London leads European financial investment despite Paris's rise

Even though Dublin has surpassed London in securing foreign direct investment (FDI) projects for financial services in Europe in 2023, London maintains its leadership position with far more projects than any other European city – 81 projects in 2023 represent a 76 per cent increase from the year before.

This puts London way ahead of its other rival, Paris, where there is a drop of 11 per cent in new projects.

Thus, new projects executed in London doubled those of Paris according to a report furnished by EY that ensured the rising attractiveness of the UK capital despite various challenges.

Anna Anthony, the UK financial services managing partner at EY, points out that despite the challenges presented by high inflation, supply chain disruptions, and geopolitical instability, the strength of the UK’s financial services has helped attract investors from around the world.

Anthony said, this is despite the stiff competition from other cities in Europe and around the world, but the UK continues to be a destination for investment.

The EY survey, which had data from 900 decision-makers, indicated that the UK accounted for 33 per cent of all financial services projects in Europe in the year 2023.

The total number of projects in the UK increased from 76 to 108 in the same corresponding period, which gives the UK a greater lead compared to France and Germany which managed to acquire total projects 39 and 38 respectively in the same period.

Even though London is on top in these times, Paris is strongly contending.

Buyers rated the French capital as the highest potential of the major European metropolises for future financial investments over three years.

This statement expresses the opinion of many Wall Street firms that today try to see Paris as London’s possible successor after Brexit.

The report puts a spotlight on a paradox: However, questions surrounding the long-term competitiveness of London continue to be raised, even though the city is still considered a prime location for the immediate delivery of financial services tasks.

London stock markets have been particular, with problems such as Brexit and the underperformance of markets exhibiting large falls in trading volumes.

A survey conducted by Bloomberg indicates that the London Stock Exchange controlled IPOs which raised slightly above $300 million of the total $12 billion raised this year, the lowest in decades.

(With inputs from Bloomberg)