Foreign investment too focused on London to level up

Foreign investment in the UK is too focused on London and the South East to help with “levelling up”, MPs have said. Attracting direct investment to the regions by overseas asset managers is a key plank of the government’s agenda, but the Commons’ international trade committee said that warm words were not being backed up by firm action. London and the South East of England attract the “lion’s share” of investment, accounting for 47.5% of projects announced by inward investors since 2003. MPs pointed out that new trade and investment hubs, designed to promote local investment initiatives, had been set up in each of the devolved nations, but there was only one in the English regions, in Darlington in the North East. The Times (£) The FT (£) To send feedback, e-mail piers.wehner@eg.co.uk or tweet @PiersWehner or @EGPropertyNews