A recent PwC survey reveals that the UK is now the most important market for US business leaders.

The survey (conducted in October and November 2021) takes 4,500 CEOs from 89 different countries into account. It reveals the UK is becoming a more and more significant growth prospect to CEOs globally. 

Over a third (37%) of US CEOs identified the UK as one of the three countries or territories that are most critical for their companies’ revenue growth prospects over the next twelve months. This represents a 16 percentage point increase from the previous survey and means the UK has now even overtaken China (26%) Germany follows at 24%. 

Likewise, the US has become a more attractive investment proposition to UK CEOs from which over half (54%) see the US as an indispensable growth target, up from 44% in both the previous two years. Germany came next for UK CEOs, at 32%. 

The US remains the top country that CEOs worldwide are prioritising for growth. Some 41% of CEOs globally selected the US as a top-three growth target (35% last year), followed by China (27%) and Germany (18%). 

The UK remains fourth in the ranking but has closed the gap with Germany – with just one percentage point difference between the countries, compared with six percentage points in the previous survey. 

Some 17% of CEOs globally selected the UK as a top-three growth target, up from 11% in 2021 and 9% in autumn 2019.

It is also worth mentioning that optimism about the global economy is particularly high among UK CEOs, with 82% anticipating it will improve in 2022 – up from 77% last year. Moreover, almost one in five (18%) UK CEOs think the global economy will improve significantly, compared with 11% of global CEOs. 

Cover photo: British Poles

Author: Sebastien Meuwissen