A white paper by Adam Breeze, founder of Breeze Strategy. Published September 2026. 48 pages.
Download the full report (PDF)
Summary
UK inward investment is in crisis. The number of foreign direct investment (FDI) projects coming into the UK has fallen 45% since 2019/20, and the decline is hitting hardest in the English regions that need investment most.
Global forces explain some of the fall. This paper focuses on the part the UK can fix: the structures, funding and practice of investment promotion. The national lead pipeline to local teams is broken, local capacity has been cut to the bone, and around one in three people in England live in areas with no effective inward investment support.
The good news is that a world-class investment promotion service can be built in months, at modest cost. The paper sets out 17 recommendations, ranked by how quickly they can be delivered.
Key findings at a glance
- FDI projects down 45%: from 1,852 in 2019/20 to 1,020 in 2025/26, including a 25% fall in the last year alone (DBT inward investment results).
- New projects down 34% in two years: from 1,023 to 679.
- Jobs down 18%: FDI-linked jobs have fallen for four years running, from 84,759 in 2021/22 to 69,166 in 2025/26.
- Government-supported projects down 55%: from 1,436 in 2018/19 to 648 in 2025/26.
- FDI flows down 68% in a year: from £41.3 billion in 2023 to £13.4 billion in 2024 (ONS).
- The UK is falling twice as fast as Europe: UK projects fell 14% in 2025 against a 7% European average, leaving the UK on 730 projects behind France on 852 (EY European Investment Monitor).
- The English regions are hit hardest: North East England down 47%, Yorkshire and the Humber down 46%, East of England down 41%, North West England down 40% in 2025.
- Places with a properly resourced agency win: London, Scotland and Northern Ireland lead on projects per head. All three have well-funded agencies with their own overseas offices. No English region outside London does.
- The local lead pipeline has dried up: in conversations with more than 30 UK local teams over the past year, almost all reported significant drops in leads coming from national level.
- Most investment starts at home: 60% of FDI projects come from investors already established in the UK, yet aftercare remains consistently under-resourced.
Which UK regions attract the most FDI per head?
Raw project counts flatter London. Measured per 100,000 people, the gap between places with strong investment agencies and those without becomes clear. Figures are Breeze Strategy analysis of EY European Investment Monitor data for 2025.
| Nation or region | FDI projects per 100,000 people (2025) |
|---|---|
| Greater London | 3.1 |
| Scotland | 1.9 |
| Northern Ireland | 1.5 |
| West Midlands | 1.1 |
| Wales | 0.8 |
| North East England | 0.8 |
| North West England | 0.7 |
| East Midlands | 0.7 |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | 0.5 |
| South West England | 0.5 |
| South East England | 0.4 |
| East of England | 0.3 |
Bright spots in England include Manchester and Birmingham, plus Derby, Telford and Swindon, which outperform their peers per head. All have prioritised inward investment for years and built proactive teams close to their business communities.
Why has UK inward investment declined?
The national-to-local lead pipeline is broken
National teams used to act as the UK’s front door, validating enquiries and passing them to the best-fit regional and local teams. The Office for Investment (OfI) has since narrowed its focus to a small number of large “transformational” projects. A 50-job factory for a US manufacturer may not interest Whitehall, but in Rochdale, Stoke or Southend it changes communities.
Constant rebranding and restructuring
The UK’s national investment service has carried seven names since 1977, from the Invest in Britain Bureau to today’s Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade (BIST) and OfI. Compare IDA Ireland (since 1949), JETRO (1952), EDB Singapore (1961) and KOTRA (1962). Investors value stability, and the UK has offered the opposite.
England has no national investment agency
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have around 200 overseas representatives across roughly 80 offices. In England, only London & Partners has its own overseas network. Non-mayoral areas, including Cornwall, Cumbria, Kent, Lancashire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire and Surrey, are largely cut off from national lead flow.
Local teams have been hollowed out
England went from nine regional agencies with 10 to 20 inward investment staff each (1999 to 2012), to 38 thinly resourced Local Enterprise Partnerships, to today’s fragmented picture. Investment promotion is not a statutory duty, so council-funded teams are first in line for cuts.
What does the report recommend?
Seventeen recommendations, split into fixing the structures and fixing the strategic approach. Listed in order of deliverability, starting with changes that cost little or nothing.
| No. | Recommendation | Lead | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Re-establish the Committee on Overseas Promotion as a quarterly forum of national, regional and local teams | OfI | Immediate |
| 2 | Publish annual inward investment results properly, with trend analysis and a practitioner conference | OfI / BIST | Immediate |
| 3 | Create Invest in England as a dedicated OfI unit based outside London | OfI / BIST | Year 1 |
| 4 | Mandate OfI to raise a defined share of its funding from commercial sources | BIST / OfI | Year 1, phased over five years |
| 5 | Introduce accreditation for Local Investment Partnerships with minimum service standards | OfI | Years 1 to 2 |
| 6 | Create an English Investment Promotion Fund to match-fund local capacity | BIST | Year 2 |
| 7 | Move local investment promotion out of councils and into chamber and university-led partnerships | Mayors, councils, chambers | Years 1 to 3 |
| 8 | Make OfI an independent agency with a non-political board drawn from business, chambers and regional FDI experts | HM Treasury / BIST | Years 2 to 3 |
| 9 | Apply a policy test so British companies are never disadvantaged by FDI incentives or services | BIST, local teams | Immediate |
| 10 | End taxpayer-funded trade and investment missions to Red Flag states | BIST, mayors, universities | Immediate |
| 11 | Add China to the Enhanced Tier of the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme | Home Office | Immediate |
| 12 | Refocus local effort on investable propositions and a certified pipeline of ready-to-go sites | Local teams / OfI | Ongoing |
| 13 | Introduce a Red Flag system for target markets, with reciprocal priority for friends and allies | BIST / FCDO | Year 1 |
| 14 | Overhaul the UK inward investment website into an open platform for all accredited teams | OfI / BIST | Year 1 |
| 15 | Open the Global Entrepreneur Programme to British founders and charge foreign users | BIST | Year 1 |
| 16 | Extend National Security & Investment Act screening to energy and infrastructure projects | Cabinet Office / BIST | Years 1 to 2 (legislation) |
| 17 | Devolve fiscal levers on business rates and corporation tax to combined authorities | HM Treasury | Years 2 to 3 (legislation) |
The big ideas in brief
Invest in England
A dedicated unit inside the Office for Investment, based in a city such as Manchester, Birmingham or Leeds, acting as England’s investment promotion agency. It would find leads, link the embassy network to English places and channel funding to local teams. A £5 million redirection from the GREAT campaign budget would be enough to start it.
