Time has come for a new era of investment to power British growth

As the budget draws near, a critical question must be asked: which sector can mobilise capital at scale to drive growth?

- Alastair King Lord Mayor of London

Financial services, often described as the jewel in the crown of the UK economy, already contribute 12% of government tax receipts. Proposals to introduce VAT on financial services or increase the bank levy must be firmly off the table if the sector is to continue making an outsized contribution towards paying for sustainable public services on which tens of millions of people rely. Rumours of taxes on limited liability partnerships (LLPs) must also not come to pass - the risks to UK’s competitiveness are clear and must be avoided.

Nvidia’s founder and CEO, Jensen Huang, said recently that the UK could become the next AI superpower. We have the talent, university spinouts and tech hubs to make that vision a reality. What we lack is scale-up capital and an investment culture to provide the funding those companies crave.