"India has made a powerful mark on the world's global start-up ecosystem", Hemin Bharucha, Country Director–India, London and Partners

Hemin has more than two decades of comprehensive investment experience and in-depth knowledge of international trade. In 2008, considering his distinctive contribution to strengthening the Indo-UK relationships, Hemin was awarded a Commendation certificate from the United Kingdom government. He talks about Indian entrepreneurs and their companies expansion in London.

Indian entrepreneurs and companies prefer London for expansion; he says, "Being a leading global hub for businesses, London provides a launchpad for Indian companies into Europe and beyond, giving them easy access to diverse markets, customers and businesses across the globe. As one of the world's largest financial centres, London attracts high levels of venture capital investment. Investors are making large sums of money available to London-based companies, with an increase in total investment from $6.8bn in 2016 to $28.1bn in 2021. This provides Indian companies with access to high levels of growth funding they need to fuel their expansion plans. Moreover, since English is a common business language, it makes communication more seamless between Indians and Londoners. Lastly, London's favourable geographic position enables Indian businesses to collaborate with Asian and North American markets, unlocking more international growth opportunities. "

He elaborates and says, "London's low taxation economy and supportive regulatory system are two key benefits for Indian businesses to settle and scale faster. The city also offers companies access to a diverse, international talent pool. The city is home to 250,000 software developers – more than any other city in Europe. With four of the world's top 40 universities – it also is strong for research and development, and employers have the pick of top graduates, with many students hailing from India. London is an international finance hub with over 250 foreign banks and 1,000 venture capital funds. It is also home to an abundance of accelerator and incubator programs offering excellent support to startups and entrepreneurs. All these factors make London a perfect place for Indian companies to expand and scale to new heights. "

Hemin Bharucha says, "We continue to see a healthy number of Indian companies showing interest in expanding to London. According to the latest data from fDi Market Intelligence, London was the number one destination for foreign direct investment from India and second globally. In the past 10 years, London has attracted 163 investment projects from India. London & Partners has helped 16 Indian companies choose London for business expansion at the end of Q1 in 2022. These players hail from different sectors, including Creative, Urban & Innovation, and Lifesciences. Seven companies are from Bangalore, followed by three from Pune, two from Mumbai and New Delhi each, and one from Hyderabad and Chandigarh each. This will result in the creation of approximately 767 jobs. "

India continues to be a hotbed for London companies looking to expand outside the UK – particularly if they want to break into the Asian market. Hemin says, "Many fintech, such as CreditEnable, expanded to India and opened offices in Mumbai during the pandemic. Through the Mayor's International Business Program designed to encourage International companies to set up or collaborate with Indian companies, eight high-growth London companies – from Fintech and EdTech sectors – are currently exploring the Indian market for expansion. "

At present, international companies looking to expand to India are looking at cities like Bangalore, Mumbai, NCR, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai and Kolkata. These cities are home to companies that are from high-growth sectors like tech, life sciences and urban.

On how is London helping create jobs in India, few supporting figures? He says, "The UK-India trade relationship was worth £23bn in 2019 and supports key sectors such as technology and life sciences and around half a million jobs in each other's economies. London-based companies are finding the Indian market very attractive to grow in terms of creating jobs and driving investments. In fact, last year, we hosted two missions for EdTech and Future Mobility, where London-based firms explored opportunities to expand into India. A recent report from Grant Thornton found identified 618 UK businesses active in India (with an annual turnover of INR 500m), with a combined turnover of approximately INR 3,634.9 billion. "

About the key factors, the London-based companies chose India for expansion, etc. He says, "India is one of the world's fastest-growing economies, creating fantastic growth opportunities for London-based companies. For instance, they have access to 1 billion+ customer in India, a vast market for any organization looking to grow or expand. Similarly, India is famous for its affordable skilled talent, especially from the tech sector. Foreign companies can hire the best talent without incurring high costs and get the best outcomes to scale their business. "