Sir Keir Starmer has told US investors that “Britain is open for business” as he today secured a huge post-Brexit investment from a major US firm.
Blackstone has confirmed it will funnel £10 billion of investment into Blyth, Northumberland, in a move that will create one of the largest artificial intelligence data centres in Europe.
The investment will also create 4,000 high-paying and much-needed jobs in the area.
Ahead of his arrival at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Sir Keir emphasised that the Government’s new foreign policy will work in lock-step with his growth agenda at home.
The deal will further boost Britain’s world-leading position on AI, and the data centre will store the huge amount of data needed to power AI and store information created by AI systems.
The site in question was bought by Blackstone earlier this year, after UK startup firm Britishvolt failed.
At the time the local council believed the purchase by Blackstone would kill off the hopes of thousands of new jobs.
However today’s announcement confirms that jobs will be coming to the area – and more than those promised by Britishvolt.
Sir Keir hailed the news, describing it as a “huge vote of confidence” in Britain.
He championed: “The number one mission of my government is to grow our economy, so that hard-working British people reap the benefits – and more foreign investment is a crucial part of that plan.”
“New investment such as the one we’ve announced with Blackstone today is a huge vote of confidence in the UK and it proves that Britain is back as a major player on the global stage and we’re open for business.”
Jon Gray, the CEO of Blackstone, added that the UK is a “top investment market” for his company because of the talent, innovation and legal system.
He celebrated: “We are making significant commitments to building social housing, facilitating the energy transition, growing life sciences companies and developing critical infrastructure needed to fuel the digital economy.”
“This includes a projected £10 billion investment to build one of Europe’s largest hyperscale data centres supporting 4,000 jobs. Blackstone is committed to Britain.”
The PM will meet with Mr Gray in New York tomorrow morning.
Last year the UK and US together invested over $1.2 trillion in each other’s economies, including financial services, green infrastructure, real estate and tech, with 1.2 million Americans working for UK-owned businesses, and 1.3 million Brits working for US-owned firms.
Speaking ahead of his arrival in New York, Sir Keir said that tackling war, poverty and climate change are essential for the British economy.
Tomorrow the Prime Minister will host a business roundtable of senior US business figures, including from Blackstone, the Bank of America, JPMorgan and Citigroup.
