Ministers to unveil revamped Whitehall investment hub
Ministers will this week unveil a revamp of the Whitehall investment hub that they hope will secure hundreds of billions of capital flows into the UK in the coming years.
Sky News understands that Baroness Gustafsson, the investment minister, will address a private event on Thursday designed to relaunch the Office for Investment (OfI).
Government sources said the revamp - in which Sir Keir Starmer's top officials and the Treasury have been closely involved - would align the UK's 'investment resources' under a single brand.
The new OfI has absorbed teams from other Whitehall directorates with the objective of reducing confusion among international investors in Britain, according to the sources.
Greg Jackson, the Octopus Energy chief, and Baroness Lane Fox, who chairs the British Chambers of Commerce, are expected to speak at the event in central London alongside senior government officials, according to people familiar with the agenda.
Thursday's summit will come days before ministers launch the new industrial strategy, with the OfI charged with targeting investors in priority sectors such as clean energy, advanced manufacturing and life sciences.
A beefed-up investment hub was among the key recommendations of the former business minister Lord Harrington's review - commissioned by then-chancellor Jeremy Hunt - in 2023.
One insider said last year's International Investment Summit, at which ministers claimed to have drawn £63bn of new investment for the UK, provided a solid foundation for the revamped OfI.
A further event designed to attract inward investment will be held in Birmingham later this year, the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, announced on Wednesday.
The Department for Business and Trade declined to comment on Wednesday afternoon.
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