We’ve been known to wax lyrical about the riches on offer to British start-ups on the other side of the pond. After all, it ain’t called the Land of Opportunity for nothing.
And anyone doubting the much-lauded special relationship between the UK and the USA has been knocked into touch today as the CBI revealed Blighty to be the largest foreign investor on the other side of the Atlantic. According to the organisation’s sixth annual Sterling assets report, the UK had invested $487bn into the United States as of year-end 2012 – almost £200bn ahead of Japan – supporting nearly 100 million jobs across the country. As percentages go, that represents over 18% of the $2.7tn in foreign direct investment held in the States, with one in four of the 943,500 jobs supported by British companies being found in the manufacturing space.
The UK just can’t get enough of the goods and services that our friends across the pond have to offer. We’re currently ranked as the fifth-largest destination for US goods and services in the world, and are leading the way by a considerable distance compared to the rest of the European Union, with exports hitting £109bn last year. It’s probably worth adding for good measure that every single state in America has workers in jobs that are created and sustained by British firms, with the state of New York leading the way in exports to the UK, shipping £5bn worth of goods in 2013.
“The figures in this report show just how close the economic ties between the United States and the United Kingdom are, with both countries benefiting hugely from these links,” said Simon Moore, CBI International Director. “The unique trading relationship between our two countries continues to thrive. With the US economy picking up, and TTIP (Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership) negotiations progressing well, companies on both sides of the Atlantic recognize the opportunities for good business and are pursuing them with vigour.”
With our future in the EU hanging in the balance, we suspect our position as the USA’s biggest investor will only be strengthened in years to come. 
