Attracting Foreign Investment


Heathrow offers direct, global connections to more than 180 destinations around the world.  Seven out of the top ten business routes in the world have Heathrow at one end.  In a globalised economy, this international connectivity helps to make the UK a very attractive place to do business.

Surveys consistently show that international transport links are a crucial factor when companies are deciding where to invest:

  • Senior directors currently rate London as the best city in Europe to do business and identified access to markets and international transport links as key elements of its advantage.
  • 52% of Europe’s top 500 companies consider transport links to be a vital factor in deciding where to locate their business. 
  • 58% identified good access to markets, customers and clients as essential. 
In 2007, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) contributed more than £52billion to London’s economy – accounting for 27% of the capital’s economy.  FDI has also brought more than 500,000 jobs to London.

London and the UK have benefited from the international connectivity that is currently offered by Heathrow.  But we should not be complacent.  More than half of all foreign investors review their global strategy every three to five years, and 13% do so every year.  

Business, capital and employment can be relocated more easily than ever before.  If Heathrow route network continues to decline (the number of destinations served has shrunk from 227 in 1990 to around 180 today), then companies will begin to look to our European competitors for their future investment locations.

Find out more about why Heathrow is vulnerable to foreign competition and what this means for the UK.