FOREIGN investment to the UK has broken the £1 trillion barrier for the first time, showing "Britain is the place to do business", David Cameron has declared.
No 10 released the record figure as the Prime Minister prepared to travel to Milan for an international business exhibition, where he will have talks with Matteo Renzi, his Italian counterpart, as part of his continental charm initiative on EU reform.
New statistics show that last year Britain secured the highest number and value of projects across Europe with Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) estimated to have gone up by £90 billion.
This created nearly 85,000 new jobs and helped secure another 23,000.
Part of Mr Cameron's pro-EU pitch is that, as part of the single market, the UK benefits from the job opportunities it affords.
The PM, who is today leading a business delegation to the Milan Expo, which includes British entrepreneurs trying to sell ice cream and fashion to the Italians, said: "The scale of foreign investment is a huge success story which shows that Britain is the place to do business and is more evidence that our long term economic plan is working.
"Securing investment from overseas is a key part of our One Nation policies to create thousands of jobs, provide security and opportunities for working people throughout the UK," he added.
The UK attracted 1988 FDI projects in 2014/15, up by 12 per cent on the previous financial year, annual investment figures from UK Trade & Investment showed.
Investment came from more than 70 countries but the United States remained the main source with 564 projects over the last year, followed by France on 124 initiatives.
Indian FDI surged by 65 per cent and was responsible for more than 9000 of the new and safeguarded jobs while China was behind 112 projects, resulting in almost 6000 new and safeguarded jobs.
Both Mr Cameron and Mr Renzi will tour the international exhibition, where more than 140 countries are showcasing their commercial and cultural achievements to the world.
Among the UK business leaders accompanying the PM to Milan will be representatives from, among other firms, Oppo Ice Cream, whose claim is that it makes the world's healthiest dairy ice cream with fewer calories than an apple, and Cocorose London, a boutique shoe designer, which sells a unique brand of foldable ballet pumps.
Mr Cameron will use his meeting with the Italian premier also to discuss the EU-US trade deal, cutting red tape across Europe, the issue of Greece's financial plight and the Mediterranean refugee crisis.
Following his talks in Milan, the PM will later have talks on EU reform with his counterpart in Luxembourg.
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