Sweden and Swedish investors came in at number five and Japan at number ten. In Warwickshire, top US investors included games developer EA, defence and aerospace company Parker and car maker GM; from Sweden it was Volvo Truck & Bus and Polestar, and from Japan from HORIBA, the owner of MIRA Tech Park near Nuneaton.
Meanwhile, UK firms exported £893bn of goods and services in 2024. Key among these was the US at number one (23 per cent), with Sweden and Japan together accounting for nearly four percent (3.8 per cent).
On the eve of the Sumo Grand Tournament in London, experts on international trade came together for a special event at the Venture Centre, at the University of Warwick Science Park to look at trade with Japan and the US.
The event, called ‘Go West to the USA or Go East to Japan!’, was organised by Margaret Bourke from Taskeru, Dr Frank Levene from Blue Link Worldwide and Nathan Garner from Garner Finnemore LLP. The aim of the event was to show UK start-ups and scale-ups that entering the US or Japanese markets is more achievable than they might think.
Greg Clark, a former Business Secretary and now Executive Chair of Warwick Innovation District, opened the day by welcoming everyone and praising the University of Warwick Science Park’s role in helping local companies grow beyond the UK.
He was followed by Jacopo Dettoni, the editor of Financial Times owned FDI Intelligence, a respected authority on international investment, who gave an up to date analysis of key global trends and investment markets.
In the ‘Go East – Come to Japan’ session, Margaret Bourke shared why Japan is a great place for UK firms to build long-term partnerships. She was followed by Marina Parry and Hamid Chaudhry from JETRO London, who gave practical advice on how to start doing business there and outlined the programmes and support available to UK companies.
Margaret said: “Taskeru is happy to help companies looking East or West and this is a great time for UK companies to start up in either direction.”
The focus then shifted to the USA. Dr Frank Levene led the ‘Go West – Come to the USA’ session, explaining what to expect when entering the American market. Margaret Bourke talked about the City of Mentor in Ohio as a friendly landing spot for smaller UK companies, while Rhoda Campbell from SelectFlorida highlighted the support available in Florida. The session wrapped up with essential legal tips from Mary Cecilia Sweeney of Laura Devine Immigration.
Frank said: “This was a trailblazing cross-border, UK-USA FDI event that delivered practical insights for UK companies seeking to expand into the USA.”
Meanwhile, over in Birmingham, the ‘Swedish Business Footprint in the Midlands 2025’ event explored the impact of Swedish enterprises and investment in the Midlands.
The event was hosted by Fieldfisher, in collaboration with Forvis Mazars, with partners Embassy of Sweden in the United Kingdom, British Embassy Stockholm and the Department for Business and Trade.
The event opened with a welcome from Fredrik Warneryd, chief executive of Swedish Chamber in the UK, and included a number of panels featuring Swedish businesses in the UK, including industrial equipment and services business Atlas Copco and specialist steel business SSAB Swedish Steel and Swedish investor Storskogen.
It also heard from Kalle Pilfalk of Dreamhack, and its video games Dreamhack Birmingham event coming to the UK next year, with similar events planned in the US, China and Sweden.
West Midlands Growth Company and Invest Warwickshire talked about key local sectors and routes for investors into the area via initiatives such as the Global Investment Programme.
Speaking on a panel at the event, Ian Flynn of Invest Warwickshire paid tribute to the role of local intermediaries and agents in attracting and supporting businesses into the UK from Scandinavia and the Nordics, and supporting export there.
