US financial firms have announced investments in the UK totalling £1.25 billion ahead of Donald Trump’s state visit next week. Citi Group said it would invest £1.1 billion across its UK operations, while S&P Global will allocate £4 million to its Manchester offices. PayPal confirmed a £150 million investment in product innovations and growth, and Bank of America said it would create up to 1,000 new jobs in Belfast as part of its first operation in Northern Ireland.

Together with these moves, firms signalled plans to boost commercial activity between the US and the UK in the years ahead. BlackRock plans £7 billion for the UK market over five years, and Rothesay is planning to double its investment in the US with a further £7 billion over the same period. The Department for Business and Trade said the announcements line up roughly £20 billion in bilateral trade, with around £8 billion expected to come to the UK and £12 billion to the US.

Business and Trade Secretary Peter Kyle said the investments reflect the strength of our enduring ‘golden corridor’ with one of our closest trading partners ahead of the US president’s two‑day visit. OpenAI and Nvidia are reportedly planning to unveil billions of dollars’ worth of investment in UK data centres during the visit. Sam Altman and Jensen Huang are understood to be part of a delegation of US executives accompanying Mr Trump. The two‑day trip begins on Wednesday and includes an overnight stay at Windsor Castle. Tariffs on British steel remain unclear. The trade deal signed in June lowered tariffs on cars and aerospace goods to the US, but no agreement on steel was reached, leaving steel tariffs at 25%. A government spokesperson said: “Our special relationship with the US remains strong. Thanks to our trade deal, the UK is still the only country to have avoided 50% steel and aluminium tariffs, and we continue to partner on technologies such as AI, Quantum, and cyber security in our trillion-dollar tech sectors. We will work with the US to implement this landmark deal as soon as possible to give industry the security they need, protect vital jobs, and put more money in people’s pockets through the plan for change, as well as welcoming the president on this historic state visit.”