The City

A global giant

London was rated the top European city for doing business for the seventeenth year running in 2006.

The UK is both the leading global financial services centre and the single most internationally focused financial marketplace in the world. An unrivalled concentration of capital and capabilities means that more overseas financial institutions and investors choose to do business in, and with, the UK than any other country. Let us show you why you ought to join them.

Strong Performance

The UK financial and related professional services industry is an economic powerhouse. Fuelled by both tradition and innovation, its achievements in serving global trade and development are compelling.

• The UK is the world’s largest source of international bank lending, with total banking assets of £5.1 trillion at the end of 2006, and 20 per cent of cross-border lending – the world’s biggest share.

• The UK is the world’s leading market for international insurance, with UK worldwide premium income totalling £166.7 billion in 2005.

• The UK industry had assets under investment management of £3.5 trillion in 2005.

• The UK banking sector is the largest in Europe with deposits of £2.4 trillion.

• The UK financial sector is responsible for 25 per cent of insurance business written in Europe.

Global Capital

London is the historical home of banking and investment, backed by strong regional centres of international expertise across the UK, which the capital’s pre-eminence in national and international finance supports and draws upon. It is determined to maintain its position as the world’s number one financial centre. The city’s statistics tell the story of its success. London has:

• offices, branches or headquarters of almost every major international bank and financial institution in the world;

• the world’s largest foreign exchange market, with a daily turnover of 32 per cent of the global total;

• the world’s most important marketplace for over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives with 43 per cent of global trades;

• a 42 per cent share of global foreign equity trading;

• over 70 per cent of global trading in international bonds; and

• three out of the four leading law firms in the world, and over 200 foreign law firms.

The UK is both the leading global financial services centre and the single most internationally focused financial marketplace in the world. An unrivalled concentration of capital and capabilities means that more overseas financial institutions and investors choose to do business in, and with, the UK than any other country. Let us show you why you ought to join them.

More than 300 languages are spoken in the UK.

Best Choice for Business

London ranks first in the global network connectivity index of international service companies.

The UK financial services industry has an outstanding track record. A wealth of experience and established institutions enable this success, but so too does the business environment. Fair, supportive, flexible, innovative and dynamic, it is critical to the UK’s first choice status. It gives those involved in the industry an automatic advantage.

The Top Ten Benefits

• 1. A strong global trading heritage that informs the openness and international outlook of today’s trade policies. As a result, foreign ownership is encouraged, with a level playing field for foreign firms.

• 2. A proportionate regulatory regime that’s effective, fair and focused on the future, principled and risk based. It’s become an international benchmark – and a draw for international business.

• 3. A consistent, politically neutral legal system that is widely used and understood globally, and confers confidence in doing business with the UK and in investing in the UK.

• 4. A convergence of financial, legal, accounting and management consulting companies acting as a powerful magnet for investors, operators, and customers generating critical mass; the cluster effect in action.

• 5. A central position between Asian and American time zones allowing London to work virtually around the clock.

• 6. Widely respected professional and support services that are central to streamlined business operations.

• 7. Substantial and world-class physical assets. From office accommodation to telecommunications, it’s available and of high quality.

• 8. A financial infrastructure that’s fit for purpose and for international interaction. It is efficient enough to deal with the industry’s scale and scope and robust enough to enable its evolution and expansion.

• 9. A favourable environment for tax. Both corporate and the top rate of personal tax are low compared with competitor countries, with the lowest main corporate tax rate in the G7 industrialised countries.

• 10. An inherently innovative environment that is driving market developments and opportunities, with a wealth of talent and expertise and a regulatory framework that supports innovation. It is securing international leadership for the UK and international business for UK-based operators.

Competitive edge

In a recent survey, respondents rated the UK financial services regulator ahead of cities including New York, Frankfurt and Paris.

Capital market access for Canadian company

When First Calgary Petroleums Ltd wanted to gain exposure to the pools of capital in the UK and Europe it decided to float on London’s Alternative Investment Market (AIM). It raised £12.4 million on admission and in the four-and-a-half years since has seen 30 per cent of the trading in its shares through London.

