A world-leading financial centre

Benchmarking the UK

London and the UK have an unmatched depth and breadth of offer for financial and professional services

Our offer

The world's leading net exporter of financial services
The most globally connected banking centre
A world-class regulatory and secure environment for international business
Attracting almost half of Europe's fintech investment
A collaborative approach to regulation removes barriers to testing and launching innovative products
The most comprehensive sustainable finance offering among all major global centres.

Open. Innovative. Sustainable.

Open

The UK is a global gateway for financial and professional services businesses. The UK is an open financial centre with unparalleled reach, deep, liquid pools of capital, and a significant presence of global investors. It is home to some of the most international and inclusive cities in the world for financial and professional services talent. It offers a world-class enabling and secure environment for international business. The UK is the world’s preferred regulatory regime.

Innovative

The UK ranks top for financial and professional services innovation, ahead of other major global financial centres. Here firms can access a one-of-a-kind innovation ecosystem. This brings together strong policy support; the finance and access to global markets required for an idea to take off and future-focused talent from world-leading financial and professional services and tech.

Sustainable

Reaching international climate goals requires a whole-economy transformation and the mobilisation of public and private capital. The UK is the leading international financial centre for sustainable finance. It offers a one stop shop to investors, firms and governments, who can find the fullest spectrum of sustainable finance services and products. Our offer spans data, research, advisory and legal services, deal structuring, risk management, fund-raising platforms, and investment instruments.

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State of the sector: annual review of UK financial services 2024

54%

of investors in London Stock Exchange companies are international

752

international issuers, more than any other exchange

11.9%

of the global total of foreign listed companies are listed in London

~£600bn

in total foreign direct investment stocks (FDI) poured in UK financial services in 2021

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Our global offer to business:
London and the UK’s competitive strengths supporting economic growth

Boston Consulting Group: Cities of Choice

London named the most desirable city to live

Five key developments

Financial Services and Markets Act

A faster, more accessible and simplified market
for public listings in the UK

Boosting UK listings competitiveness

Providing professional services to the world

Exporting financial services to the world

The Global City sustainable finance hub

London and the UK are positioned to take a leading role in galvanising the action needed to drive progress across the global ESG agenda.

Visit the sustainable finance hub

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