The Department for International Trade (DIT) announces the launch of the UK Investment Support Directory, a new online tool which will help international investors set up and expand their operations in the UK.

Hosted on the invest.great.gov.uk website, the new searchable Directory will connect international investors to businesses across the UK which provide services key to helping a business set up or expand their operations in the UK, including experts in accountancy, law, consultancy, recruitment and more.

Through the new online platform, potential investors will be able to tailor their search for support and source experts by industry, region, business experience and language expertise. Once an appropriate business has been identified, the investor will be offered a free hour-long consultation to discuss their specific business needs.

Minister for Investment, Graham Stuart MP said:

The launch of the new Investment Support Directory is one of many ways in which DIT is helping to drive investment to every corner of the UK.

We hope this new Directory will be an invaluable resource for investors thinking of setting up operations in the UK.

We are making it easier than ever before for foreign investors to find opportunities in the UK, supported by our network of HMTCs and global experts across more than 100 countries, to ensure the UK remains the number one destination for foreign direct investment in Europe.

Mark Slaughter, Director General for Investment said:

The UK Investment Support Directory is a smart, new digital tool that innovatively connects investors to private sector expertise.

This interactive platform allows investors to tailor their searches to find the specific advice they are looking for or generates a range of businesses if they aren’t sure what they’re looking for yet.

It is another way DIT is helping support foreign investment by streamlining connections between UK businesses and overseas investors.

The new platform is designed to support the investment process by making information more accessible and is part of wider initiatives by the department to increase foreign direct investment into the UK. Recent figures published by the OECD confirm the UK as the leading destination for foreign direct investment in Europe, and the third most significant in the world, behind the US and China.

The directory will also help promote the expertise of the UK’s service sector to investors across the globe.

The directory is currently live and can be found here.

ENDS

Further information:

• Contact newsdesk@trade.gov.uk or DIT’s media team on 020 7215 2000
• Follow us: @tradegovuk and gov.uk/dit

Notes to Editors

The Department for International Trade (DIT) secures UK and global prosperity by promoting and financing international trade and investment, and championing free trade. We are an international economic department, responsible for:

• Bringing together policy, promotion and financial expertise to break down barriers to trade and investment, and help businesses succeed
• Delivering a new trade policy framework for the UK as we leave the EU
• Promoting British trade and investment across the world
• Building the global appetite for British goods and services

Latest FDI data

Latest Export data

• Latest statistics from the ONS show UK firms sold more overseas in the 2018/19 financial year, £639.9 billion, than at any time since records began.

• The UK has now achieved 36 consecutive months of export growth on an annual rolling basis.

• Separate OECD data shows UK exports grew faster than Germany, France and Italy between 2016 and 2018.

Secretary of State for Wales Alun Cairns reaffirmed the UK Government’s commitment to the Welsh language in his first meeting with the new Welsh Language Commissioner, Aled Roberts at the Urdd National Eisteddfod.

The Welsh Secretary has recently written to all UK Government departments seeking their active support to help the Welsh Government achieve its target of one million Welsh speakers by 2050.

UK Government departments are committing to that ambition by embedding the Welsh language in all aspects of their work; supporting Civil Servants to learn Welsh, funding award-winning creative output, providing bilingual services and developing initiatives where Cymraeg plays a central part.

Secretary of State for Wales Alun Cairns said:

As the department with lead responsibility for the Welsh language in the UK Government, I fully understand the crucial role the Welsh language plays in our identity and culture.

It is my role as Secretary of State for Wales to ensure departments across Whitehall are committed to providing the highest quality of services to Welsh speakers. That is why I am delighted to be working with departments across central government to make sure their work reflects the diversity of all communities across the United Kingdom.

ENDS

The Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) is hosting a Demonstration exhibition on Tuesday 3 June 2019 as part of the Invisible Battlespace competition.

The event will showcase the concepts of the successful suppliers from Phase 1 of the competition.

There will also be guidance on the next phase of the competition, which will be launching soon and will be seeking collaborative proposals from both new and existing suppliers

The Invisible Battlespace competition

In July 2018, DASA launched Phase 1 of the Invisible Battlespace competition.

Funded by a number of Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) programmes, Phase 1 sought proposals to enable defence and security to effectively conduct electromagnetic operations across the Air, Land (urban and rural), Sea, Space and Cyber domains.

Overall, 22 bids were successful with total funding of £1.9 million awarded.

Phase 2 of the competition will be launching shortly and will be open to both new and existing suppliers.

Further details will be released through the DASA website. If you have any queries, please contact us at accelerator@dstl.gov.uk.

To attend the event

To participate in this demonstration event, please register by 10:00 3 June 2019 on the Eventbrite page . Please note that places for this event are limited.

Rachael Robathan

Following a 20 year career in emerging markets investment management, Rachael Robathan has been a Councillor for Westminster City Council since 2010. Cabinet responsibilities have included adult social care, public health, housing and finance. Rachael has been a board member of the National Lottery Community Fund since June 2015 and is a member of the remuneration committee as well as the main board. She is also a director of Westminster Almshouses Foundation, a sheltered housing charity, as well as a governor of Francis Holland School and a member of the Metrobank Advisory Board.

Natalie Campbell

Natalie Campbell is an award-­winning businesswoman and HarperCollins author. She won the ‘Community Spirit’ award at the ‘Women of the Future Awards’ in 2016, an Evening Standard Entrepreneurial Spirit Award in 2017 and was recognised in the Management Today, 35 Women Under 35 and City AM Power 100 Women lists. In 2011 she co- founded A Very Good Company, a global social innovation agency that worked with brands like Virgin Media, Marks and Spencer and Channel 4 to drive social change. Natalie is a Civil Service Commissioner and board member of the London LEAP, the Mayor’s London Economic Strategy Board and the Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation.

The roles are remunerated at £7,848 per annum. These appointments have been made in accordance with the Cabinet Office’s Governance Code on Public Appointments. The process is regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. The Government’s Governance Code requires that any significant political activity undertaken by an appointee in the last five years is declared. This is defined as including holding office, public speaking, making a recordable donation or candidature for election. Rachael has declared that she has served as a local councillor for the Conservative Party at Westminster City Council since 2010. Natalie Campbell has made no such declarations.