International investors descend on London as Labour tries to woo new business to Britain
LONDON ? The U.K. Labour government is hoping to woo foreign capital to the country on Monday, as it hosts its inaugural International Investment Summit in London.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Finance Minister Rachel Reeves and Business Minister Jonathan Reynolds will lead the one-day event at London's Guildhall, which is expected to be attended by around 200 executives from the U.K. and overseas.
Former Google chair Eric Schmidt, Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon and GSK CEO Emma Walmsley are among the named guests. Newly appointed Investment Minister Poppy Gustafsson, co-founder of British cybersecurity firm Darktrace, will also be on hand to promote the U.K. as a place to do business.
However, would-be attendees and observers expressed frustration to CNBC about the lack of information surrounding the summit, with details on location and timing withheld until Thursday. Some said ahead of time that they would not be attending, while others were still reportedly weighing whether or not to fly over, as of late last week.
"The uncertainty of what's happening is undermining the event," Dr. Bruce Morley, economics and finance lecturer at the University of Bath, told CNBC over the phone. "There is a lot of speculation."
A major gripe has surrounded the timing of the summit, coming just over two weeks before the chancellor's budget, amid a dearth of details on the radical changes she claims are required to plug an alleged ?22 billion black hole in the public finances. The date was determined by Labour's pre-election pledge to hold a business summit within its first 100 days in office.
Reeves has already ruled out changes to corporation tax, alongside increases to income tax and the National Insurance social security payment. She has also backtracked on suspected plans to hit private equity bosses with a top tax rate and a mandate pledge to abolish the country's centuries-old "non-dom" status for wealthy individuals.
Capital gains tax (CGT) and inheritance tax (IHT) hikes remain on the table, however, with the chancellor reportedly considering raising CGT as high as 39% for top-rate taxpayers, according to The Guardian. That would be a substantial increase from the current band of 20% to 28%, depending on the asset, and one that investors have said could stymy entrepreneurship in the country.
A Treasury spokesperson described the reporting as "pure speculation," in an email to CNBC.
