Deputy Mayor leads London trade mission to India

• Deputy Mayor for Business Rajesh Agrawal joined by 10 London businesses on four day mission
• London attracts more investment projects from India over last decade than any other European or American city

London’s Deputy Mayor for Business, Rajesh Agrawal will visit New Delhi and Bengaluru next week (March 13^th – 16^th) as he leads a trade mission to promote stronger trade and investment links with India.

Rajesh will be joined by 10 London tech companies including Electric Miles, Guider, OneID and Softools (full list below). The trade mission will provide opportunities for these companies to create business partnerships and explore investment and growth opportunities in India. Delegates will meet with representatives from Indian tech companies including Wipro and HCLTech, as well as Indian industrial giant Tata. The Deputy Mayor will also meet Indian venture capitalists and investors with an interest in expanding to London. This is the first in-person trade mission run by the Mayor’s International Business Programme to India since 2019. 

Indian companies continue to choose London as a top destination to expand their operations outside of India, with new data showing that London is the number one European city for Indian foreign direct investment. According to figures published by London’s business growth agency, London & Partners¹, the UK capital also ranked as the number two city globally for Indian companies looking to grow their footprint internationally.

The research revealed that in the past 10 years London has attracted 174 investment projects from India – significantly more than any other European city and the likes of Singapore (150) and New York (53). ²

Over the past 10 years, investment from Indian companies has provided a major boost to London’s economy, with the data showing that Indian foreign direct investment has led to the creation of 7,853 additional jobs in the UK capital.

A number of well-known Indian companies have expanded their operation in London in recent years, including Indian IT giants Wipro and Infosys, as well as Indian unicorns upGrad, Ola and Oyo. Between 2012-2022, Mumbai and Bengaluru were the top cities for business investment from India into London.

Rajesh Agrawal, London’s Deputy Mayor for Business said: “London and India have longstanding cultural and economic links and these latest figures offer further proof that business ties between our two regions continue to grow from strength-to-strength.

“Indian cities rightly look to London as the perfect launchpad to grow their business internationally. London and cities such as Mumbai and Bengaluru share mutual strengths in sectors such as finance, life sciences and technology – creating huge opportunities for business partnerships.

“As one of the world’s fastest growing economies, India is also a major market for ambitious London companies. I am delighted to be joined on my visit to India by some of London’s fastest growing businesses.

“Our trade mission will continue our work in helping London companies to maximise business and investment opportunities in India.”

 Laura Citron, CEO of London & Partners added: “India is an important trade and investment market for London. It’s no surprise to see that London is one of the top global cities for Indian companies looking to expand outside of their home market.

“We continue to receive lots of enquiries from Indian companies looking to setup and expand in London. As India’s digital economy continues to grow, there is particularly strong interest in London from high growth Indian companies in sectors such as fintech, ecommerce and climate tech.

“This trade mission will further strengthen economic ties between London, New Delhi and Bengaluru. We look forward to continuing our support to help companies do business across both regions.”  

Vipul Lakhani, Director of Softools, a London company joining the trade mission added: “I am excited that Softools has been chosen to be one of the participants of the Mayor’s International Business Programme trade mission to India. 

“We see India as a thriving and exciting market with rich talent, amazing innovation and enormous potential. With the help and support of London & Partners we look forward to forging partnerships to help Indian companies benefit from the speed and simplicity of our zero code application platform.”