UK – Italy invests in jobs, boosts growth

• British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announces £485m of Italian investment in the UK after meeting in Rome with Italian CEOs
• Italian counterpart, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, wants to strengthen partnership between the UK and Italy on migration, trade and defence
• Part of the Prime Minister’s efforts to deliver results for hardworking Britons by resetting the UK’s relationship with key international partners

ENGLAND / ITALY – More jobs for Britons are being created thanks to almost half a billion pounds of investment by Italian companies in the UK, Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced today.

A joint press conference with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni confirmed £485m of investment in UK defence, clean growth and innovation from two major Italian companies: Leonardo and Marcegaglia. It follows a business roundtable with leading Italian CEOs in Rome, which together will support 17,500 jobs in every part of the UK.

“The Prime Minister has continued his drive to reset the UK’s relationship with its closest European partners to deepen cooperation on shared challenges, boost bilateral trade and investment, and stimulate economic growth at home. Italy is one of the UK’s top 10 trading partners, with annual bilateral trade between us worth £50 billion. It is also a key player for NATO, G7 and the EU, and a key aim of the Prime Minister’s visit today was to unlock deeper cooperation on security, defence and migration,” 10 Downing Street said.

Today’s visit follows visits to Berlin, Paris and Dublin in the past month as the Prime Minister seeks to find a post-Brexit solution, enhance our international partnerships and deliver tangible results for the British people.

Prime Minister Starmer said:

“I am in Italy with a clear message to one of our closest international friends and partners: Britain is a place to do business. Only by resetting our relationships around the world can we break down the barriers that have held the UK back for so long. It means attracting investment like the significant amount I am announcing today, creating jobs for hard-working Britons and delivering on my ultimate mission for the UK: economic growth.”

Today’s confirmed investments include:

• Leonardo, one of the world’s leading defence, aerospace and security companies, is investing £435 million by 2024, to be spent at its Yeovil site and in technology development and research programmes across the UK. The company operates 8 major sites across the UK, supporting 8,000 employees.
• Steelmaker Marcegaglia is to invest £50m in Sheffield to build a new clean steel electric arc furnace, creating 50 new jobs.

Stefano Pontecorvo, Chairman of Leonardo, said:

“It was a pleasure to meet Prime Minister Starmer and discuss our new £435 million investment in Leonardo’s growth in the UK. This investment will support cutting-edge research, thousands of highly skilled jobs and excellent early career opportunities across our eight UK sites, as well as the resilience of our nationwide supply chain. It is clear that the Prime Minister represents a dramatic change in the approach to the UK and its relationship with the European Union. Leonardo’s presence in the UK is underpinned by transnational collaboration at a government level, which also supports collaboration at an industry level. I look forward to working closely with the Prime Minister as we continue to invest in the UK and support the defence of Europe.”

The Prime Minister also visited Italy’s National Coordination Centre earlier today with newly appointed Border Security Commander Martin Hewitt CBE QPM, where they heard how Italy has reduced irregular migration by 60 per cent compared to last year, thanks to its innovative upstream work.

“In a joint statement issued after his meeting with Prime Minister Meloni, he also confirmed that the UK will contribute £4 million to the Rome Process, the Italian government’s project to tackle the root causes of irregular migration. The UK and Italy have also agreed to work more closely together to tackle illicit financial flows linked to organised immigration crime and to share intelligence to disrupt the supply chains of maritime equipment used by vile people-smuggling gangs.”

The two leaders also agreed to deepen their defense cooperation by confirming that the Italian army and navy will participate in the British Carrier Strike Group operations in the Indo-Pacific next year.