More jobs for British people will be created thanks to nearly half a billion pounds worth of investment by Italian businesses into the UK, the Prime Minister has announced today.

In a joint press conference with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni this afternoon, he confirmed £485 million of investment into UK defence, clean growth and innovation by two major Italian companies – Leonardo and Marcegaglia.

This follows a business roundtable with leading Italian CEOs in Rome this morning, who collectively support 17,500 jobs in every part of the UK.

The Prime Minister has been continuing his drive to reset the UK’s relationship with its closest European partners to deepen co-operation on shared challenges, boost bilateral trade and investment and drive economic growth at home. 

Italy is one of the UK’s top ten trading partners, with annual bilateral trade between us worth £50 billion. It is also a pivotal NATO, G7 and EU player, and a key aim of the Prime Minister’s visit today was to unlock deeper co-operation across security, defence and migration.

Today’s visit follows trips to Berlin, Paris and Dublin in the last month as the Prime Minister strives to move beyond Brexit, improve our international partnerships and unlock tangible results for British people.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said:

I am in Italy with a clear message for one of our closest international friends and partners: Britain is a place to do business. 

It is only by resetting our relationships around the world that we can break down the barriers that have been holding the UK back for so long. 

It means we can attract investment such as the significant sum I’m announcing today, create jobs for hardworking British people and deliver on my ultimate mission for the UK – economic growth.

Today’s confirmed investments include:

• Leonardo, one of the world’s leading defence, aerospace and security companies, will invest £435 million in 2024, to be spent at their Yeovil site, and in technology development and research programmes across the UK. It operates 8 major sites in the UK, supporting 8,000 employees. 
• Marcegaglia, a steel manufacturer, will invest £50 million in Sheffield to build a new clean steel electric arc furnace, creating 50 new jobs.

 Stefano Pontecorvo, Chairman of Leonardo said: 

It was a pleasure to meet with Prime Minister Starmer and discuss our new £435 million investment in the growth of Leonardo in the UK. This investment will support advanced research, thousands of highly skilled jobs and outstanding early careers opportunities at our eight UK sites as well as the resilience of our nationwide supply chain. 

It is clear that the Prime Minister represents a pronounced change in approach for the UK and its relationship with the European Union. Leonardo’s presence in the UK is underpinned by transnational collaboration at a governmental level, which also supports cooperation at an industrial level. I look forward to working closely with the Prime Minister as we continue to invest in the UK and support the defence of Europe.

The Prime Minister also visited Italy’s National Coordination Centre earlier today with the newly appointed Border Security Commander Martin Hewitt CBE QPM. While there, they heard how Italy has successfully reduced irregular migration by 60% compared to last year, thanks to its innovative upstream work.  

In a joint statement issued after his meeting with Prime Minister Meloni, he has also confirmed that the UK will contribute £4 million to the Rome Process, the Italian government’s project to tackle the root causes of irregular migration. 

The UK and Italy have also agreed to work more closely to tackle illicit financial flows linked to organised immigration crime and share intelligence to disrupt the maritime equipment supply chains used by vile people smuggling gangs. 

The two leaders also agreed to deepen their defence co-operation by confirming that Italian Army and Navy will participate in UK Carrier Strike Group Operations in the Indo-Pacific next year.  

Notes to Editors:

Attendees of the roundtable, hosted at the British Ambassador’s Residence in Rome, were as follows:

• Claudio Descalzi, CEO, Eni 
• Stefano Pontecorvo, Chairman, Leonardo 
• Lady Suzanne Heywood, COO, Exor and Chair, CNH Industrial N.V. and Iveco Group 
• Stefano Venier, CEO, Snam 
• Emma Marcegaglia, Chairman and CEO, Marcegaglia 
• Filippo Modulo, Partner, Chiomenti
• Marco Tronchetti Provera, Executive Vice Chairman, Pirelli
• Andrea Bonomi, Founder and Chairman, Investindustrial

Further business quotes:

Emma Marcegaglia, Chair and CEO of Marcegaglia Holding, said: 

The announced investments are evidence of Marcegaglia’s willingness and ability to invest to grow the UK business, which is beneficial also to Marcegaglia Italy to reduce the carbon footprint of the whole group by insourcing primary steelmaking for stainless steel.” 

Claudio Descalzi, CEO of Eni, said: 

Eni sees the UK as a primary destination for its investments. The Government is establishing a favourable regulatory environment and promoting a clear strategy towards an orderly and fast energy transition. Eni believes a close cooperation with the public sector will be critical to develop the kind of groundbreaking projects we need to address the climate challenge. The recent award Green Volt, participated by Plenitude through the JV Vårgrønn – and set to become the biggest floating offshore wind project in the world with up to 560 MW capacity – in the Government’s annual green energy auction this month, is a clear testament of how Government and industry can work together to develop one of the most promising technologies of the future.

Marco Trochetti Provera, Executive Vice-Chairman of Pirelli, said: 

We are honoured to be here today to welcome Prime Minister Starmer on a visit that strengthens the ties between Italy and the UK. Pirelli has been present in the UK for almost a century and it is a Country which represents a strategic market for us in terms of presiding over high-end car manufacturers. 

The collaboration between the public and private sectors, together with the professionalism and passion of the people who work there, has allowed us to gradually consolidate our presence in the British market, where today we are the sole tyre producer and which includes our factories in Carlisle and Burton-on-Trent where our headquarters are also located.

Lady Suzanne Heywood, Chair of CNH, said: 

CNG announces its intention to further develop its leading role of capturing fugitive methane from farm operations as alternative fuel with its investment in Bennamann in UK.