PRESS RELEASE : Rishi Sunak – The UK and US must build an alliance that protects our economies [June 2023]

Economic and defence cooperation must be the two pillars of the UK-US alliance, the Prime Minister will tell US lawmakers and businesspeople this week, as he travels to Washington DC.

Pointing to the role our defence partnership has played in protecting our people for decades, the Prime Minister will say that extensive cooperation on economic issues will allow us to do the same thing for the next century.

In recent months and years, the world has seen an increasing number of examples of hostile states using economic coercion to their advantage. From Putin driving up European energy prices, to China’s extensive use of sanctions to punish individuals and government who speak out against human rights abuses.

While our traditional security remains paramount, those who seek to do us harm are increasingly targeting other domains. They are manipulating global markets, withholding crucial resources and trying to establish a stranglehold over the industries that will define our future.

If we are to stay one step ahead and ensure the safety and prosperity of our citizens, we need to make sure our cooperation on economic security is as extensive as our cooperation on traditional security.

The existing strength of the UK-US economic relationship means we are ideally placed to take on these challenges together. Our trade relationship is worth £279 billion a year, and the amount invested in one another’s economies has now surpassed £1 trillion.

US firms have committed more than £14 billion of new investment in the UK, announced today. This includes £583 million of investment in projects including World Fuel Services and Meld’s green hydrogen facility in Hull, a new Mars facility in the London Gateway Freeport, expansions of BNY Mellon’s existing and Vanguard’s new Manchester offices and a new HCA Healthcare facility in Birmingham. Between them these new investments will create almost 2,500 jobs.

Further investments by US companies in the UK include £9 billion from investment management company BlackRock – taking BlackRock’s total UK investment to £500 billion, £2.4 billion invested by Blackstone, £2 billion invested by KKR and £521m invested by CD&R.

These investments are just a snapshot of the vast economic connections between the UK and the US. In recent months US company Nuveen has acquired Arcmont Asset Management for £800 million and Longfellow have established a £1.5 billion life sciences and innovation real estate fund – bringing the total value of major investments by US companies into the UK to nearly £17 billion since the Prime Minister took office.

Because our economies are so interlinked, with nearly 1.5 million Brits working for American companies and more than 1.2 million Americans working for British companies, it is paramount that we approach these issues in a unified and coordinated way.

The Prime Minister will use his visit to the US this week to drive forward these efforts. In his meetings with President Biden, Congresspeople and American business leaders he will advocate for further joint action to safeguard against external threats to our economies, strengthen our supply chains and support the industries of the future.

The Prime Minister said:

The UK and US have always worked in lockstep to protect our people and uphold our way of life. As the challenges and threats we face change, we need to build an alliance that also protects our economies.

Just as interoperability between our militaries has given us a battlefield advantage over our adversaries, greater economic interoperability will give us a crucial edge in the decades ahead.

By combining our vast economic resources and expertise, we will grow our economies, create jobs and keep our people safe long into the future.

A re-energised and enhanced economic relationship between the UK and the US presents huge opportunities for our people – supporting the PM’s priority to grow our economy and create better paying jobs.

Every day, innovations in science and technology are unlocking new possibilities for our people and businesses – doing everything from bringing down the cost of the things we buy to accelerating our transition to clean energy.

In recent years the UK and US have taken a number of steps to enhance our economic relationship, removing barriers including the ban on British beef and lamb exports, and tariffs on steel and whisky. In recent weeks we agreed a new deal to give architects more access to US markets.

Quotes from US businesses:

Stephen A. Schwartzman, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Blackstone

As one of the largest overseas investors in the UK, Blackstone is a strong believer in the resilience of the UK economy.  The building of our new headquarters in London is a clear vote of confidence in its future as a financial centre.

Adebayo Ogunlesi, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Global Infrastructure Partners

The United Kingdom has always been, and remains, an important market for Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP). We believe the UK is an attractive market for infrastructure investments and are privileged to have invested in some market-leading infrastructure companies that provide essential services in the UK, including London City Airport, London Gatwick Airport, Edinburgh Airport, Hornsea 1, Peel Ports, Vantage Towers and Scotia Gas Networks. We look forward to continuing to invest in and grow our companies and explore new investment opportunities.

