City of London Drew Fewer Foreign Investors in 2020, Report Says
- U.K. narrowly ahead of France in 2020, according to EY survey
- Square Mile has been hampered by years of Brexit uncertainty
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The City of London’s dominance of international finance is in large part thanks to its unparalleled success at attracting foreign investors. Last year, Covid-19 and Brexit’s endgame saw its advantage over Europe in that sphere shrink to the lowest level this century.
The U.K. secured foreign direct investment for 56 financial services projects last year, compared to 99 in 2019, according to an EY survey about the U.K.’s attractiveness to financial services firms. While that still made the U.K. the most attractive destination in Europe, France was a close second with 49 projects, ahead of Germany’s 37.