Ministers will be hoping that the glamour of the event will wash away any memory of these early frustrations.
After drinks on Sunday night, the summit will officially kick off the next day in the City of London. The event will be compered by Bridgerton actress Adjoa Andoh and feature speakers including former England football manager Gareth Southgate. A dinner will follow in St Paul’s Cathedral. Goldman chief David Solomon, Google’s ex-boss Eric Schmidt and BlackRock chief Larry Fink are among those expected to attend.
The Government is hoping to attract a rush of cash. However, it has faced a major blow after ports giant DP World threatened to pull a scheduled announcement of £1bn-worth of investments following criticism by Louise Haigh, the Transport Secretary, of its subsidiary P&O Ferries. It subsequently said it would attend the summit following discussions with the Government.
Britain desperately needs the investment summit to succeed.
The country has been bottom or second-bottom of the G7 league tables for total economy investment across businesses, households and the public sector for decades.
Lord Harrington, who was commissioned by Jeremy Hunt to lead the report into the UK’s foreign investment, found last year that the UK was “disorganised, risk-averse, siloed and inflexible”, with financial decisions shoved to a “series of semi-arm’s-length institutions”.
“What’s let us down in the past is the delivery,” Harrington says. “We raise expectations very well, we’re very good at it, but it’s the operational delivery of it that we need the reorganisation of government to do.”
Investors seeking to back Britain often find themselves passed between departments, in contrast to Macron’s efforts to offer a personalised service.
“We need to be more proactive, not just reactive,” says Harrington. “I’m hoping that we have an industrial strategy that will say ‘we can’t do everything, we’re not the United States, but we can work out what sectors we wish to excel in’.”
Ministers are expected to confirm a new “concierge service” for investors at the summit, which aims to fix some of the operational issues that have plagued government.
The stakes are high. A lack of investment is seen as a fundamental flaw in our stuttering economy. Not only does it hold back growth, but it is a crucial factor in hurting productivity growth as poor infrastructure, expensive housing and under-capitalised businesses prevent workers from reaching their potential.