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IPS129 Claudia V. et al.
3. Result
High level results
Utilising the definition developed by the TFSPE and data sources available
at the time of analysis, this paper estimates that £74 billion, or 8.4%, of the
UK’s inward FDI position in 2016 was attributable to SPEs.
As shown in Table 1, the UK’s inward FDI position was £1,200 billion in
2016, of which £323 billion related to entities that did not have employment
and turnover data available at the time of analysis – see previous section for
more information on why.
Over two-thirds of the groups in the FDI population were matched to the
IDBR, who in turn accounted for £877 billion of UK inward FDI in 2016. Of
these, £82 billion of inward FDI positions were held by groups with five or
fewer employees, which fell to £74 billion when the threshold of £1 million was
applied.

Table 1: High level estimates of resident SPEs in the inward FDI
population, £ billion, 2016

Positions Income
Total inward population 1,200 52
Banks, bank holding companies, property, public corporations, 323 15
and unmatched businesses
Analysed population 877 38
Those meeting employment threshold 82 2
Those meeting employment and turnover threshold 74 1

Characteristics
Comparing the characteristics of enterprise groups classified as resident
SPEs to non-SPEs can help provide more context to their structure and use.
Chart 1 presents the geographical composition of resident SPEs and non-
1
SPEs. There is a clear distinction between the two, with the immediate parents
of SPEs largely residing in “remainder” – a grouping comprising North America
and non-EU Europe that has been supressed to mitigate disclosure. In
contrast, a large proportion of inward FDI positions belonging to non-SPEs is
attributable to immediate parents based in the EU.

Note that figures presented in this chart and thereafter exclude banks, bank holding
1
companies, property, public corporations, and entities with no employment or turnover
information unless otherwise specified.
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