Britain needs £1 trillion of investment to stand any chance of growth recovering, claims a new report from a group of City heavyweights.
Titled ‘Capital Markets of Tomorrow’, the report urges extra spending across a range of sectors for a decade to enable the UK to catch up with other countries.
Led by former L&G boss Nigel Wilson, the think-tank says infrastructure such as water, energy and housing requires £100 billion a year, with a further £20 billion at least earmarked for venture capital.
“In the UK, we have world-class universities and the potential to create large technology-driven growth businesses in areas such as renewables, financial services, AI, Quantum Computing and Life Sciences,” said the report.
“But the UK hasn’t developed an Apple ($3.4 trillion) or a Microsoft ($3 trillion). Indeed, each of these companies has a market capitalisation bigger than all of the FTSE 100 combined.
“The challenge is therefore to make the UK a competitive market into which to invest.”
This includes more “patriotic” investment by major City institutions into UK companies; a cultural change to restore Britain’s risk-taking entrepreneurial mindset; and persuading British individual investors “to rediscover the share ownership habit”.
“There has never been such a large amount of money globally available and seeking investment opportunities,” Wilson added.
“The UK is fortunate in that we have £6 trillion of long-term capital within our pension and insurance industries. In other words, the supply of capital for growth is available.”