Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala committed to investing £10bn in the UK over the next five years, in a move that expands the scope of both nations’ multi-billion pound sovereign investment partnership (SIP) announced in March. 

The investment commitments, sealed by the fund with the British Office for Investment (OfI) on September 16, target three key UK sectors: infrastructure, clean energy and technology. 

“Today’s expansion of our SIP will help accelerate funding and innovation in key sectors that are foundational to economic growth of both nations,” Khaldoon Al Mubarak, Mubadala’s CEO, said in a statement following the announcement.

In March, Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala signed an initial long-term investment agreement of £800m with the UK government to boost the next generation of UK life sciences. Since the launch of the partnership in March, the UAE has invested more than £1.1bn in the UK, according to OfI data. 

OfI also reports that total trade between the UAE and UK in 2019 amounted to £18.6bn, while total two-way investment reached £13.4bn within the same year. fDi Markets has tracked 229 UAE greenfield project announcements in the UK since 2003, worth an estimated capex of $15.5bn. 

Moreover, fDi Markets data reveal that proximity to markets or customers, domestic market growth and transport infrastructure have been primary motives driving UAE investment in the UK. 

Going forward, the UAE–UK SIP will act as the central investment platform under the Partnership for the Future framework announced by UK prime minister Boris Johnson and Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al Nahyan on September 16. The partnership seeks to oversee trade and investment relations between the two nations, and promote collaborations in priority issues including climate change, education and regional stability.