Highlights from 2025: Key outcomes across our strategic priorities

Our 2025 engagement in numbers:

312
events and meetings across the year

Over
5,850
event or meeting attendees

Generated
2,066
print, online and broadcast news pieces

Sessions on our website increased
17%
compared to last year

Long-term competitiveness

We welcomed the new UK Listing Relief, a three-year exemption from Stamp Duty Reserve Tax for companies listing in the UK, announced in the Budget reflecting our asks and engagement with government to help drive listings in the UK.
Extensive engagement with government ahead of the Budget to urge for no new sector-specific tax increases across our industry, including the trailed levying of national Insurance Contributions (NICs) on partnerships, which ultimately wasn’t implemented.
Secured key industry policy asks in the government’s Modern Industrial Strategy, Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy, and Professional and Business Services sector plan. We remain focused on ensuring these are now implemented.
Gained strong momentum on our campaign to address risk aversion to drive economic growth - reflected in the Chancellor’s 2024 and 2025 Mansion House speeches, the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA’s) five-year strategy, various media articles and speeches.
Secured industry recommendations in HM Treasury’s Wholesale Financial Markets Digital Strategy.
We were a leading voice in advocating for the FCA’s enforcement proposals to be abandoned - a key outcome for the industry and UK competitiveness.
Saw key policy asks delivered in the government’s Pensions Scheme Bill.

Professor Sandra McNally, Director of the Education and Skills Programme, Centre for Economic Performance, London School of Economics, delivering one of the keynotes at our Future Skills Conference 2025 in partnership with the Financial Services Skills Commission

Panel session from our Future Skills Conference 2025 in partnership with the Financial Services Skills Commission

Panel session from our International Conference 2025

Andrew Griffiths MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade, ‘in conversation’ with Nicola Watkinson, Managing Director, International, TheCityUK, at our International Conference 2025

UK regions and nations

The creation of the Office for Investment’s Strategic Investment Opportunities Unit (SIOU) reflected our calls over the last year for a new body to sit between local authorities and investors l to better connect capital pools to investable projects across the country. We continue to work with the SIOU to ensure it makes a real impact on investment and growth.Advocated for key policy asks to benefit regional growth which were adopted by government,including reform of the Apprenticeship Levy and more resources to speed up planning decisions.
Convened expert groups of members to put an industry perspective at the heart of key policy areas such as planning reform and English devolution.
Engaged industry and mayors on Local Growth Plans, contributing to the development of sector-specific strategies and positioning the industry as a key partner for growth.
Published highly-regarded research reports, ‘Exporting from across Britain’ and ‘Enabling growth across the UK’, underlining the significant contribution the industry makes across the UK’s regions and nations, with facts and data frequently referenced by senior policymakers and stakeholders.

Our National Conference 2025 in Leeds

International

Ensured financial and related professional services are at the heart of the UK’s new Trade Strategy.
Provided UK industry insights into the US-UK Transatlantic Taskforce for Markets of the Future, as requested by the UK and US Treasuries, to enhance collaboration on capital markets, digital assets and other innovative financial activities.
Led industry input into the UK-EU reset and UK-EU Financial Services Regulatory Forum and secured a key industry ask on opening up UK citizens’ future access to EU border gates.
Delivered an activation strategy for the UK-Switzerland Berne Financial Services Agreement (BFSA) which will come into force in early 2026 to ensure companies can maximise its benefits. Delivered the business engagement element of the UK-India Economic and Financial Dialogue, advocating for a strong services and digital economy focus in the UK-India FTA.
Supported business re-engagement with China, joining the Chancellor’s China delegation in January 2025.
Joined the Foreign Secretary’s delegation to Japan to promote UK-Japan trade opportunities.
Established a UK–UAE Dual Listing Task and Finish Group to enhance capital markets connectivity and enable cross-border listing.

