FOREWORD

The United Kingdom has many prominent industries, a thriving start-up scene and one of the most important financial hubs in the world, London. Thanks to low entry barriers and a large market size, there are a lot of opportunities in sectors where Swedish companies can fully leverage their strengths. Sweden has a long-lasting trade relationship with the UK. Throughout England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, approximately 1,500 Swedish and Swedishrelated companies have established an office, and there are many more businesses that export from Sweden to the UK.

With the City of London, it is also home to one of the largest financial centres in the world. There are not only lots of opportunities for Swedish companies to do business, but the UK also functions as a stepping-stone for international expansion, especially in sectors where Swedish companies can make a real difference. Examples of these areas are energy and cleantech, healthcare and life sciences, consumer goods and retail, transport, construction and infrastructure and ICT. Team Sweden in the UK (the Swedish Embassy, the Swedish Chamber of Commerce and Business Sweden) have conducted third second edition of the Business Climate Survey among Swedish companies in the UK, whose findings are presented in this report. The purpose of the survey has been to increase the understanding of Swedish companies’ performance in the UK and deepen our appreciation of the opportunities and challenges that the UK market poses. It sheds light on the key factors driving Swedish companies’ success in the UK as well as their strategies in the face of the current climate of uncertainty. In addition, it will hopefully serve as a reference in bilateral trade dialogues between Sweden and the UK. There is no doubt that the global Covid-19 crisis has major effects on the world economy, and Swedish trade with the UK is no exception. The destabilizing economic effect of Russia’s aggression in Ukraine also has a global reach. Furthermore, the longer term effects of Brexit are increasingly apparent. The results of this survey should therefore be considered in the light of recent developments. However, a key finding of the 2022 Business Climate Survey is that the UK remains a very important market for Swedish companies and that the trust in economic recovery is high among respondents.

Lastly, we would like to extend our most sincere gratitude to the participating companies and respondents which have contributed to this report.

H E Mikaela Kumlin Granit

Ambassador of Sweden to the United Kingdom

Gustaf Bergström

Trade & Invest Commissioner United Kingdom and Ireland, Business Sweden

Peter Sandberg

Chief Executive Swedish Chamber of Commerce for the United Kingdom