A monumental investment of £150 billion from the United States has been unveiled during President Donald Trump's state visit to the UK. This investment package has been hailed by the UK government as the largest commercial deal of its kind, anticipated to generate over 7,600 high-quality jobs across various sectors in the country.
A significant portion of this investment will stem from Blackstone, the world's leading alternative asset manager, which has announced plans to invest £90 billion in the UK over the next decade. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer emphasized that these investments reflect Britain's robust economic foundation and send a strong message that the UK is both open for business and ready to spearhead economic growth. "Jobs, growth, and opportunity are what I promised for working people, and it's exactly what this state visit is delivering," he remarked.
On Thursday, prominent investors from both the UK and the US will convene with the Prime Minister and President Trump at Chequers to explore ways to strengthen economic ties and foster future collaborations. Earlier this week, tech giants like Microsoft and Google also made headlines with their own substantial commitments, pledging £22 billion and £5 billion, respectively, to enhance their operations in the UK.
These substantial investments are expected to serve as a counterbalance to the decline in investment within the pharmaceutical sector. However, it's worth noting that the recent pledges from Google and Microsoft amount to less than 4% of their annual expenditure, and the anticipated creation of 7,600 jobs pales in comparison to the staggering 160,000 payroll jobs lost since the previous year.
Blackstone's hefty investment is in addition to its prior commitment of £10 billion for the development of data centers in the UK. Other notable investments include Prologis, which plans to invest £3.9 billion in the UK's life sciences and advanced manufacturing sectors, and Palantir, which aims to invest up to £1.5 billion in UK defense innovation, creating around 350 new jobs.
American tech firm Amentum has also announced plans to create over 3,000 jobs, expanding its UK workforce by more than 50%. Meanwhile, Boeing is set to convert two 737 aircraft in Birmingham for the US Air Force, marking the first USAF aircraft built in the UK in over 50 years and potentially generating 150 high-skilled jobs.
These promised jobs are intended to be distributed across the entire UK, with 1,000 new jobs in Belfast and 6,000 roles spanning locations from Glasgow to Warrington, the Midlands, and the northeast of England. Business and Trade Secretary Peter Kyle stated that this deal reflects the growing confidence in the UK's industrial strategy. "These record-breaking investments will create thousands of high-quality jobs across the UK," he affirmed.
The UK government is also keen on providing genuine opportunities for working individuals, including apprenticeships in clean energy and careers in biotechnology and artificial intelligence. This announcement precedes the signing of the Tech Prosperity Deal on Thursday, which aims to expedite the development of new nuclear power facilities in both the US and the UK.
