More opportunities for British business highlighted as Paralympics keeps global spotlight on London
As the Paralympic Games keep British achievement centre stage this week, global business summits continue to raise the international profile…
As the Paralympic Games keep British achievement centre stage this week, global business summits continue to raise the international profile of UK enterprises. The summits, hosted by UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) at Lancaster House, London, will showcase British expertise in developing assistive medical technologies and delivering major global sporting events, to hundreds of UK and international delegates.
The events are part of the British Business Embassy, the centrepiece of the Government’s international Olympics business legacy programme, which is expected to generate £1bn of benefit to the UK economy.
An **Advances in Assistive Medical Technologies **Global Business Summit on Monday 3rd September 2012 will showcase ground breaking approaches to rehabilitation and assistive technologies - from computer controlled artificial limbs to non-invasive blood pressure management techniques - for people living with injuries, disabilities or illnesses.
Speakers for the day include** **Professor Sir Bruce Keogh KBE FRCS, Medical Director of the NHS, Ian Stevens, Chief Executive of Touch Bionics and Geoff McGrath, Managing Director of McLaren Applied Technologies. The day includes a visit to Stoke Mandeville Hospital, where international delegates will view state-of-the-art rehabilitation equipment and systems in practice.
Universities and Science Minister David Willetts said:
“The UK’s strong commitment to research and development, low taxes for business and world class higher education have nurtured one of the world’s largest and most productive life science industries. British assistive medical technology firms exemplify how innovation and technology can be harnessed to boost prosperity and change lives - and today’s event is a great opportunity to promote their extraordinary potential to an international audience.”
On 5th September a Global Sports Summit will bring together leading organisations in delivering international sports events to explore how UK firms can capitalise on the successful staging of the Olympic and Paralmypic Games. Issues for discussion will include sustainable architecture and engineering, planning, security and maximising customer experience and revenue. Speakers include Jon Tibbs, JT Associates and Chair of the UKTI Global Sports Projects Sector Advisory Group, Michael Taylor, Senior Partner, Hopkins Architects and Jim Burridge, Director, ARUP
Olympics Minister Hugh Robertson said:
“It’s been estimated that US $200 billion will be spent on construction for global sports events between 2010 and 2020. And UK firms are now in prime position to secure work having helped deliver the London Olympics on time and under budget.
“More than 20 firms have already won major contracts for Rio 2016 and with many major events to be hosted on home soil over the next decade there are many more opportunities to come.”
**Notes to editors
**1. During the Olympics the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, Chancellor, Business Secretary and 35 other ministers have welcomed around 3,000 business leaders and global figures, including over half of the FTSE 100 companies and hundreds of international buyers, investors and policy makers, to a series of Global Business Summits at the British Business Embassy at Lancaster House as part of an 18-day programme. Speakers have included IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde, designer Stella McCartney and Apple designer Sir Jonathan Ive. A programme of 75 business seminars around the UK is also underway.
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Detailed programmes and video coverage of the British Business Embassy events are at www.ukti.gov.uk/britishbusinessembassy
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Follow the events live on Twitter @BritBizClub and join the conversation using hashtag #BritBizEmbassy.
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The UK has one of the world’s most productive Life Sciences economies, comprising around 4,500 firms and an annual turnover of over £50 billion, and UK companies are at the forefront of the development of innovative assistive technologies.
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UK companies have partnered local firms and organising committees in every major sporting event from Sydney to Vancouver, and many more are supporting future host and bid cities including Rio for the 2016 Summer Games and Sochi for the 2014 Winter Games. For example, Aecom UK is designing the Rio 2016 Master Plan, Populous designed the Sochi stadium and a number of British companies including Atkins have won around £600 million contracts for Qatar 2022 in related infrastructure development and planning.
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UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) is the Government Department that helps UK-based companies succeed in the global economy. We also help overseas companies bring their high quality investment to the UK’s economy - acknowledged as Europe’s best place from which to succeed in global business. UKTI offers expertise and contacts through its extensive network of specialists in the UK, and in British embassies and other diplomatic offices around the world. We provide companies with the tools they require to be competitive on the world stage. For more information on UKTI, visit www.ukti.gov.uk or visit the online newsroom at www.ukti.gov.uk/media.
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Host2Host is UKTI’s specific Olympic Legacy programme designed to derive an economic and business legacy from the 2012 Games with countries who will host future major international sporting projects. Through a series of strategic agreements with other host nations and cities, Host2Host provides a platform for UK capability and expertise in the delivery of major events and enables the sharing of best practice in order to develop further trade and investment opportunities.
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The Government’s economic policy objective is to achieve ‘strong, sustainable and balanced growth that is more evenly shared across the country and between industries.’ It set four ambitions in the ‘Plan for Growth’ (PDF 1.7MB), published at Budget 2011:
- To create the most competitive tax system in the G20
- To make the UK the best place in Europe to start, finance and grow a business
- To encourage investment and exports as a route to a more balanced economy
- To create a more educated workforce that is the most flexible in Europe.
Work is underway across Government to achieve these ambitions, including progress on more than 250 measures as part of the Growth Review. Developing an Industrial Strategy gives new impetus to this work by providing businesses, investors and the public with more clarity about the long-term direction in which the Government wants the economy to travel.
Notes to Editors
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