British tech companies at forefront of Global Investment Summit

More than 200 global chief executives will gather in London for a major conference designed to show the UK as one of the best places in the world to do business

Hampton Court Palace, one of the favourite residences of Henry VIII, will host the Global Investment Summit 2023. Getty Images

Senior company executives, investors, innovators and politicians will meet in London on Monday for the second Global Investment Summit.

Designed to attract investment into the UK's technology companies, this year's GIS will be held at Hampton Court Palace, one of the favourite residences of King Henry VIII.

"I’m hugely excited that our Global Investment Summit will be staged at the historic Hampton Court Palace," said Minister for Investment Dominic Johnson.

"For centuries, this palace was a focal point for exploration, innovation and discovery, with famous Britons from Henry VIII to William Shakespeare having lived or visited here.

"It is fitting that Hampton Court Palace will continue this tradition and bring together cutting-edge British innovators and the world’s biggest investors to forge new dynamic partnerships."

More than 200 of the world’s leading chief executives are expected to attend the GIS, which the UK government is hoping will drive billions of pounds of new investment into the British economy.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will be joined for a discussion on the importance of investing in skills and technology by Stephen Schwarzman, the chief executive of Blackstone, one of the world's largest asset managers.

Blackstone Group co-founder Stephen Schwarzman will discuss skills and technology with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. EPA

Other major figures from the world of finance expected to attend the GIS include David Solomon, chief executive of Goldman Sachs; Amanda Blanc, chief executive of Aviva; and JP Morgan Chase's chief executive, Jamie Dimon.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) into the UK has struggled in recent years, but Britain remains the second-most-attractive country in Europe for investment, according to consultants EY. Its UK Attractiveness Survey showed that total FDI projects into the UK fell by 6.4 per cent in 2022.

'Front of the pack'

British designer and entrepreneur Anya Hindmarsh will address the summit on the importance of displaying British small-company ingenuity and creativity.

"There is a huge opportunity to scale UK SMEs [small and medium-sized enterprises] with the right investment and global partnership, so I welcome the chance to speak about the potential of smaller growing businesses to this important audience," she said.

Companies involved in life sciences, technology and advanced manufacturing will take centre stage, while the GIS also has the UK's largest banks, Barclays, HSBC and Lloyds, as sponsors and partners.

"The UK is a top global investment destination, but we need to pull out all the stops to stay at the front of the pack," the UK's Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch said.

"The Global Investment Summit will build on the landmark AI Summit and is set to secure billions of pounds of valuable investment that will help drive economic growth and create jobs in our most important sectors, from tech and advanced manufacturing to life sciences and the creative industries."

An ST40 reactor built by Tokamak Energy. The company which is working to create commercially-viable fusion energy, will display its wares at the GIS. Photo: Tokamak Energy

Those displaying their products and innovations will include the British automotive companies McLaren and Aston Martin.

Also displaying their innovative AI and quantum computing applications will be Fruit Cast, Delta G and Quantum DX, while the likes of Tokamak Energy and Core Power will be presenting their cutting-edge technologies in nuclear energy.

“The Global Investment Summit is an exciting platform to showcase the latest developments from Tokamak Energy," Warrick Matthews, the company's chief executive, told The National.

"We're on a mission to deliver clean, secure and affordable fusion energy in the 2030s, as well as position ourselves as the leading supplier of high temperature superconductor technology for fusion and other new applications.

"Fusion energy is poised to become one of the 21st century's most valuable new technologies and we look forward to important conversations at next week’s GIS to accelerate progress.”

Nicholas Hawker, chief executive and founder of First Light Fusion, also wants a boost for the new energy as it takes on AI technology from the summit. "The UK is a global leader and there is a huge investment opportunity," he wrote in a blog. "There is also an opportunity for investment to unlock the next generation of tools that will propel us even quicker."

Ian Stuart, the chief executive of HSBC UK, said it was backing the summit to boost the country's role as the third largest venture capital destination in the world, with $15 billion committed this year alone, behind the US and China. "It will be critical to ensure that life science and technological companies can scale up and power up the UK economy," he said. "Many of the challenges we face globally will be met by the solutions developed by UK companies in life sciences, health care, and climate tech."