Trade ties between the UK and Israel are growing strongly

Business

Trade ties between the UK and israel are growing strongly, particularly in the technology sector. Ami Daniel doesn’t see Brexit as a reason to hold off expanding his company in the UK – Ami Daniel is the Co-Founder and CEO of Windward. Windward is in the business of analysis to help people understand maritime risk (transportation of goods via sea) and therefore take actions to reduce it. 

“We intend to invest more and more in London,” says the Israeli businessman, who recently opened an office in London.

Mr Daniel, the founder of Windward, an Israeli maritime data firm, says that the opportunities for his company in the UK are too good to refuse.

He spoke at a recent networking event in London for British and Israeli firms and explained that, “Marine insurance was literally invented here at Lloyd’s of London, and it’s here to stay, and so are we.” A sentiment shared by many.

Israel’s investment in the UK has been growing since a UK government scheme called the UK Israel Tech Hub was launched in 2011, and this investment has continued despite uncertainty over Brexit.

The hub aims to boost business links between the two countries, by acting as a one-stop shop to bring British and Israeli companies together. It helps British firms find Israeli technology that could help them, and it assists Israeli technology businesses in selling their products and services in the UK.

The scheme also helps investors to introduce start-ups that can help support visa applications, and indirectly points Israeli companies in the direction of the legal and other professional services they will need as they grow in the UK.

Anglo-Israeli business deals totalling £85m have now been secured through the hub, it is claimed,.

Currently, there are at least 337 Israeli tech companies operating in the UK. Figures from the British Embassy in Israel show a 33% growth in the value of their investments in the year following the UK’s decision, in a referendum on 23 June 2016, to leave the European Union.

While the increase was only from £114m ($147m) to £152m, the number of new investors has been sustained, and their investments climbed in value to £298m in the year to June 2018.

London-based nano-satellite firm Sky and Space Global, set up by a former pilot in the Israeli Air Force, was behind the majority of latest rise in investment.

Given the success of the UK Israel Tech Hub, and with the Brexit deadline approaching, the UK government is now trying to replicate the model with other countries, starting with Brazil, India and South Africa.

Israel’s tech sector has grown over the past decade. – Getty Images

 

 

 

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