Think London and UK Trade & Investment’s ‘Route To 2012’ Olympic Games roadshow stops in Austin, Texas

16-Jun-2009

Think London together with UK Trade & Investment (UKTI), will host a VIP business dinner in Austin, Texas, as part of the ‘Route to 2012’ North American roadshow.

The dinner is targeted at senior executives from Texas businesses and is the fourth of 14 high profile business events in North America to promote London as the number one destination for companies looking to expand overseas. Speakers will discuss current business opportunities that are available in the UK’s capital, highlighting specific prospects within the digital and sustainability sectors as well as the wider opportunities that the London Olympic and Paralympic Games have to offer international businesses.

The speakers include: Matt Curtis, Aide to Austin’s Mayor-elect, Lee Leffingwell; Roberta Lang, the General Council for Wholefoods Market; Sir Alan Collins the UK Director General for Trade and Investment for the US, and Paul Bromelow, Global Sales Director for Think London. Mayor-elect Leffingwell commented, “We are part of a global economy that often draws across entire hemispheres. Our local economic success can sometimes benefit from a major employer meeting demands elsewhere. Austin’s Whole Foods Market is a great example of a local company who found a demand for their services in London.

The dinner hosted by Think London and UK Trade & Investment will allow businesses to learn more about the market share for their goods or services in London as well as meet the organizations who can support them with the process of setting up in London.” According to Paul Bromelow, “The message we bring to Austin is that London still presents significant opportunities for Texan companies and the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games offers a real investment opportunity with a value of $15 billion. Specifically, London’s commitment to sustainability is demonstrated through the Olympic Organizers’ integration of sustainable practices throughout the entire lifecycle of the Games.

Furthermore, London 2012 will be the first Digital Games, allowing spectators to participate and contribute to the Games via social networking. Therefore, companies operating in these and other industries will find London’s environment extremely fertile for innovation and investment.” Sir Alan Collins added, “ While many of the events on our ‘Route to 2012’ roadshow will focus on the sustainability and digital sectors, it is hard to think of any sector that will not benefit from the business opportunities that the UK will offer in the run-up to the 2012 Games. The objective of ‘Route to 2012’ is to engage with the decision makers of North American companies and have an in-depth discussion around the tangible opportunities that exist both inside the Games as well as across London and the whole of the UK."

Over the next ten months, the 'Route to 2012' roadshow will reach out to potential investors and showcase investment opportunities in London and the UK , including the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Think London and UKTI have already travelled to Palo Alto, San Francisco and Los Angeles and will be visiting a further 9 cities across North America: Austin, Dallas, Atlanta, Washington DC, New York, Boston, Toronto, Chicago with a final stop in Vancouver for the Winter Olympics in February 2010. Even in the current economic climate, London and the UK continue to be attractive destinations for overseas companies. The UK is the largest recipient of overseas investment in Europe, second only to the U.S. globally. Since 2000, Think London has assisted nearly 900 companies from North America expand their operations to London including Delta Airways, Amgen, Google, Raytheon, Wells Fargo, LinkedIn, Microsoft, MySpace and Facebook. In the past year, UKTI has helped 20,700 businesses globally to generate $50bn (£33.6bn) in revenues.

ENDS

For media enquiries only:

Liam Rose
Sterling Communications
(415) 992-3213
lrose@sterlingpr.com

About Think London
Think London is the foreign direct investment agency for London, assisting companies moving to the UK capital by offering access to business networks , people and opportunities . Think London is a not-for-profit, private-public partnership delivering expertise and advice to international businesses. The agency’s service is completely free, comprehensive and confidential. Think London’s experts work with government and the business community to help companies access the best people, places and opportunities in the city. Think London’s principal funding partners are the London Development Agency (LDA) and our network of commercial partners . Other key partners are the City of London Corporation , which also provides funding, UK Trade & Investment and the business community through London First .

About UK Trade & Investment
UK Trade & Investment is the UK Government's international business development organisation that helps businesses locate in the UK and grow internationally. Every year we help hundreds of firms, from hi-tech start-ups to global industry leaders, discover global growth from a UK base. UKTI staff have unparalleled knowledge of commercial, political and social issues, along with contacts and opportunities available to UK businesses and overseas investors. Our services are offered across a network of business specialists in the UK and British diplomatic posts in some 100 markets all around the world. For more information, visit the web site at www.uktradeinvest.gov.uk.