If you look past the headlines London is charging ahead

While the headlines are dominated by a steady trickle of takeovers stripping the London Stock Exchange, money is flooding into the capital elsewhere

It’s easy to get caught up in all the negative news about London and the City, but it doesn’t take much effort to find something positive happening in the square mile.

While the headlines are dominated by a steady trickle of takeovers stripping the London Stock Exchange, money is flooding into the capital elsewhere. The insurance industry is a classic example.

The latest figures from the London Market Group (LMG), a trade body representing brokers and insurers, show that the number of people employed in London’s commercial insurance and reinsurance companies has hit an all-time high.

Companies have increased headcounts to deal with higher volumes of business. According to the LMG, the value of gross insurance premiums written in the City last year was double the level of a decade ago.

Similar figures showed London increased its share of the global insurance and reinsurance market to its highest level in 12 years. Growth has continued despite the headwinds from Brexit, higher interest rates and economic instability.

Meanwhile, according to EY’s latest Attractiveness Survey for Financial Services survey, the UK, led by the City, has pulled ahead from the rest of Europe when it comes to the number of financial services foreign direct investment (FDI) projects across Europe.

EY recorded 108 FDI financial services projects in the UK last year, up a staggering 42 per cent from 2022 levels. Once again, the country shrugged off Brexit and uneconomic uncertainty to pull ahead.

Research from Deutsche Bank has also shown the UK is performing far better than many believed when it comes to business investment. In a recent report, the bank noted that aggregate investment growth in the UK since the financial crisis is second only to the US among G7 economies.

Growth has accelerated since the pandemic, rising to 5.5 per cent in 2023, well above the pre-pandemic trend line. Then there’s the UK media industry.

London is a global leader in the creative, advertising and multi-media space, with the advertising sector the largest in Europe and set to grow by 4.6 per cent this year. There’s plenty to be excited about if you know where to look.