Strengths developed over centuries underpin the UK industry. Today, London and regional clusters are making the most of these components of competitive edge: people, position, policies and a positive approach to challenges and opportunities.

Critical mass

The UK has strength in numbers. From the number of people working in financial services to the number of leading markets with a presence in London – size matters. This not only means ready access to the bankers, brokers, dealers, lawyers and accountants on whose skills the sector depends, it also means easier access to international markets – and greater opportunities to benefit from them.

• •The UK financial and related professional services industry employs 1.3 million people.

• •The UK has strong financial service clusters in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham, Norwich, Bristol and Belfast. These cities are important centres of resource and expertise, which attract major flows of inward investment capital in their own right, and boast worldclass supporting professional services.

International interaction

The UK is not only well placed to meet the product and service needs of global markets, but also geographically well positioned. It is well served by transport links and time zones to capitalise on its location between Asia and America.

• London is the most internationally accessible city by air, with five international airports flying to 273 destinations.

• As a gateway to Europe and a member of the European Union – one of the largest single markets globally with 492.8 million residents – the UK has a clear advantage in terms of access to customers.

Legal and regulatory support

The UK strikes the right balance between trust and regulation. It is a balance that creates freedom for companies and protection for investors. The respect and confidence it engenders supports and drives the UK financial services industry.

The responsibility of the independent Financial Services Authority (FSA), the UK’s regulatory regime, centres on an appropriate and risk-based model that’s admired around the world. The combination of this regulatory environment with the common law system is compelling. Common law not only has a higher level of investor protection than civil law systems, but also has the flexibility to adapt subtly and rapidly to changing events and business practices.

World-class skills and innovation

The UK is home to ten of the leading 100 universities in the world.

Chicago Business School switches to London

The University of Chicago Graduate School of Business relocated its European campus from Barcelona to the City of London in 2005, citing London’s position as “the top European city in which to conduct business” as the reason for the move. Arnold Longboy, Director, Corporate Relations & Recruitment at Chicago GSB commented, “One of the main attractions to locating in the City was to take advantage of the high concentration of corporate headquarters. The synergies with other London based companies are numerous.”

The UK’s reputation as an international centre of excellence rests with its workforce – and with the thousands of UK-trained financial services professionals around the globe. As a world-leading provider of business education and professional qualifications the UK secures the standards and skills the industry needs. It also ensures that new ways of working and new technologies are adopted here first. The result is an industry served by people who can develop at the same pace as the market.

Professional institutes, specialist training providers, key university business schools and education clusters around the country are meeting growing global demand, providing portable professional skills that act as a passport to success throughout the world.

• In 2006 an estimated 330,000 people from overseas studied in the UK, for qualifications in fields such as accountancy, insurance and securities.

• London has the largest regional workforce in Europe – over 9 million people – one third of whom hold university degrees.

• The UK is home to ten of the leading 100 universities in the world. Leeds University

• Business School (LUBS), for example, is renowned worldwide for the quality of its learning, teaching and research – the School was ranked third in Europe for excellence in research.

Innovation success

Being able to build competitive advantage in new business environments is a vital skill. The UK has introduced innovations in hedge funds, property investment funds and derivatives and has taken a central role in the development of Islamic banking and carbon trading.

• London is the largest centre for Islamic finance outside the Muslim world.

• The UK accounts for 79 per cent of European hedge fund assets and 21 per cent of the global market.

• Since the launch of the London Carbon Trading Exchange in 2005, trading volumes have reached £40 million a day.

• Ninety per cent of investors cite the UK as their favoured location for Sharia’a compliant funds because of its political environment, legal and institutional frameworks, human capital and expertise.

Specialist expertise

As an early adopter of innovative financial instruments the UK has been the first to develop specialist skills. It is now the first port of call for international corporations and governments looking for assistance in these new areas.

• Privatisation – the UK was the first country to pioneer a systematic privatisation programme, and the expertise it gained as a result has led to significant advisory work with governments around the world.

