDI between 2018 to 2019 and 2023 to 2024

65% of FDI projects which landed in the UK in 2023 to 2024 were supported by DBT.

Financial Year DBT-supported FDI projects FDI projects without DBT support Total
2018 to 2019 81% 19% 100%
2019 to 2020 78% 22% 100%
2020 to 2021 74% 26% 100%
2021 to 2022 74% 26% 100%
2022 to 2023 65% 35% 100%
2023 to 2024 65% 35% 100%

Source: Department for Business and Trade.

The estimated total economic impact of the DBT-supported FDI projects which landed in 2023 to 2024 was £5,757 million. See the technical annex via the inward investment results landing page for details and methodology.

New and existing investors

Figure 4: Number of FDI projects from new and existing UK investors which landed in the UK between 2018 to 2019 and 2023 to 2024

611 of the FDI projects that landed in the UK in 2023 to 2024 were from new investors.

Financial Year FDI projects from new investors FDI projects from existing investors Total FDI Projects
2018 to 2019 730 1,052 1,782
2019 to 2020 756 1,096 1,852
2020 to 2021 596 942 1,538
2021 to 2022 596 993 1,589
2022 to 2023 711 943 1,654
2023 to 2024 611 944 1,555

Source: Department for Business and Trade.

Figure 5: Percentage that FDI projects from new and existing UK investors made of all FDI which landed between 2018 to 2019 and 2023 to 2024

39% of the FDI projects that landed in the UK in 2023 to 2024 were from new investors.

Financial Year FDI projects from new investors FDI projects from existing investors Total
2018 to 2019 41% 59% 100%
2019 to 2020 41% 59% 100%
2020 to 2021 39% 61% 100%
2021 to 2022 38% 62% 100%
2022 to 2023 43% 57% 100%
2023 to 2024 39% 61% 100%

Source: Department for Business and Trade.

Types of FDI

Figure 6: Number of the 3 types of the FDI projects which landed in the UK between 2018 to 2019 and 2023 to 2024

1,023 of the FDI projects that landed in the UK in 2023 to 2024 were new investment projects.

Financial Year New investment Expansions (including retentions) Mergers and acquisitions (including joint ventures) Total FDI projects
2018 to 2019 1,035 554 193 1,782
2019 to 2020 1,153 504 195 1,852
2020 to 2021 888 477 173 1,538
2021 to 2022 907 466 216 1,589
2022 to 2023 1,048 407 199 1,654
2023 to 2024 1,023 357 175 1,555

Source: Department for Business and Trade.

Between 2022 to 2023 and 2023 to 2024, the number of the 3 types of the FDI projects which landed in the UK:

  • decreased by 2% for new investment projects
  • decreased by 12% for expansion projects (including retentions)
  • decreased by 12% for mergers and acquisitions (including joint ventures)

New and safeguarded jobs

Figure 7: Number of new jobs created and existing jobs safeguarded through FDI projects which landed in the UK between 2018 to 2019 and 2023 to 2024

71,478 new jobs were created and 11,613 existing jobs were safeguarded in the UK by FDI projects.

Financial Year Jobs created by FDI projects Jobs safeguarded by FDI projects
2018 to 2019 57,625 6,998
2019 to 2020 56,117 9,021
2020 to 2021 55,319 18,187
2021 to 2022 84,759 7,765
2022 to 2023 79,549 6,646
2023 to 2024 71,478 11,613

Source: Department for Business and Trade.

Between 2022 to 2023 and 2023 to 2024, the number of new jobs created through FDI projects which landed in the UK decreased by 10% and the number of existing jobs safeguarded through FDI which landed in the UK increased by 75%.

FDI projects and jobs in 2023 to 2024 by UK region

Figure 8: Number of FDI projects and the jobs created and safeguarded through them in 2023 to 2024, by UK region

West Midlands and the South East saw the most FDI projects created outside London, with the West Midlands also seeing the most jobs created outside of London.

