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Eric who?: The former Google boss is called ‘Ed’ in an invitation
The Government’s flagship investment summit was falling apart this weekend as foreign business leaders avoided the event amid embarrassing failures.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves is rolling out the red carpet for tomorrow’s meeting of corporate and investment titans, including Larry Fink, head of US investment group BlackRock. Their hope is that they will bring their money to the UK, creating wealth and jobs.
But the conference risks being a bust, in part because of its budget later this month, which will include higher taxes on wealth, including on capital gains, which companies say will deter investment and will slow growth.
The meeting at the city’s Guildhall has also been marred by a series of misfortunes including:
- No high-profile presentations;
- Calling one of the world’s most prominent businessmen by the wrong name;
- Inadvertently revealing contact details of more than 100 guests;
- Send out-of-office responses to delegates’ urgent questions;
- The minister in charge of foreign investments has just sold her business to American private equity;
- Not inviting Elon Musk after the tech mogul had a social media spat with the Prime Minister.
A series of major investments in the UK energy sector were announced ahead of the summit, including plans by Scottish Power’s Spanish owner Iberdrola to spend up to £24 billion over the next four years.
But the conference has been plagued by incompetence and setbacks. Jamie Dimon of Wall Street investment bank JP Morgan and Stephen Schwarzman of US buyout giant Blackstone are among those who did not show up, while other chief executives are hesitant.
Former Google boss Eric Schmidt will be there as a keynote speaker, but his name was given as ‘Ed’ in a media invitation. And in an exquisitely embarrassing moment for Labour, a dispute broke out with port operator DP World, on the eve of the event, after
Ministers attacked the working practices of its subsidiary, P&O Ferries.
Some delegates criticized the decision to hold an investment summit a fortnight before the budget.
“Several major investors have postponed a decision to invest in the UK until they see the budget,” said Marco Forgione, director of the Chartered Institute of Export & International Trade. Labor did not launch its long-awaited industrial strategy until shortly before the summit and did not have an Investment Minister until the last moment.
Darktrace co-founder Poppy Gustafsson was appointed to the position just four days before the event. He recently sold the cybersecurity company to a US private equity firm for £4.3bn.
An email mistakenly sent to a newspaper revealing delegate details added to the chaos.
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