On 27 April 2021, the UK Government announced the formation of the UK Investment Council (the “Council“), with the aim of helping the Government make the UK more attractive to foreign investment. The Council will provide a platform for “influential global investors” to offer high level advice to the Department of International Trade (“DIT“), highlighting their perspectives, priorities and concerns on UK inward investment. Chaired by the Minister for Investment at the DIT, Lord Grimstone, it will meet twice a year (as well as ad hoc meetings where specific issues arise). 40 members have been announced for the initial period of 2021/22, all private sector executives in a variety of industries from across the globe.
Author
Sunny Mann
Sunny Mann is a Partner and leads the EMEA and UK International Trade team, ranked Tier 1 by Legal 500. His practice includes a focus on national security, foreign investment, export controls and trade sanctions matters. He has worked on a number of foreign investment review cases, including obtaining clearance for a high profile acquisition triggering potential defence and national security concerns, one of the very few cases to go through a full UK statutory review. In the Legal 500, Sunny is ranked as a "Leading Practitioner".
Author
Samantha J. Mobley
Samantha Mobley is a partner in the EU, Competition & Trade Practice of Baker & McKenzie’s London office and a member of the London office Management Committee. She headed Baker McKenzie’s Global Antitrust and Competition Group, a team of over 300 competition and antitrust specialists worldwide for six years. Samantha has significant experience of advising on the implications of foreign direct investment rules for cross-border transactions. She has advised a number of companies on the implication of the reduced UK national security thresholds, as well as coordinating the global foreign investment review aspects of a proposed $12 billion joint venture between a FTSE100 company and a Fortune 500 corporate. Samantha is a Who’s Who Legal 2020 Leading Individual for Foreign Investment Review.