Our Managing Director, International, Nicola Watkinson, chairing a panel at our COP30 breakfast event in Brazil, in partnership with KPMG and looking at UK leadership in sustainable finance

Delegation to Kuala Lumpur where we joined the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit and a number of meetings with senior ASEAN and Malaysian leaders from the industry

Nicola Watkinson, our Managing Director, International and Ian Gibbons OBE, Chief Executive at UK-ASEAN Business Council (UKABC), signing an MoU between TheCityUK and UKABC

Roundtable with our delegation to the US with Jonathan Reynolds MP, Secretary of State for Business and Trade, US government officials and key stakeholders

Visit to Ukraine to meet with local partners and discuss our ongoing work to support Ukraine’s recovery and development

Industry trust and reputation

Called for a collaborative council to oversee HM Treasury’s Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy which led to the Economic Secretary to the Treasury’s establishing of a trade association advisory group to deliver this.
Partnered with ADS to deliver an influential report on Finance and investment for UK defence which enhanced the political debate around defence financing by highlighting the wider issues involved, outside of a narrow focus on ESG.
Engaged with new MPs, maintained strong relations with the new government and convened members with the most senior political stakeholders, officials and regulators in Westminster, across the UK and internationally through our events, meetings and activities.
Deepened cross-party political engagement, not least through an extensive and our most extensive programme of high-profile engagement events at five Party Conferences.
Delivered a series of four successful conferences aligned to our strategic priorities, covering critical industry issues and attracting record numbers of delegates and senior speakers. We also delivered our best-ever attended Annual Dinner, in partnership with A&O Shearman, bringing together senior leaders and stakeholders from across the industry.

2 Miles, Hannah And Rachel Edited For Website

Andrew Bailey, Governor of the Bank of England, in conversation with Francine Lacqua, Anchor and Editor-at-Large, Bloomberg TV, at our Annual Dinner

Miles Celic, our Chief Executive Officer addressing delegates at our Annual Conference 2025 at the QEII Centre in London

Nikhil Rathi, CEO, FCA, being interviewed by Bloomberg Radio’s Caroline Hepker live at our Annual Conference 2025

Our CEO, Miles Celic OBE, at the Labour Party Conference with Rt Hon Rachel Reeves MP, Chancellor of the Exchequer and Hannah Gurga, Director General, ABI

Rt Hon Kemi Badenoch MP, Leader of the Conservative Party, speaking at the 1922 Committee Drinks Reception which we sponsored

Miles Celic OBE attending the Chancellor’s Christmas Drinks Reception

Green and sustainable finance

Successfully advocated through the International Regulatory Strategy Group (IRSG) - our co-venture with the City of London Corporation – for the government not to proceed with its development of a UK Green Taxonomy and prioritise the measures that will create the enabling conditions for the net zero transition in the real economy and facilitate an increase in sustainable investment alongside fostering innovation and growth across the UK economy.
Established a new International Climate Finance Working Group to offer strategic guidance on international climate finance issues and provide a forum for collaboration with the government to support the delivery of the Paris Agreement and UK climate finance priorities.
Advocated through the IRSG for the adoption of the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) Standards in the UK and published a series of recommendations to support the effective adoption of ISSB standards across jurisdictions and ensure a coherent global implementation strategy.
Engaged with government on the actions that are needed to scale the growth of high-integrity voluntary carbon and nature markets, leveraging the UK’s existing green policies, experience in environmental markets and strength of our financial and related professional services industry.
Engaged extensively with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) on the information that investors need to deploy capital in the UK’s transition to clean energy and net zero, and welcomed the publication of an Investor Prospectus (for the first time) alongside the Carbon Budget Delivery and Growth Plan to inform investor decision-making and set out the investment opportunities across all stages of the capital cycle.
Delivered a successful programme at COP30 in Brazil to promote the role of our industry in supporting the delivery of the goals of the Paris Agreement, showcase UK leadership on sustainable finance and provide a coordinated voice on behalf of our industry.
A leading voice in advocating for the regulation of ESG ratings providers to ensure greater transparency, consistency and trust in the market, with the FCA proposing that future regulation should build on the voluntary Code of Conduct for ESG data and ratings providers that the IRSG co-led alongside ICMA.