London’s Crossrail and HS2 projects helps drive UK’s attractiveness for infrastructure investors
London schemes such as Crossrail and High Speed 2 have helped drive the UK to greater attractiveness for infrastructure investment.
The Global Infrastructure Investment Index, published today by Arcadis, puts the UK in ninth place globally, up from 10th in 2015 and 13th in 2012. This makes it one of the fastest-growing of the 41 countries focused on by Arcadis for the index.
Singapore, Qatar and UAE top the list.
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The report said the increased interest is demonstrated by the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan's £2bn purchase of London's City Airport.
The UK's growing stature is attributed to the stable and relatively low-risk nature of the business environment along with the government's commitment to major infrastucture.
The UK performance is damaged by “prolonged and politicised decision-making processes” and the “cloud on the horizon”, June's EU referendum. European firms, in particular, would be expected to respond negatively to an exit, Arcadis said.
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Mark Prior, city executive for London at Arcadis, said: “The government’s commitment to improving infrastructure nationally and in particular in London provides investors with a solid pipeline of infrastructure investment opportunities.”
He added: “Key to seeing London and the UK moving up the table is to get the public and private sectors talking to each other in a dialogue to open up investment opportunities earlier in the programme life cycle.”