£4 billion Malaysian investment in the UK creates 30,000 jobs

A £4 billion investment by YTL businesses in the UK over the next five years includes transforming the greater Bristol area and delivering over 30,000 jobs across the UK. 

The announcement comes as Malaysian Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim is in London today [Wednesday 15 January] to meet Prime Minister Keir Starmer and officially launch one of the largest brownfield developments in the UK alongside Investment Minister Poppy Gustafsson. 

Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds hailed the investment as another huge vote of confidence in the UK that shows how the Government’s Plan for Change is delivering economic growth and ‘the power of investment to transform our cities and give working people the security they deserve’. 

Malaysian-owned YTL announced around £2 billion of the total investment will go towards the Brabazon Bristol development, which comprises of 6,500 homes, three new schools and a 19,500-capacity arena, conferencing and exhibition space. According to YTL, the development will deliver more than 30,000 jobs, with the remaining £2 billion invested in YTL’s UK businesses over the next five years. 

Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said:

“This investment is incredible news for the UK and will create a generational transformation for North Bristol, delivering infrastructure, new schools and creating thousands of new homes and jobs in the region.

By creating the right conditions and giving investors the confidence they need to make big investments in Britain, our Plan for Change is delivering economic growth and showing the power of investment to transform our cities, and give working people the security they deserve.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves said:

This investment is what our Plan for Change is all about. Investment that will boost growth, create good jobs  and shows that the UK is open for business.

It builds on the £600m of investment I secured in China last week, and the success of last year’s record-breaking International Investment Summit, demonstrating global confidence in our economy.

We will continue to go further and faster to kick start growth to make all parts of the country better off.

Trade Minister Douglas Alexander will host his Malaysian counterpart Tengku Zafrul Aziz in the first ministerial-led Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO) on Thursday to explore ways to increase our trade and investment relationship in priority areas including legal services, education, agriculture and SMEs. 

UK-Malaysia trade stood at almost £6 billion in the year to June 2024. This could grow further now the UK has joined the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), giving us our first formal free trade agreement with Malaysia. 

Through CPTPP, Malaysian investors have greater certainty when investing in the UK, with the agreement ensuring that Malaysian and UK investors receive fair and equal access to each other’s markets. 

Background

• In 2016, YTL Power acquired the disused Filton Airfield and associated Brabazon Hangars just north of Bristol. This 380-acre site is the largest brownfield development site in the South West and one of the largest in the whole of the UK. YTL is developing the site into a new town called Brabazon, and the iconic hangars, formerly home of the supersonic jet Concorde, will be turned into a major state-of-the-art arena, conferencing, and entertainment complex. 

• In November 2024, YTL obtained planning approval to deliver 6,500 homes, three schools, three hotels, 2,000 student beds, a retirement village, a new railway station and 60 acres of commercial development focused on high tech, aerospace and university facilities. The entertainment complex will include a 19,500 capacity carbon neutral arena, conferencing and exhibition space and a futuristic family entertainment attraction. 

• The Brabazon development is being constructed in the South Gloucestershire local authority area, just north of Bristol.