Region FDI projects Jobs created by FDI projects Jobs safeguarded by FDI projects
North East 67 4,296 334
North West 128 5,097 c
Yorkshire and The Humber 107 3,732 c
East Midlands 73 2,701 c
West Midlands 133 7,581 c
East of England 79 5,045 707
London 503 19,736 c
South East 133 4,405 c
South West 72 2,190 c
Scotland 125 4,035 2,307
Wales 53 1,904 1,864
Northern Ireland 24 1,572 c

Source: Department for Business and Trade.

c: Indicates data is disclosive.

Note: 58 multiple location projects associated with 9,184 new jobs and [c] safeguarded jobs are not included.

FDI projects and jobs in 2023 to 2024 by Local Enterprise Partnership

Figure 9: Number of FDI projects and the jobs created and safeguarded through them in 2023 to 2024, by Local Enterprise Partnership

Of Local Enterprise Partnerships in England, Greater Manchester and Greater Birmingham and Solihull saw the most FDI projects and jobs created, respectively.

Local Enterprise Partnership Single-sited FDI projects Jobs created by FDI projects Jobs safeguarded by FDI projects
Berkshire 26 399 c
Black Country c c c
Buckinghamshire c c c
Cheshire and Warrington 19 844 c
Coast to Capital c c c
Cornwall and Isles of Scilly c c c
Coventry and Warwickshire 44 2,161 c
Cumbria c c c
Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire 27 1,499 c
Dorset c c c
Enterprise M3 24 815 c
Gloucestershire c c c
Greater Birmingham and Solihull 59 4,963 c
Greater Cambridge and Greater Peterborough 26 1,693 c
Greater Lincolnshire 17 198 c
Greater Manchester 61 3,493 c
Heart of the South West 18 446 c
Hertfordshire 20 483 c
Hull and East Yorkshire c c c
Lancashire c c c
Leeds City Region 52 1,594 c
Leicester and Leicestershire 21 710 c
Liverpool City Region 30 561 c
New Anglia 14 516 c
North East c c c
Oxfordshire 36 777 c
Solent c c c
South East 21 1,201 c
South East Midlands 30 3,010 c
South Yorkshire 27 754 c
Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire c c c
Swindon and Wiltshire c c c
Tees Valley c c c
The Marches 16 190 c
West of England 24 1,112 c
Worcestershire c c c
York and North Yorkshire 12 527 c

Source: Department for Business and Trade.

c: Indicates data is disclosive.

Note: 62 multiple location projects associated with 9,232 new jobs and [c] safeguarded jobs are not included. Some local authority districts can be allocated 2 LEPs resulting in overlapping LEP boundaries. Where a single-sited project has occurred within these districts, it is attributed to both associated LEPs . Therefore, project and job totals in this table may not sum to headline totals reported earlier in these results.

Top source markets for FDI projects in 2023 to 2024

Figure 10: Number of FDI projects and the jobs created and safeguarded through them in 2023 to 2024, by source market

United States was the top source market for FDI in 2023 to 2024.

Country FDI projects Jobs created by FDI projects Jobs safeguarded by FDI projects
United States 376 19,341 1,698
India 108 7,533 c
France 102 5,747 c
Germany 90 7,664 c
Spain 66 2,560 c
Italy 60 2,561 c
Sweden 55 3,578 c
Netherlands 48 2,008 c
Australia 47 1,180 c
Japan 43 1,278 c
Ireland 40 1,298 c
China 39 2,158 c
Switzerland 37 1,287 c
Canada 36 771 c
Denmark 30 1,349 c
Turkey 30 846 c
Norway 26 278 c
Singapore 25 502 c
Austria 22 300 c
Hong Kong 22 1,209 c
Israel 19 532 c
Poland 19 1,272 c
Belgium 18 339 c
South Africa 15 1,040 c
Portugal 13 116 c
Finland 12 153 c
Brazil 11 334 c
Luxembourg 11 436 c

Source: Department for Business and Trade.

c: Indicates data is disclosive.

Note: 135 FDI projects associated with 3,808 jobs created relate to countries not shown.

FDI projects and jobs in 2023 to 2024 by sector

Figure 11: Number of FDI projects and the jobs created and safeguarded through them in 2023 to 2024, by sector

The software and computer services sector saw the most FDI projects and new jobs in 2023 to 2024.