• Public Private Partnerships (PPP) – over 800 contracts with a capital value of £61 billion have been signed in the UK under the Private Finance Initiative (PFI). Over 60 countries are looking to adopt aspects of the UK model – and seeking UK expertise to do so.

• Project finance – an area of acknowledged UK expertise, particularly in oil, gas, and power generation, where UK experience in PPP, privatisation, infrastructure and the power sector have been major selling points.

• Building on its world-class regulatory system, the UK is developing a proposal to create an international centre for financial regulation in the UK which will champion best regulatory practice worldwide.

London

US stockbroker goes for broke in London

One of the largest retail stockbrokers in the USA, Edward Jones, established its UK headquarters in London’s Canary Wharf in 1997. “The decision to locate in London is testament to London’s standing as Europe’s major financial centre and a strong endorsement of its competitive market position in terms of international accessibility, the quality of the workforce and business opportunities,” says UK Principal Tom Kirley. Already the company has completed a network of 130 offices across the UK and forecasts the creation of 1,000 jobs by 2008.

London has long been Europe’s flagship financial centre. It still has its esteemed financial institutions and rich business heritage – but today it has so much more. With a dramatically expanding skyline, a vibrant cultural and commercial life, and diverse and dynamic people and markets, it’s no wonder London is outscoring every other major centre in turnover of key financial markets.

Capital assets

London has:

• a highly trained, multilingual international City workforce of 306,000, with a further 88,000 employed in the vibrant Canary Wharf business district,

• the European headquarters of over a third of all Fortune 500 firms,

• the world’s biggest electronic exchange – London International Financial Futures and Options Exchange, Euronext.liffe,

• the vote of business leaders as one of Europe’s best cities for the availability of office space,

• a reputation as the most productive capital in Europe with the highest GDP per head in the whole of the EU, and

• strong historical and economic links with emerging markets in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, and an unparalleled transatlantic relationship with the economies of North America.

Capital achievements

London has:

• Europe’s largest international banking centre, with an estimated 41 per cent of all the EU’s financial services,

• the largest share of six out of eight key international financial markets,

• the fastest-growing market for hedge funds globally,

• a 7.5 per cent share of world equity market capitalisation through the London Stock Exchange – larger than Euronext or Deutsche Börse, and

• almost 25 per cent of the world’s marine and aviation insurance.

Regional excellence

In the five years to 2005, financial services in Scotland grew by 36 per cent – more than double the national figure.

New UK base for US bank

Following substantial growth in its activities in the UK and Europe, the Bank of New York selected Manchester as the location for a new business centre to support future expansion and complement its offices in London, Swindon, Liverpool and Edinburgh. Manchester beat other European contenders because of its excellent transport and business infrastructure as well as its wide and deep talent pool.

Clusters and cities across the UK are staking their claim to financial services excellence. Institutions and investors are reaping the rewards of this regional activity, locating headquarters and back-office operations to take advantage of highly skilled workforces and competitively priced premises.

Scotland

Scotland has had a thriving financial services industry for over 300 years. Today it has the second largest concentration of major bank headquarters in Europe and a world-class reputation for fund management, insurance, and asset servicing.

Scotland’s financial services sector:

• has total bank assets of over £360 billion,

• has funds of £530 billion under management,

• handles 40 per cent of domestic UK corporate structured finance,

• accounts for £7 billion – over 7 per cent – of Scotland’s GDP, and

• accounts for one in ten Scottish jobs.

Northern England

Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester and Newcastle have capitalised on local skills and economic ambitions to establish an internationally significant financial services sector.

• The financial and business services sector in Leeds – a top 30 European business location – accounts for one in four jobs and 31 per cent of its output.

• In 2006, accountancy and financial firms in Manchester were involved in 48 per cent of all AIM flotations, including a large number of cross-border deals.

The Midlands

The Midlands financial cluster centres on Birmingham. It is very ably supported by a substantial professional services sector – the fastest growing sector in the city – which is notable in particular for the strength of its legal services.

• The UK’s Islamic Bank of Britain, created in 2004, is headquartered in Birmingham.

