Financial firms still see the UK as a strong investment, says the report The UK is facing rising global competition for business investment, and will need to work hard to maintain its position, the CBI has warned.
The business group, which starts its annual conference on Monday, said the UK needed to cut regulation, and reduce both business and personal taxation.
It added that the planning system and infrastructure also needed improving.
The CBI interviewed 121 bosses of the biggest UK firms and large overseas companies operating in Britain.
The survey, which was co-produced by accountancy group Deloitte, said the UK scored highly for its economic stability.
Yet respondents said the US, Canada, China and India were now seen as more attractive countries in which to invest.
Richard Lambert, CBI director general, said: “Having acted fast to tackle the deficit, the government must now focus on how to attract more investment to the UK, if we are to create new jobs and grow the economy.
“The coalition’s efforts to improve the general business climate are viewed favourably, but there is much to do to improve the UK’s competitiveness as a destination for investment.”
“One of the great challenges for policy makers is to provide the right conditions for companies to grow”
John Connolly Chief executive of Deloitte
The CBI said that while the UK still performed favourably, it had “lost ground over the past 10 years”.
It added that while the UK still performed strongly in areas such as good labour relations and flexible working practices, these issues were now seen as less important for firms making investment decisions.
Regarding sectors of the economy, the CBI said manufacturing companies were the least likely to invest in the UK, while financial firms and others in the service sector were more likely than average to view the UK in a favourable light.
John Connolly, chief executive and senior partner of Deloitte, said: “If the UK economy is to continue its recovery, then growth and jobs will have to come from the private sector.
“One of the great challenges for policymakers is to provide the right conditions for companies to grow.”
Business Secretary Vince Cable said he welcomed the fact the majority of bosses surveyed by the CBI said they expected the coalition government to improve the climate for businesses.
He said: “We want to provide an environment where businesses are confident to invest in the UK and today the prime minister and I will be talking to the CBI and setting out the government’s strategy for growth.
“We believe that to do this you have to get the fundamentals right so we will be looking across the whole range of economic policy – from tax to regulation, skills to science, infrastructure to competition policy, bank lending to trade – to make it easier for businesses to flourish.”
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