Greenfield foreign investment into the UK has hit an eight-year low in terms of project numbers, according to fDi Markets.

There were 876 greenfield foreign investment projects into the UK in 2018, the lowest number since 2010, finds fDi Markets, a Financial Times database that has monitored cross-border investment since 2003.

Figures hit their highest ever in 2015 with 1140 projects, but have dropped consistently since then, according to fDi Markets.

“For the UK, [2015 to 2018 has] been the longest continuous decline in FDI since records began,” found research from the the UK Trade Policy Observatory (UKTPO).

The UKTPO contends that overseas investment to the UK may be some 19% lower because of the vote to leave the EU.

UK companies have increased their investments into the EU by $10.73bn due to Brexit uncertainty diverting investment from the domestic market, says a recent study from the London School of Economics’ (LSE) Centre for Economic Performance.

The reports states that there has been a 12% increase in new FDI projects from the UK to the EU, while projects into the UK from the EU have decreased by 11% since the Brexit vote. This has resulted in losses to the UK of $13bn to date, says the LSE.

The report contends that losses to the UK would be increased in the case of a no-deal Brexit.