Southern England

Southern England has developed a thriving financial services sector capitalising on a highly qualified workforce, proximity to information technology and business services and a superb transport infrastructure centring on Heathrow and Gatwick airports.

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland has a rapidly developing cluster of leaders in financial services ranging from investment banking, financial administration, trading, mortgage and insurance services to sophisticated software development for major financial institutions in London, New York, Frankfurt, Dublin and Tokyo. The sector currently employs around 22,000 people in 1,200 companies across the region, taking advantage of the availability of well-educated people.

Wales

Wales is home to more than 1,800 companies in the sector which together employ 30,000 people in banks and building societies, insurance and pension funding as well as financial intermediation. These firms are supported by a strong network of legal and accountancy related support services. A number of leading financial services firms have headquarters in Wales, such as Admiral Insurance and Black Horse, the asset finance division of Lloyds TSB Bank.

Sector strengths

UK banking sector deposits stood at over £2.5 trillion at the end of 2006.

Prime choice for Indian investment bank

When it started the process of overseas expansion, SBI Capital Markets (SBICAPS), which offers a wide range of investment banking services, chose the City of London for its first office outside India. “We wanted to grow our business and reach new clients,” says Group Executive Mrs Bhanu Raman. “Every major bank and financial institution in the world has a presence in London and we knew that to effectively target and succeed in our prime market – the UK and Europe – we should join these operators in the city.”

Banking

The UK’s banking industry is broad, deep and expanding. It has the largest assets and deposits in Europe. It achieves a higher return on capital than most advanced economies, and in the last decade every element of the industry has experienced rapid growth.

• Assets of the UK banking sector reached £6.2 trillion in 2006, over three times the 1995 total.

• Global investment banking fee revenue increased for the third year running in 2005 to £26 billion, up 14 per cent on the previous year.

• Net exports of UK banking totalled £9.962 billion in 2005, up 21 per cent on the previous year.

International banking

The UK is home to more foreign banks than any other centre worldwide. Following the introduction of the Banking Consolidation and associated Directives, over 200 banks from the European Economic Area (EEA) also operate in the UK without a physical presence.

Dominant global players such as Barclays, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, JP Morgan, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Standard Chartered, and the Royal Bank of Scotland all have substantial and numerous UK operations.

• London has 255 foreign banks with branches or subsidiaries – almost double the number in New York.

• Foreign banks manage over 54 per cent of UK banking sector assets.

• Around 50 per cent of European investment banking activity is conducted through London.

• Banks from EU nations manage £1.1 trillion of assets in London.

Retail banking

The UK retail banking sector has grown at an unprecedented rate in recent years. Driven by internet and telephone banking as well as credit card use, this trend is expected to continue in the coming years. As a result it is forecast to grow by 14 per cent from 2004 to 2009, to reach a value of £3.5 trillion.

Competitive and fast-moving, the UK sector has clearly got what it takes to succeed, both at home and abroad. When the UK’s five big retail banks – a group that consists of Barclays, HBOS, HSBC, Lloyds TSB and the Royal Bank of Scotland – reported record profits last year, four had made at least 40 per cent of their profit outside the UK.

• UK retail bank customers benefit from some of the cheapest services and products in Europe.

Private banking

It is not surprising that London is one of the world’s major centres for private banking. Clients benefit from many of the skills and much of the infrastructure that serve investment banking so well. They also have access to unparalleled expertise in the construction of wealth structures such as trusts. Importantly, advisers can be multijurisdictional in their service – beneficial where business interests or family members are located in a number of countries. Clients can also take advantage of the UK’s offshore banking locations – which are among the most important in the industry.

The net result of this international perspective and experience is that many overseas banks and intermediaries look to London for trust advice and dispute resolution. The fact that the Privy Council is the highest court of appeal for many offshore jurisdictions seals the capital’s status in this sector.

• The value of private client securities managed by banks, fund managers and stockbrokers in the UK totalled £276 billion in 2005.

UK-based fund managers were responsible for a record £3.5 trillion of funds in 2005 – 25 per cent of which were from overseas.

