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UKTI celebrates Italian investors in Milan

UK-Italy Business Awards assigned by UK Trade & Investment to Italian companies at gala dinner at Milan Stock Exchange.

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UK-Italy business awards winners

Italian excellence in business and culture was celebrated on the evening of 22 January 2015 at the eighth edition of the UK-Italy Business Awards. Through this event, the British Government acknowledges the success of Italian investors that chose the United Kingdom as a important market for their international business development in the course of 2014.

The ceremony was organised by the British Consulate-General in Milan and UK Trade & Investment (UKTI), the government agency for export and investment promotion. The venue was Palazzo Mezzanotte, home to Borsa ItalianaLondon Stock Exchange Group. A gala dinner ensued with the presence of high profile guests from both Italy and the UK.

Awarded companies

These included:

  • DADA – Digital Industries Award
  • Digital Bros – Creative Industries Award
  • Global System International – Elite Award
  • Kinexia – Green Economy Award
  • Laminazione Sottile – Industrial Investment Award
  • Maire Tecnimont – Engineering Award
  • Mapei – Long Term Investor Award
  • Mediobanca – Financial Services Award
  • Piquadro – Brand Recognition Award
  • Starhotels – Market Entrant Award

The ceremony was also the occasion to launch the Grown in Britain Global Business Programme and to highlight the UK’s participation at Milan EXPO 2015.

The Milan EXPO Special Edition Award was assigned to:

  • Barilla Center for Food & Nutrition Foundation, for its commitment to address food and sustainability issues.

The event also recognized the role of innovation and young entrepreneurship by awarding Italy’s most vibrant start-ups:

  • Chorally
  • ClouDesire
  • Ennova
  • In.Sight
  • PRoBiomedica, Photonics & Robotics

The ‘Best Innovative Budget Award’ was presented to:

  • Gabriele Salvatores, Italian Academy Award-winner and film director for ‘Italy in a Day’.

A ceremony attended by distinguished guests

Distinguished guests who attended the ceremony included:

Dominic Jermey remarked the UK participation at Milan EXPO 2015 and said:

The 2015 Milan EXPO will be an excellent opportunity. The UK will have a fantastic pavilion there. I see the EXPO as a fabulous platform for UK creativity and innovation where we will showcase the UK’s world class exporters and outstanding offer to inward investors.

Raffaele Jerusalmi, CEO of Borsa Italiana, said:

We are delighted to host for the eight consecutive year this prestigious ceremony organized by UKTI. Borsa Italiana and UKTI partner in numerous initiatives and have an established working relationship. We are very pleased that also this year UKTI has dedicated an award for companies enrolled in Elite, the Borsa Italiana programme dedicated to SMEs with ambitious growth and internationalization plans.

To him and to Borsa Italiana the warmest thanks for their continuous and crucial support.

During the evening guests had the opportunity to enjoy a live performance by British singer Emma Morton, one of the Award winners and also one of 2014 X-Factor Italy semi-finalists.

A special thank you goes to Missoni, winner of the International Business Award in 2010.

Special thanks also to the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio Salernitana for supporting the Innovation Awards.

The UK: a business-oriented economy

The UK has the most open and business-oriented economy out of the major European countries. It offers:

  • a corporation tax rate of 21% coming down to 20% in April 2015, by far the lowest in the G7 and the joint lowest in the G20
  • a high competitiveness, with the UK ninth out of 144 countries in terms of international business competitiveness according to the World Economic Forum
  • a strong flow of FDI stock, with US$37.1 billion of FDI attracted in 2013
  • a major market in its own right, with the UK currently the sixth largest economy in the world and predicted to be the largest economy in Europe by 2030

The role of UKTI Italy and its dedicated Investment Team

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 dynamic economy acknowledged as Europe’s best place from which to succeed in global business. The Investment Team of UKTI Italy delivers:

  • bespoke information on market opportunities and government incentives
  • assistance with UK strategy and planning
  • finding the right location
  • guidance during set-up phase
  • helping companies grow in the UK and internationally

In the course of the last financial year Italy ranked third in Europe among foreign investors for the number of projects delivered. This confirming the strong interest that Italian entrepreneurs have for the United Kingdom and the dynamism of the bilateral relationship between Italy and the UK. It is also for this reason that the UK-Italy Business Awards ceremony became such an important appointment for the Italian business world.

Milan EXPO 2015 and the UK Pavilion

The Milan Expo 2015 will run from the 1st May to 31st October 2015. The theme is Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life.

The UK Pavilion, designed by award-winning British artist Wolfgang Buttress, will demonstrate the best of British business, science and culture globally and is being built by UK companies in Yorkshire and Milan. The theme for the Pavilion is ‘Grown in Britain’. It will celebrate UK innovation, excellence and global leadership in the areas of:

  • food and drink
  • agri-tech
  • life sciences
  • creative industries
  • healthcare
  • technology
  • international development

It will project the UK internationally as a uniquely open, diverse and innovative nation and will offer exciting opportunities for the UK to engage with global leaders and thinkers around issues of nutrition, food security and international development.

Milan EXPO 2015 will be a great platform for cooperation between the UK, Italy and the other participants.

UKTI Italy contacts:

Inward Investment: Tiziana Marcuccio, Head of Inward Investment inwardinvestment.milan@fco.gov.uk milancommercialenquiries@fco.gov.uk

Press: Raffaella Previtera, Head of Communications Team communicationsmilan@fco.gov.uk

Published 23 January 2015