New Irish investment into UK part of ‘flourishing’ ties, Keir Starmer says

More than £900 million of new Irish investment into the UK is part of the “flourishing” ties between Ireland and Britain, Sir Keir Starmer has said.

The British Prime Minister announced the funding from Irish entities as he emphasised aims to deepen co-operation between Dublin and London.

Sir Keir was greeted in Cork on Thursday by Irish Premier Micheal Martin as he arrived for the second UK-Ireland Summit.

The gathering of British and Irish ministers included a roundtable with business leaders in the energy and infrastructure sectors on Thursday evening.

The £937 million in new investment from companies in Ireland is expected to create around 850 jobs across London, Doncaster, South Wales and Scotland.

Gas Networks Ireland is to invest £170 million; Amach, the AI and cloud-computing company to the aviation sector, is to invest £45 million and create 150 jobs; and Focus Capital Partners is to invest £3 million.

Ayrton Group, which is based in Cork, will invest more than £1 million in its UK arm to boost “AI-empowered services” and double its London team.

As the high cost of fuel and energy is expected to dominate discussions at the Cork summit, energy links between Britain and Ireland will also be emphasised.

An interconnector between Wales and Ireland is expected to provide enough power for 570,000 homes, and represent at least £740 million of private investment.

A separate energy connector between Northern Ireland and Ireland aims to lower electricity costs on the island.

The UK and Irish governments are also expected to discuss joint exercises to test the resilience of subsea fibre optic cables which run between the UK and Ireland, and a “crackdown” on shadow fleets and other threats in the Irish and Celtic seas through a refreshed UK-Ireland Defence Memorandum of Understanding.

Sir Keir said: “As people on both sides of the Irish Sea are feeling the cost-of-living squeeze, we are investing in partnerships that make us better off and more secure.

“The UK’s close friendship with Ireland is going from strength to strength and I am pleased that we are going further in working together on growth, energy, security and more.

“This new Irish investment coming into the UK is one part of a much bigger picture of our flourishing cultural, commercial and security ties.

“The action this Government has taken to reset relationships and deepen partnerships with our closest allies is paying off.

“It will help us withstand global challenges and protect money in the pockets of families up and down the country.”

Robert Adams, president of Focus Capital Partners, said the UK was “a highly attractive market for investment”.

He added: “Expanding our presence in London allows us to work more closely with ambitious UK companies and to support Irish and international businesses and investors seeking opportunities in the UK market.”

Ayrton managing director Kieran Linehan said its strategy for several years had been to expand beyond Ireland.

“Thus, the UK market has always been our most strategic fit, for many reasons,” he said.

“These include the UK being a significantly larger market than Ireland, it is a very diverse and established market, with whom we have an extremely strong relationship, culturally.

“Doing business in the UK for Irish companies is much easier than other markets, due to the historical relationships, geographical location, our common language and cultural synergies.

“Additionally, investing in the UK market is an opportunity to enhance the services we provide, including engineering and associated services, to our clients and we have always wanted to bring our Irish market expertise to compete in such a larger market that is the UK.

“With our ‘Group’ structure, we feel we can cost-effectively serve the UK market and our UK clients, thus investment in the UK is a good return on our investment in that market.”

O’Flynn Group chairman and chief executive Michael O’Flynn said it would deliver student accommodation valued at £35 million in Manchester.

He added: “The UK remains one of the most important and dynamic student accommodation markets globally, and our new Manchester development reflects our continued confidence in UK university cities and our long-term commitment to delivering high-quality, professionally managed accommodation that supports students, universities, and local communities.

“We have built a strong operational platform in the UK over nearly three decades, and we continue to see attractive opportunities to invest further in partnership with institutional capital.”