Australian firm at forefront in London

When Australia’s Macquarie Bank Group wanted to expand its infrastructure asset management and investment banking activities in Europe it chose London. The company has since built up a hugely successful portfolio of infrastructure investments. “The UK was the first European country to embrace a new model for infrastructure finance and management,” says Jim Craig, Head of Macquarie Europe. “Being in London, with access to its markets and project opportunities, has enabled us to be at the forefront of these new developments.”

Asset management

The UK is one of the largest global centres for fund management. Firm foundations established and enhanced over centuries have supported impressive growth in recent years, as has a strong international orientation.

Fund management

Over 45,000 people are employed in the sector and its supporting services. Concentrated predominantly in London and Scotland, some of the top firms ranked by funds under management are: Fidelity Investments, Halifax Investment Fund Managers, Invesco Perpetual, Jupiter Unit Trust Managers, Legal & General Investment Management, M&G Securities, Mellon Fund Managers, Schroder Investment Management, Scottish Widows Unit Trust Managers and Threadneedle Investment Services.

• The UK fund management sector contributed £8.2 billion to GDP in 2005.

• Institutional funds in the UK have increased by over 40 per cent over the last decade and in 2005 they accounted for 66 per cent of all funds under management.

• The UK manages pension fund assets of £1.6 trillion – the third largest in the world.

Private wealth management.

The UK is one of the major centres for onshore investment of private wealth. It is also a leader in the management of overseas clients’ non-domestic portfolios. Several factors underpin the UK’s international standing in the sector: a favourable legal and regulatory environment, a wide range of financial services and professional advice, as well as specialist expertise tailored to regional and cultural markets. The UK’s importance as a centre of expertise in alternative assets such as hedge funds adds to its attractions.

Nine of the world’s top ten wealth management firms have UK operations, with the global number one, UBS, having seven offices across the UK. This leading group also includes Citigroup, Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley and the HSBC Group, headquartered in London.

Hedge funds

Hedge fund assets managed out of London have grown sixfold between 2002 and 2006, from £31 billion to over £180 billion. The capital’s markets and clients, strong asset management industry, and favourable regulatory environment have all played their part in this recent success, supported by the burgeoning hedge fund servicing businesses.

• In 2003 there were 301 European-based hedge funds located in London – now there are 900.

• In 2002 just three of the top 50 hedge funds in the world were located in London; by 2006 this had risen to 12.

• London accounts for around 79 per cent of hedge funds managed in Europe and 21 per cent of the world’s hedge fund assets.

UK insurers have £902 billion of funds under management – almost double those of any other European country.

The UK insurance industry:

• is the largest in Europe and the third largest in the world, accounting for 8.6 per cent of total worldwide premium income, and

• employs 332,000 people. This is a third of all financial service jobs, twice as many as employed in motor vehicle manufacturing and more than three times the number employed in the electricity, gas and water supply sectors combined.

Source: UK Insurance – Key Facts, January 2007, Association of British Insurers

Insurance

The UK insurance industry is highly respected and at the heart of global activity. It is the largest in Europe and the third largest in the world. It dominates the worldwide market for internationally traded insurance and reinsurance, providing an unrivalled concentration of underwriting expertise and earning nearly 25 per cent of its revenue from overseas markets.

General insurance

Made up of 1,110 companies employing 332,000 people, the industry is concentrated in London and Scotland, with product processing and significant insurance centres in their own right in the other regional financial clusters.

• The total amount of money invested in insurance in the UK represents 31 per cent of personal sector wealth.

• The industry had worldwide insurance premium income of £167 billion in 2005.

• UK insurers have £902 billion of funds under management – almost double those of any other European country.

• The UK has a rich trading and insurance heritage, with the Lloyd’s of London market dating back to 1688.

The London Market

The distinct London Market, predominantly focused on high-exposure risks, is dominated by Lloyd’s of London. Providing services to thousands of businesses in over 200 countries, Lloyd’s has 66 syndicates underwriting insurance. The London Market is also the only place where all the world’s 20 largest international insurance and reinsurance companies are active.

• Premium income for internationally traded insurance and reinsurance totalled a record £26.7 billion in 2005, up 19 per cent on 2004.

