London and Chicago Look to Build on Special Relationship

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has announced the opening of a new overseas office in Chicago to help make it even easier for US companies to set up and expand in London.

Release time : 2018-09-12 17:53:55

source : London & Partners

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has announced the opening of a new overseas office in Chicago to help make it even easier for US companies to set up and expand in London.

London is the first major European city to open a standalone office in Chicago, as the UK capital looks to promote stronger trade and investment ties between the two cities.

Collaborations between London and Chicago have been boosted by a series of trade missions between the two cities and a strong relationship between the cities’ Mayors. Sadiq, and his official promotional agency, London & Partners, led a trade mission of 30 London businesses to explore export and expansion opportunities in 2016. This was followed by a return visit from Mayor Emanuel and a Chicago business delegation to London in 2017.

Since the trade visits a number of Chicago-based companies have set up in London, including legal services firm Mindcrest and tech companies SpringCM and Devbridge, creating more than 100 new jobs for the capital.

Chicago and London already share a strong business relationship, with recent data showing that London is the top global city for Chicago companies looking to expand their operation outside of the United States.

Over the past ten years, London has attracted more Chicago businesses than any other European city and almost double the amount of the second ranked city globally - Singapore1.

As two of the world’s leading tech hubs, a number of Chicago’s fastest-growing technology companies have chosen London for their European expansion - including Chicago-based e-commerce firm Groupon and online food platform Grubhub. Major US technology companies such as Apple, Amazon and Google have all recently announced long-term investments in London and Facebook revealed plans to open a new 600,000 square foot office for around 6,000 staff this July.

London’s strengths in financial and professional services have also made it a major draw for Chicago firms