Rob Sharps, CEO and President, T. Rowe Price

The UK continues to be a world-leading center for asset management. We appreciate the UK government’s commitment to pursue targeted policy reforms to ensure that remains true for many years to come.  T. Rowe Price has been in the City of London since 1979 and intends to stay for the foreseeable future. Our expanded presence in the City underscores our commitment to our clients, helps us attract and retain top talent, and supports our long-term international growth plans.

Adam Sichol, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Longfellow Real Estate Partners

With a rich history of innovation and research, the United Kingdom is the next logical step of growth for Longfellow. Our two nations have an incredible bond that encourages collaboration, growth, and ultimately the creation of thoughtful, world-class space that supports the UK’s leading industries such as life science and innovation ecosystems.

Jose Minaya, Chief Executive Officer, Nuveen

We have seen continued potential to expand our investment capabilities and talent in the UK, most recently demonstrated through our $1 billion acquisition of Arcmont Asset Management, one of the largest private lenders in Europe. We also continue to deepen our real estate and alternatives capabilities in London and Edinburgh. Our continued success has naturally required a need to support that growth with top industry talent, and we now have almost 400 employees in the UK, including several key global company leaders. That is double our head count from 2019 and makes the UK our largest base by personnel outside of the US.

Michael J. Kasbar, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, World Fuel Services Corporation

We are excited to continue investing in the United Kingdom to support their critically important energy transition objectives that drive energy independence and decarbonization. This is just the latest chapter of World Fuel’s commitment to clean energy and one that we expect will foster further investment in the United Kingdom’s energy diversification strategy.

Phebe N. Novakovic, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, General Dynamics

General Dynamics has been a partner with the UK defence industry and the Ministry of Defence for over 20 years to provide mission essential equipment to the UK military.  We are proud of the investment and partnerships we have built over the years.

Greg Hayes, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Raytheon Technologies

Raytheon Technologies’ businesses have been investing across England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland for over a century. We are especially proud that our 6,750 local employees, nearly £1 billion annual aerospace and defence supply chain investment, and more than a dozen sites support innovation and contribute to economic growth in every region of the United Kingdom

Thomas A. Bell, Chief Executive Officer, Leidos

Leidos’ investments represent our continued commitment to the UK and our transatlantic partnership. We firmly believe in the strength of the UK defence and national security industry and the tremendous potential it offers. By continuing our investment, we aim to accelerate technological advancements, develop local skills and forge stronger ties between our two countries, ultimately enhancing our collective defence and security capabilities.

Ravi Kumar S, Chief Executive Officer, Cognizant

The UK is a very important market for Cognizant and we see tremendous growth opportunity. Last year we delivered on our promise to open delivery centres in Leeds and Northern Ireland and just this year opened our flag ship London Collaboration Hub for our Cognizant employees. As a business we remain committed to investing in the UK and see the success of our UK business as a pivotal part of Cognizant’s growth overall.

Arvind Krishna, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, IBM

The government of the United Kingdom has adopted a bold strategy for securing the country’s place as a global leader in technology and innovation. Prioritizing the responsible creation and use of powerful technologies, and especially AI and quantum computers, is not only a value that IBM shares, but one that is essential to ensuring these innovations have a net positive impact on society. IBM applauds this approach by the Prime Minister and his government. His visit to Washington only underscores how important the strong relationship between the two countries will be in guiding society into this exciting new era of technology.

Saeed Amidi, Chief Executive Officer, Plug and Play

At Plug and Play we are excited and committed to investing and continuing to grow in the United Kingdom. Since we officially launched in 2022 we have been growing our own team and now have over 60 investments in UK startups. We are particularly excited about the green technology startups that the UK is beginning to build – just this week we invested and partnered with a EV Battery startup called About:Energy.

Our mission is to build ecosystems and invest across the United Kingdom. In the West Midlands we Founded a new Mobility Innovation Platform in collaboration with Jaguar Land Rover and other key partners such as The University of Warwick. The platform continues to grow with Bentley Motors and Novelis joining in 2024. We have bold ambitions to build other globally recognised innovation platforms, across the West Midlands and other important cities.

Kathy Jenkins, Chief Executive Officer, Marshall Group

We believe Greensboro is the ideal home of our US Aerospace operations and are very grateful for the exceptional support and partnership we have received from Greensboro City Council and the State Government of North Carolina.

We are excited to put over 55 years of C-130 experience to work in providing an unmatched standard of in-country support for existing and new US-based partners and customers.