Labour to woo global investors at early October summit

Sir Keir Starmer will set out Labour’s pitch to global investment giants at a conference in early October as his new government seeks to draw tens of billions of pounds of foreign capital.

Sky News has learnt that ministers have pencilled in a date of on or around 8 October for a Global Investment Summit, which would meet Labour’s campaign pledge to stage the event within 100 days of coming to power.

Sources said the date was expected to be finalised this month, with invitations being issued shortly afterward.

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Labour are said to be hopeful that their inaugural investment summit can trump the two held by Conservative governments in recent years, the more recent of which – last November – unveiled £29.5bn of investment in new projects and capital.

Among those who have attended previous summits were the Blackstone chef Stephen Schwarzman, Goldman Sachs boss David Solomon, his JP Morgan Chase counterpart Jamie Dimon, and Ignacio Galan, chairman of Iberdrola, the Spanish owner of Scottish Power.

The new business secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, told private sector leaders on Tuesday that he would aim to be accessible to them and be unashamedly pro-enterprise.

Speaking remotely to more than 100 bosses, including from companies such as Heathrow Airport, BT Group, BP and the CBI, Mr Reynolds said his department would shortly launch an email address at which businesses and investors could contact him with ideas and concerns.

He also said he was keen for companies to make a financial return on their investments, a sentiment welcomed by those who participated in the call.

According to two people who took part, Mr Reynolds pledged that Labour would focus on four business priorities: pursuing a mission-driven industrial strategy; supporting SMEs; championing UK exports and resetting trade relations; and making work pay.

This, he said, would deliver an economy that worked for everyone.

The Department for Business and Trade declined to comment on the date of Labour’s Global Investment Summit.