British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) President, Andy Haldane, has called for bold action to channel more domestic investment into high-growth UK firms to unlock regional growth.
Speaking at the BCC’s Global Annual Conference this morning, Haldane highlighted the UK’s latent economic potential, pointing to a powerful combination of innovative businesses and deep pools of untapped capital.
And he set out how the challenge was not a lack of opportunity, but a failure to connect these strengths at scale.
ON UNLOCKING INVESTMENT FOR GROWTH
Setting out his solution, Haldane called for a shift in incentives to channel more capital into UK firms:
“[Current] tax reliefs deliver a very low return on investment for the UK government. Shifting them towards UK companies would leave investment choices in owners’ hands, while boosting significantly the returns on these in terms of UK business growth, jobs and productivity.”
“The Government extends over £50 billion in pension tax relief, and more than £10 billion in ISA tax relief, each year.”
“As a country we spend more on savings tax relief than on defence.”
“Prior to 1997, the UK’s dividend tax credit regime favoured pension fund investment in UK companies. The predecessor to ISAs, Personal Equity Plans (PEPs), had an explicit bias towards investment in domestic companies.”
“This is not about overly constraining investment choices. It is about correcting the (absence of) ‘home bias’.”
“If the Government wishes to act, at speed and scale… then greater boldness… will be required.”
GROWTH POTENTIAL
On the potential to grow the UK economy Haldane said:
“The UK has huge natural advantages when it comes to its pipeline of innovative, high-growth businesses, many the envy of the world and most whose potential remains largely unfulfilled.
“[It] has an enviable position too when it comes to its deep reservoir of patient capital, primed for jet-propelling these businesses, though at present this is also largely untapped.”
ON ‘COLTS AND THOROUGHBREDS’
On the scale and spread of high-growth firms across the UK, he added:
“The UK’s pipeline of fast-growing scale-ups… could hardly be stronger. Saul Klein [at Phoenix Capital] has identified in excess of 1,500 of these colts and thoroughbreds across the UK… third in the global league table.”
“There are more [of these] in Leeds than in Cambridge, in Manchester than in Oxford. By growing them, we would fire growth in every corner of the UK.”
ON RISKS TO UK BUSINESSES
But Haldane warned that without stronger domestic backing, the UK risks losing valuable companies overseas:
“The UK has lost over 100 listed companies with a market cap over £100 million since 2024. We simply cannot afford to allow the continuation of overseas stripping of our greatest growth asset… on this scale.”
ON THE UK’S CAPITAL ADVANTAGE
To counter this, Haldane advocated deploying the UK’s huge stockpile of domestic savings, pension and investment funds more effectively. Analysing the capital available, he said:
“UK households hold gross financial assets of around £9 trillion. Of this, more than £2 trillion sits in bank accounts and around £6 trillion in pension funds and other investments, such as ISAs.
“In 2000, over half of UK pension assets went into UK equities. Today, it is less than 5%. Pension funds in Canada, Australia, Japan and across Europe invest between 20-40% of their assets in domestic companies.”
“The most striking thing about the UK’s large and mature pension system is that it is only system in the world without a home bias. It is the ultimate irony that Canadian, Dutch and Australian pension funds today invest more in brilliant Brish businesses than do UK pension funds.”
Haldane’s full speech can be read here.