• The London Market is a leading source of aviation insurance – 27 per cent of the global market in 2004.

The Maritime Market

London is unmatched when it comes to maritime services. The sector achieves overseas earnings of more than £1.3 trillion a year in the face of fierce international competition. Business is broad-based, covering everything from marine insurance to shipbroking and finance to dispute resolution.

• London is home to 400 shipbroking firms.

• Maritime sector earnings grew 25 per cent between 2002 and 2006.

• London has the largest share of net premiums in the world for marine insurance – 20.2 per cent in 2005.

There is more trading on the foreign exchange market in US dollars in the UK than in the USA, and more trading in Euros in London than in all the Euro-area countries combined.

UK Capital Markets

The scale and scope of UK capital markets are testament to their importance in the global financial system. The UK has the largest foreign exchange, foreign equities and overthe- counter (OTC) derivatives markets to be found anywhere in the world. They are also spearheading some of the most exciting new markets.

London markets account for:

• over 30 per cent of world foreign exchange business,

• eighty per cent of the £4 billion EU Emissions Trading Scheme,

• sixty per cent of the primary market in international bonds and 70 per cent of the secondary market,

• forty-eight per cent of global remote electronic trading business, and

• twenty per cent of cross-border bank lending.

Securities

The UK has a substantial domestic market in equities and bonds, and a powerful role in international bonds and foreign equities. Underpinning the huge volume of deals made in the UK is CREST, a realtime, multicurrency electronic settlement system incorporating a market-practice harmonisation programme.

• Net exports of securities dealing reached £2.3 billion in 2005.

• The market value of UK Government securities (Gilts) reached £425 billion in September 2006, up 19 per cent from the end of the previous year.

• London’s share of European Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) in the first nine months of 2006 was 47 per cent of the total value and 46 per cent of the number of all European IPOs.

Derivatives

London has capitalised with enormous success on the growth in derivatives and the presence of four major derivatives exchanges. It is now the biggest market in the world for over-the-counter derivatives and the second largest for exchange-traded futures and options. It has also capitalised on the industry’s creativity, becoming the global centre for innovation in derivatives and developing a range of new products for clients and governments around the world.

• 777 million futures and options contracts are traded each year in London.

• The UK’s share of cross-border derivatives turnover is 45 per cent.

The average daily volume of gold and silver cleared at the London Bullion Market Association is around £5.5 billion.

London’s Exchanges

London Stock Exchange The most international of all stock exchanges and the largest in Europe, the London Stock Exchange has a 300-year history of robust performance. Pivotal to the UK’s strong, well regulated stock market, the London Stock Exchange has over 1,600 companies trading on the main market and a similar number on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM).

AIM is the most successful growth market in the world. Since opening in 1995 over 2,400 companies have joined, raising more than £30 billion.

• The London Stock Exchange currently has more than 600 foreign firms from over 60 countries listed.

• Trading in UK-listed companies on the London Stock Exchange totalled £3.2 trillion in 2006, up 30 per cent on 2005.

• Overall for 2006, £6.7 trillion of equity business was transacted on the London Stock Exchange’s markets.

• IPOs raised £5.7 billion (US$11.2 billion) on the London Stock Exchange main market and AIM in the first three months of 2007.

The Baltic Exchange is the only self-regulated shipping market in the world. Over half of the world’s new and second-hand bulk vessels are traded by Baltic members.

The European Derivatives Exchange (EDX), London’s new, technology-driven exchange, has broadened the scope of equity derivatives trading while reducing risk and cost. Over 100 million contracts were traded on EDX in the first nine months of 2006.

Euronext.liffe (London International Financial Futures and Options Exchange) is the world centre for Euro money market derivatives trading. Trading on Euronext.liffe totalled 564 million contracts in the first nine months of 2006, up 25 per cent on the same period in 2005.

The London Carbon Trading Exchange, part of the European Climate Exchange (ECX), deals in more than twice the volume of its nearest competitor. As the early leader in emissions trading London is well positioned to service the market’s expected exponential growth.

