Top UK business leaders are scared that British infrastructure is lagging behind the rest of the world.
According to a study published by Lloyds Bank on Monday, two thirds of boardroom-level executives from leading UK companies deem the UK’s national infrastructure to be worse than that of other developed economies. Only eight per cent of those questioned think it is better.
Digital infrastructure, rail networks and energy were the areas considered most in need of improvement. But concerns about airport infrastructure eased compared to last year.
A similar survey last year cited airport infrastructure as business leaders’ top concern with 57 per cent saying it needed modernising compared to only 28 per cent who said so in this year’s survey.
Forty-five per cent of those questioned in the survey said that the Government’s top priority after the Brexit vote should be to increase infrastructure spending. And 78 per cent said that a substantial increase in infrastructure spending would significantly improve the likelihood of international investment in the UK.
“Britain needs world class infrastructure in the UK to maintain its attractiveness as a modern and global hub,” Clare Francis, a managing director at Lloyds Bank said commenting on the study.
“The government’s draft industrial strategy is a good start but we need to ensure that the country invests in its infrastructure to drive economic growth over the long-term,” she added.
Separately, the survey also found that top business executives are also generally downbeat on global economic conditions going forward.
Over two fifths, or 43 per cent, of those questioned expect global economic conditions to worsen this year, which is a stark increase from 29 per cent who said so last year.
More than 70 per cent identified geo-political risk as their biggest concern, following political shifts in the UK and the US; upcoming European elections; and global escalating tensions in Russia and Asia.
