Australia funds back British economy with major moves to the UK

A further billion pounds of investment will be injected into the British economy as the Prime Minister continues his drive to attract foreign business back to the UK.

The boost comes as UK firms break into the New Zealand banking sector, growing jobs in the UK, and expanding their global operations.    

Australia’s biggest pension fund, AustralianSuper is also preparing to bolster its international investment team in London, in a major vote of confidence for the UK as a global asset management centre.

The Fund expects to manage £250 billion from its London office by 2035, an increase of more than 10 times over the next decade, from its current management of around £15 billion from its UK base.

The Prime Minister met the CEO of the Australian firm, Paul Schroder, on arrival in Samoa yesterday to discuss the move.   

Meanwhile, Aware Super, one of Australia’s top performing and largest profit-for-member superannuation funds, has formed a strategic partnership with Delancey Real Estate to invest up to an initial £1 billion in UK property, further bolstering UK – Australia economic ties.

Its initial focus will be on Central London office sites in prime locations, upgrading and renovating properties to ensure they meet environmental standards and deliver on the partnership’s commitment to reducing carbon emissions in the property market.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said:

These investments are a major vote of confidence in the UK, and in this Government.

I am determined to ensure that UK is the best place in the world to invest and do business, so we improve the lives of hardworking people.

By attracting strong, sustained investment, we will also build the expertise we need to drive innovation, stay ahead of the global game, and support economies around the world with British backed projects.

AustralianSuper chief executive Paul Schroder said:   

We invest heavily in Australia, but our size requires an increasingly international focus. We are ramping up our investment capabilities in the UK as it is one of the world’s leading gateways to both talent and global markets, which are key for driving future returns for members.

By 2035 we expect to manage approximately £250 billion of investments from our London hub, which will represent a significant portion of our global portfolio. We have great confidence in the fundamentals of the UK economy and the country’s commitment to global growth.

This underpins our confidence in the investments we have already made in the UK such as the Canada Water urban regeneration project, London’s King’s Cross Estate, Peel Ports Group and Vantage Data Centers. We also see great potential for new investment opportunities in the energy transition, digital infrastructure, mixed-use estates, transport and logistics.

Aware Super chief executive Deanne Stewart:

Aware Super has strong confidence in the UK economy and markets and is pleased to announce a ground-breaking new commercial partnership that will invest up to an initial £1 billion, an exciting milestone that will coincide with the first anniversary of establishing our London Office.

Meanwhile, UK firms obconnect and Raidiam have been making waves in the New Zealand banking sector, rolling out the British Confirmation of Payee (CoP) system to revolutionise banking in the country, in partnership with the NZ Banking Association.  

No other companies are currently able to offer the same service, with the partnership combining specialist expertise of the two British companies to serve as a fulcrum for data sharing and facilitating fraud prevention across any territory.   

The deal has allowed the companies to expand their UK operations to more than 250 people.   

The win for the British companies come after mobile banking app Revolut broke into the New Zealand market last year. The firm is preparing to expand their operations in the country from 4 FTEs focused on New Zealand investments, to 10 over the next 12 months.   

The British business wins coincide with the UK securing CPTPP ratification from Australia in the next step towards accession of the trading bloc – the first non-founding country to do so.   

The boost in Australian investment also comes after a string of Australian announcements as part of the government’s International Investment Summit, which attracted more £63 billion of investment into the UK economy and created 38,000 jobs.   

They included Australian firms Macquarie supporting investment of £1.3 billion into new green infrastructure and IFM investing more than £1.1 billion through Manchester Airports Group into London Stansted Airport to expand its existing terminal by around a third. The investment will secure new air routes to key business and leisure destinations, boost local supply chains and create 5,000 jobs.   

The Prime Minister’s visit to Samoa for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting is the first by a sitting Prime Minister to a Pacific Island.  During the summit, the Prime Minister will make the case to build resilient economies across the Commonwealth to unlock growth and investment.