The London Metal Exchange (LME) is the biggest non-ferrous metals exchange in the world. It handles over 90 per cent of the global trade in non-ferrous metals – worth £1.5 trillion a year.

IntercontinentalExchange (ICE) Futures operates Europe’s leading electronic regulated futures and options exchange for global energy markets. Contracts include the Brent global crude benchmark contract, gas oil, natural gas, electricity and ECX carbon financial instruments.

UK takes lead in Islamic financial services

Following the Finance Act of 2005, which included changes relating to the taxation of Islamic financial products, a range of Islamic finance products has been developed in the UK. There are now 23 banks in the UK offering Islamic products for the country’s 1.6 million Muslims and international investors, including HSBC, which has introduced Islamic-law compliant mortgage, pension and stockbroking services, and Lloyds TSB, which offers a Sharia’a compliant bank account. The first UK-based fully Sharia’a compliant bank, the Islamic Bank of Britain, was launched n 2004. The 2007 UK Budget announced measures to further facilitate Islamic finance, including a new tax regime that enables Sukuk to be issued, held, and traded within the UK on the same basis as conventional securities.

PLUS Markets Group is an independent UK provider of primary and secondary equity market services and currently trades over 850 small and mid-cap company shares, representing a combined market capitalisation of over £150 billion.

Bullion Market

London is the global clearing centre for worldwide trading of gold and silver and by far the largest market for over-the-counter trading.

• The average daily volume of gold and silver cleared at the London Bullion Market Association is around £5.5 billion. Private Equity and Venture Capital market The UK is the largest and most developed venture capital market in Europe and second only to the USA in the world.

• The UK accounts for over 25 per cent of the world’s private equity investment. LCH. Clearnet offers a unique range of clearing services, from futures to fixed income and from cash equities to interbank interest rate swaps, acting as sole intermediary on some of the world’s leading trading exchanges and over-the-counter marketplaces.

Eight of the world’s top ten largest management consultancy firms are from the UK.

Sony consolidates in London

Sony Global Treasury Services (GTS) was established in London as a global centre for the entire Sony group’s foreign exchange hedging and fund management/ raising operations. Explaining the rationale behind this consolidation of global financial operations in the UK’s capital, GTS Managing Director, Hiro Kurihara says, “The decision was based on London’s pre-eminence as a financial centre, and on an assessment of various factors, including human resources, infrastructure, language considerations and time zones.”

Professional Services

The UK professional services sector is pivotal to the prosperity of the financial services industry. They are well-matched in terms of talent and reputation and they are both globally focused. Factor in the UK’s openness to overseas organisations and the result is rapid international expansion.

Accountancy

The UK accountancy sector is growing domestically and internationally, with fee income among the top 50 firms rising to £7.6 billion. Fuelling growth among major UK firms such as PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Deloitte, KPMG LLP, Ernst & Young, and Grant Thornton UK LLP is the financial services industry’s growing requirement for expert advice on regulation.

• Exports of accounting services increased by 12 per cent in 2005 to reach £1 billion.

Legal Services

The UK is a leading international law centre, with three of the four largest legal companies in the world and over 200 foreign firms. Contributing £14.9 billion to the UK’s GDP, the sector employs over 80,000 solicitors and 14,000 barristers and is headed by firms such as Allen & Overy, Clifford Chance, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Linklaters, Norton Rose, and Slaughter and May. International law firms based in London account for nearly 50 per cent of UK law firms’ gross fees.

Management Consultancy

Management consultancy is one of the fastest-growing sectors in the UK. Financial services is the most significant area of growth, with fee income increasing by 50 per cent to £1.4 billion in 2005. Also on the increase is work by UK-based consulting firms for clients based overseas – this more than doubled between 2004 and 2005 to £668 million.

Specialist Services

Dispute resolution

The UK is one of the world’s principal venues for international arbitration, with 98 per cent of commercial cases handled by London law firms involving an international party.

Pension management and reform

With more than 3,500 pension funds totalling nearly £800 billion under management in the UK, its legal services, consultancy and asset management companies have enormous expertise in a range of services required in pension management and reform.