UK ‘deal-busters’ blamed for institutional dim view

Major coup: Employees listening to a speech at the Nissan production plant in Sunderland, England. Recent successes of direct investment in the UK include commitments to build electric car battery gigafactories by Nissan and Jaguar Land Rover. — AFP

LONDON: The United Kingdom is losing foreign investment by insisting that companies sound out other countries first to gauge the level of state support on offer, according to both a former minister and a senior civil servant.

Institutional fear about “picking winners” and value for money has resulted in strategic investments destined for the United Kingdom going to rival countries instead, said Ceri Smith, director general for strategy and investment at the Department for Business and Trade.