Local Investment Partnerships (LIPs)
A national accreditation scheme for local investment teams, modelled on the Local Visitor Economy Partnerships that VisitEngland created after the de Bois tourism review. Accredited teams would get direct access to leads, capacity funding and embassy collaboration. The paper expects 30 to 40 LIPs across England, not tied to council boundaries.
A £50 million English Investment Promotion Fund
Roughly 1% of the department’s £5.3 billion annual budget, devolved to match-fund local teams. Two tiers: £100,000 to £1 million for accredited LIPs, and £25,000 to £100,000 for teams working towards accreditation. Canada’s CanExport Community Investments programme runs on a similar basis.
Private funding for investment promotion
Business France raised 59% of its 2025 budget (€130 million) from commercial sources. Business Sweden gets 40% from fees and sales. Closer to home, Marketing Derby is backed by more than 350 private sector bondholders. The paper proposes OfI raises 50% of its funding commercially within five years.
Put chambers and universities at the centre
Chambers of commerce are trusted, long-standing and recognised by investors worldwide. The paper argues they, alongside universities, should host local investment promotion rather than councils. Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce and the Invest in UK University R&D Midlands collaboration of 17 universities are cited as models.
A “Friends First” approach and Red Flag states
The US is the UK’s largest source of FDI, with 239 projects and 15,796 new jobs in 2025/26, and accounts for £34 in every £100 of UK foreign investment. China delivered 26 projects and accounts for 10p in every £100. The paper calls for a Red Flag system covering China, Russia, Iran and North Korea, an end to taxpayer-funded missions to those states and tighter screening of critical infrastructure.
End two-tier business support
British founders should get the same backing as incoming investors. The Global Entrepreneur Programme has attracted around 70 overseas entrepreneurs a year since 2005, while thousands of UK business owners have left. The paper proposes opening it to British founders and charging foreign users.
Frequently asked questions
How much has UK FDI fallen?
UK FDI projects fell from 1,852 in 2019/20 to 1,020 in 2025/26, a 45% decline, according to Department for Business and Trade results. FDI-linked jobs fell 18% from 2021/22 to 2025/26.
Which English regions have lost the most inward investment?
In 2025, North East England fell 47%, Yorkshire and the Humber 46%, East of England 41% and North West England 40%. The South East and East of England are now the weakest English regions per head of population.
Why do Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland outperform English regions?
Each has a well-funded national investment agency with its own overseas offices, around 200 overseas representatives between them. England outside London has no equivalent and relies on a national pipeline that now prioritises a small number of very large projects.
What is Invest in England?
A proposed unit within the Office for Investment, based outside London, that would act as England’s investment promotion agency, generate leads and pass them to accredited local teams across England.
What is a Local Investment Partnership?
A proposed accredited local investment team that meets minimum service standards, has secure core funding and works with chambers and universities. Accreditation would unlock direct access to leads and devolved funding.
How could the UK fund better investment promotion?
Through a £50 million English Investment Promotion Fund (around 1% of the department’s budget) and by mandating the Office for Investment to raise half its funding commercially, following Business France and Business Sweden.
About the author
Adam Breeze is the founder of Breeze Strategy, a Manchester-based inward investment consultancy. He has more than 30 years’ inward investment experience, including roles at Trafford Park Development Corporation (where he helped establish MIDAS, now Invest Manchester) and as Head of Inward Investment at English Partnerships. He co-founded Techlocate, the world’s first inward investment portal, later acquired by Tenon PLC.
Adam has advised more than 100 foreign investors including Airbus, BMW and Pfizer, and more than 50 UK inward investment teams from Aberdeen to Brighton. He also advises investment agencies in the US, Canada, Germany, France, Ireland, Sweden and the Baltics.
Connect with Adam on LinkedIn or get in touch.
How to cite this report
Breeze, A. (2026). Rebooting Inward Investment: How FDI Can Kickstart UK Growth. Breeze Strategy, Manchester. Available at: https://inwardinvestment.co.uk/rebooting-inward-investment/
Main data sources: Department for Business and Trade inward investment results 2025 to 2026; ONS foreign direct investment statistics; EY European Attractiveness Survey 2026; Breeze Strategy analysis and interviews with more than 30 UK investment teams. Full references are in the PDF.
Download the full report (PDF, 48 pages)
The views in this paper are those of Adam Breeze and not necessarily those of any Breeze Strategy client, past or present.
