The UK invested almost 2.5 billion euros in Spain during the first half of 2024, according to the UK Investment Climate and Prospects Barometer published by the British Chamber of Commerce in Spain, and presented today at the ICEX headquarters.

The British Chamber has published the ninth edition of the Barometer, together with Afi, at an event in which its President, Isabel Perea, the Secretary of State for Trade, Amparo López Senovilla, the CEO of ICEX-Invest in Spain, Elisa Carbonell, Sir Alex Ellis, British Ambassador to Spain, María Romero, Partner Director of Economics at Afi, and Igor Urra, Secretary General of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce in the UK, all took part.

Amparo López Senovilla emphasised that “Spain has a long tradition as a recipient of foreign investment, with British investment being a pioneer. The Barometer reflects this importance of our bilateral relationship in terms of investment. Moreover, the figures back us up: over the last six years, Spain has been the fourth country in the world to receive the most new investment projects.”

Elisa Carbonell did in turn highlight the importance of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Spain. The study once again highlights the interest that Spain continues to arouse in the United Kingdom, with the highest cumulative FDI flows since the beginning of records in 1993, at 92 billion euros. More than 2.5 billion of this arrived in the first six months of 2024, representing 65% of the 2023 total.

By industry, British investment stands out for being eminently productive and is mainly distributed between wholesale trade – standing at 18 billion euros since records began (1993) – and the telecommunications industry – at 17.5 billion. These two industries account for 40% of British investment flows in Spain between 1993 and 2024.

Third foreign investor
n terms of investment, the UK ranked third globally in 2022, behind only the US and France. The UK has invested 57.652 billion euros in Spain, which represents 13.8% of the total FDI in the Iberian country. These figures were responsible for maintaining 260,000 jobs in Spain, both directly and indirectly.

The growth prospects announced for Spain, together with the decline in inflation are contributing to a favourable environment for restoring foreign investment in Spain.

This is also the view of 40% of UK companies surveyed for the ninth UK Investment Climate and Prospects Barometer in Spain. Moreover, two out of three British companies in Spain say they intend to increase their investments in the country by between 5% and 10% by 2025.