Sector FDI projects Jobs created by FDI projects Jobs safeguarded by FDI projects
Advanced engineering and supply chain 129 3,253 519
Aerospace 46 2,187 c
Automotive 83 4,524 5,324
Biotechnology and pharmaceuticals 47 926 c
Business and consumer services 61 3,541 c
Chemicals and agriculture c c c
Creative and media 69 2,628 c
Electronics and communications 45 872 c
Environment, infrastructure and transportation 163 6,848 483
Extraction industries c c c
Financial services 199 8,113 c
Food and drink 92 4,693 938
Life sciences 92 3,201 c
Renewable energy 75 3,863 c
Software and computer services 263 15,933 c
Wholesale 147 9,825 c

Source: Department for Business and Trade.

c: Indicates data is disclosive.

Sectors are built up from categories defined in DBT’s internal database.

DBT’s Global Entrepreneur Programme

A subset of the DBT-supported FDI projects are related to DBT’s Global Entrepreneur Programme (GEP).

This programme attracts and enables high potential, internationally mobile entrepreneurs and their fast growth, innovation-rich companies to scale and internationalise from a UK global headquarters.

Figure 12: Number of GEP FDI projects which landed in 2023 to 2024 and the jobs they created

There were 81 GEP FDI projects in 2023 to 2024.

Financial Year GEP FDI projects Jobs created by GEP FDI projects
2018 to 2019 83 1,740
2019 to 2020 89 1,691
2020 to 2021 69 1,647
2021 to 2022 68 1,649
2022 to 2023 109 2,544
2023 to 2024 81 2,015

Source: Department for Business and Trade.

Between 2022 to 2023 and 2023 to 2024, the number of GEP FDI projects and associated jobs created decreased by:

  • 26% for GEP FDI projects
  • 21% for new jobs created

Net zero

The Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution sets out the approach government will take to build back better, support green jobs, and accelerate our path to net zero.

Since the 2022 to 2023 financial year, DBT has reported the number of investment projects (both FDI and non-FDI) which align with the Ten Point Plan and the new jobs that these projects created. For information on how alignment to the Ten Point Plan is verified, see the technical annex via the DBT inward investment results 2023 to 2024 landing page.

Figure 13: Number of investment projects which aligned with the Ten Point Plan and landed between 2022 to 2023 and 2023 to 2024 and the jobs they created

205 investment projects which landed in 2023 to 2024 were aligned with the Ten Point Plan.

Financial Year All projects New jobs
2021 to 2022 91 8,804
2022 to 2023 211 20,635
2023 to 2024 205 15,229

Venture capital and large capital

DBT measure the value of 2 specific types of capital investment: venture capital and large capital. Some of this investment meets the criteria to be classified as FDI but some is either non-FDI capital investment or commitments to invest. See technical annex via the inward investment results landing page for full details.

Venture capital

Venture capital attracts overseas investment from corporate venture capitalists and venture capital funds into high-value start-ups, growth companies and funds.

Figure 14: Value of the venture capital investment projects which landed between 2018 to 2019 and 2023 to 2024

Venture capital investment worth £860 million landed in 2023 to 2024.

Financial Year Investments (£m)
2018 to 2019 583
2019 to 2020 1,031
2020 to 2021 773
2021 to 2022 960
2022 to 2023 1,239
2023 to 2024 860

Source: Department for Business and Trade.

Large capital

Large capital involves overseas institutional investment into large capital projects in real estate, infrastructure and energy.

Figure 15: Value of the large capital investment projects and commitments to invest which landed between 2018 to 2019 and 2023 to 2024

Large capital investments worth £7,049 million landed in 2023 to 2024.

Financial Year Investments (£m) Commitments to invest (£m)
2018 to 2019 3,732 7,373
2019 to 2020 4,023 11,151
2020 to 2021 3,821 7,503
2021 to 2022 4,683 13,911
2022 to 2023 17,253 25,777
2023 to 2024 7,049 33,796

Source: Department for Business and Trade.

How the Department for Business and Trade can help you

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Disclaimer

Whereas every effort has been made to ensure that the information in this document is accurate, the Department for Business and Trade does not accept liability for any errors, omissions or misleading statements, and no warranty is given or responsibility accepted as to the standing of any individual, firm, company or other organisation mentioned.