New capital, new markets, new outcomes

Here Gateley Global considers why inbound international expansion must be central to regional growth strategies.

Introduction: ambition meets reality

Across the UK, Combined Authorities and UK regions are setting out bold ambitions: higher productivity, better-paid jobs, stronger innovation ecosystems and improved quality of life for their residents. Devolution has created new freedoms and responsibilities, placing regions firmly in the driving seat of their own economic futures.

Yet ambition alone does not deliver outcomes. Despite clear national intent to “kick-start economic growth”, the UK continues to lag behind its G7 peers on business investment. Public finances are constrained, domestic firms remain cautious and growth remains geographically uneven. For many regions, the gap between strategy and delivery is widening.

This raises a critical question: how can regions translate economic ambitions into tangible, investable outcomes at the speed they desire?

The investment constraint: why private capital matters more than ever

The UK faces a structural investment deficit. With debt-to-GDP levels persistently high and pressure on public spending intensifying, government cannot fund growth on its own. At the same time, local authorities are finding traditional borrowing tools increasingly unaffordable, limiting their ability to act as direct investors.

Domestic private capital alone will not close this gap. The UK’s weak savings culture, combined with business uncertainty, has resulted in chronically low levels of UK business investment. Around 40% of firms do not invest at all in a given year. For regions seeking step-change growth, this creates a hard constraint.

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) therefore becomes not a “nice to have”, but a strategic necessity. When aligned properly, inbound investment brings more than capital: it delivers access to global markets, embeds innovation, raises productivity, and creates higher-value jobs. Crucially, it can act as a catalyst for wider supply chain growth among local SMEs.

Not a level playing field: the regional reality

The UK’s economic geography remains deeply imbalanced. London alone accounts for almost a quarter of UK GDP, with major cities continuing to attract disproportionate levels of capital, talent, and innovation. For many regions, particularly those outside established metropolitan centres, competition for investment is intense.

Devolution has helped, but it has not equalised opportunity. Combined Authorities and UK Regions vary significantly in scale, capability, and access to global networks. Some are newly established, still building institutional capacity. Others operate without the benefit of mayoral powers or significant long-term funding certainty.

The evidence is clear: regions with lower wages, weaker skills outcomes, and higher levels of disadvantage often experience sustained “brain drain” as young people migrate in search of opportunity. Without intervention, this becomes a self-reinforcing cycle that suppresses productivity and long-term prosperity.

Breaking that cycle requires intentional, targeted economic intervention, not generic place promotion.

Without a significant step-change towards inbound international expansion, most UK regions will simply not meet their economic ambitions.

From promotion to proposition: what investors actually look for

International investors are sophisticated. They do not choose locations based on aspiration alone but on credible propositions that align with their commercial objectives.

These include:

• clear sector priorities linked to global demand
• evidence of workforce availability and future skills pipelines
• access to supply chains, infrastructure, and markets
• delivery confidence and speed
• long-term partnership, not transactional support

Too often, regions rely heavily on centrally generated investment leads or reactive promotion. While national agencies play an important role, this approach leaves significant opportunities untouched – particularly among mid-sized international firms seeking new markets rather than headline-grabbing megaprojects.

Regions that outperform are those that move beyond passive attraction and take a proactive, market-facing approach – building intelligence-led pipelines, targeting specific sectors and geographies, and engaging investors early with clarity and confidence.

Capability, capacity, and partnership

Many regions recognise what needs to be done but face a practical challenge: limited in-house capacity, stretched teams, and competing priorities. Building international market reach, maintaining investor relationships, and converting interest into landed projects requires specialist skills and sustained effort.

This is where partnership becomes critical. The most effective models are those where private sector expertise complements public sector leadership – bringing global networks, commercial insight, and delivery capability while embedding skills locally. The objective is not dependency, but capacity-building through collaboration.

When done well, this approach accelerates results, improves value for money, and strengthens the region’s long-term investment capability.

A moment for strategic choice

Every region faces different starting points, assets, and challenges – but the questions facing leaders are remarkably consistent:

• How do we increase productivity in our local economy?
• How do we attract capital that creates high-quality, future-facing jobs?
• How do we align skills, innovation, and inward investment into a coherent growth story?
• How do we compete globally when opportunity is not evenly distributed?

Answering these questions requires more than policy alignment. It requires delivery focus, external engagement and confidence to act.

An invitation to think differently

Inbound international expansion is not a silver bullet, but it is one of the most powerful levers available to regions seeking to shift economic trajectories. When aligned with local strengths and delivered through credible partnerships, it can unlock new capital, new markets and new opportunities for communities.