US bosses favour Britain for revenue growth

The UK has become the favourite market for American chief executives seeking revenue growth this year, as the country is expected to emerge from the COVID-19 downturn faster than many other countries, a poll showed.

A study by PwC of more than 4,400 chief executives from 89 countries showed that 77% expect global economic growth to accelerate this year. Among British bosses, 82% expect growth to pick up.

Some 37% of American chief executives said the UK was one of the three countries or territories that would be most important for their companies’ revenue growth prospects over the coming year.

This was a 16-percentage point increase from the previous survey and means that the UK has overtaken China (named by 26% of American chiefs) and Germany (24%).

“Successful vaccine rollout and significant government funding have given [the UK] a head start on recovery,” said Kevin Ellis, chairman and senior partner of PwC UK.

“Meanwhile, our listed assets represent good value, at a time when many investors have full war chests to spend.”

Globally, 17% of chief executives picked Britain as a top three growth target, up from 11% in 2021.

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng highlighted the UK’s skilled workforce, competitive tax environment and stable regulatory approach as attractions.

“To have this confirmed by some of the world’s leading chief executives is welcome as we seek to strengthen the UK’s pro-enterprise reputation globally,” he said.

Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN). created 15,000 new full-time and part-time jobs in the UK in 2021 and last week, Google announced that it was spending £730mln on additional office space to boost its UK employee capacity from the 6,400 to up to 10,000.

Story by ProactiveInvestors