At Future London this week, 250 senior leaders from business and government came together to take a clear‑eyed look at the forces shaping the capital’s future..
Chaired by journalist and broadcaster Riz Lateef, the programme moved from geopolitics and political change through to investment, delivery, productivity and London’s global position. The conclusion was consistent. London is not short of ambition. What matters now is delivery.
A more volatile world, with less margin for error
We began with the global backdrop. Yael Selfin, Vice Chair and Chief Economist at KPMG UK, set out how the environment for growth has shifted. Instability is no longer cyclical but structural.
There are some near‑term positives. Easing geopolitical tensions could reduce inflation and reduce pressure on households. But the wider picture remains challenging. Public finances are stretched, consumers are saving more, and governments have less scope to intervene.
At the same time, structural pressures are intensifying, from global competition to technological disruption. Even so, London remains well‑positioned to capture the opportunities from new technologies.
Political fragmentation is reshaping how London works
That uncertainty was reflected in London’s fragmented political landscape following the recent local elections.
Gideon Skinner, Senior Director of UK Politics at Ipsos, argued that the UK is now firmly in a multi‑party era.
Anna Yearley, Senior Counsel at Lexington, highlighted how fragmentation at borough level is driving slower and more complex decision‑making, particularly on planning and housing.
But there is a counterpoint. Local leaders want to deliver, creating opportunities for businesses willing to engage consistently and locally.
Growth is the priority – but delivery is the gap
These themes fed into the CEO panel, chaired by Christian May, Editor‑in‑Chief of City AM made up of the commissioners of BusinessLDN’s Growth Commission.
There is broad agreement that growth must be the priority. But, as BusinessLDN’s Chief Executive John Dickie put it, “We have a Government with a growth mission and a Mayor with a Growth Plan, but we haven’t actually got any growth”.
Housing sat at the centre of the discussion. Dame Helen Gordon, Chief Executive of Grainger, described it as an economic constraint: without affordable homes, businesses cannot access the workforce they need.
Fiona Walker, Partner and UK Vice Chair at Deloitte, added that capital is not the constraint. The system is. The gap is not strategy but execution.
That makes the real challenge clear: not just unlocking growth but delivering it in a way that sustains London’s competitiveness. James Ainscough OBE, Chief Executive of the Royal Albert Hall, made the case for culture as both a driver of growth and where its benefits are ultimately felt – shaping the quality of life that attracts talent and investment to the capital.
That is exactly the challenge our Growth Commission set out to address, outlining practical, proven solutions – grounded in commercial reality — to shift the dial on economic growth.
What makes London a compelling investment choice
London continues to attract global investment, but that position cannot be taken for granted. As Matthew Fell, our Director of Competitiveness, put it, the capital risks “leaving money on the table”.
Demand remains strong – but turning it into delivery depends on the right conditions. Phil Graham, Chief Executive of the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, pointed to complex governance, while Ajneet Jassey, Director at Lloyds Bank Corporate and Institutional, emphasised the need for policy stability.
Jeremy Rees, Chief Executive of ExCeL London, reinforced London’s strengths, but warned that it operates in a “very competitive world”.
Unlocking more investment requires faster decisions, greater public sector coordination and fewer barriers in planning and regulation, alongside a clearer pipeline of investable projects.
Delivery is where ambition meets reality
That challenge becomes clear in practice. The gap between investor appetite and execution came through in the Pathway to Delivery session, based on BusinessLDN’s recent report with Arcadis, which set out how to unlock more than £53bn of private capital across five major infrastructure projects.
The panellists – including Paul Crosbie, Park Lead Director, Asset Management, DP World London Gateway; Peter Hogg, UK and Ireland Country Director, Arcadis; Nigel Milton, Chief Communications and Sustainability Officer, Heathrow; and Robert Sinclair, Chief Executive, London St Pancras Highspeed – made a clear point. The UK has no lack of projects or investment. It lacks speed and certainty.
Planning remains slow, regulation complex, and infrastructure too often approached in isolation. That friction delays delivery and weakens confidence.
Sophie Chapman, Integration and Sponsorship Director for Expansion at Heathrow Airport, who delivered a keynote speech, reinforced that the issue is not funding, but the conditions required for investment to move.
Delivery depends not on new ideas, but on acting more quickly and consistently.
Productivity, skills and the challenge of scaling
From infrastructure, the focus shifted to the conditions needed for growth.
London remains a global centre for talent and innovation, but the challenge is scaling that advantage. Alice Soul, Director of WestTech London at Imperial College London, highlighted the impact of short runways and high space costs on growth.
What emerged on skills was the pace of change. Tunde Olayinka, Executive Director for Communities and Skills, Greater London Authority; Karima Khandker Director of Resourcing, Skills, EDI and Learning, Thames Water; and Paul Kett Group Chief Executive and Vice‑Chancellor, London South Bank University all pointed to the need for earlier planning and more adaptable talent pipelines.
The digital spotlight reinforced this. Sarah Barnard,Director of AI Delivery, at Linklaters – and member of our BusinessLDN-Deloitte AI Steering Group – highlighted the gap between capability and readiness, while Dr Stella Pachidi, Senior Lecturer in Technology and Work at King’s Business School noted how AI is reshaping work and learning.
Theo Blackwell, Chief Digital Officer for London, also emphasised the importance of high-quality, joined-up data and the role of multidisciplinary teams in making that work for benefit in practice.
At its core, this is not just a technology challenge but a human one – how teams build trust, use data effectively and adapt how they work in practice.
Innovation is not just about ideas, but about scaling them. As Ben Loewenstein at Waymo made clear, the challenge is integrating new technologies into real‑world systems.
Growth depends on how skills, space, cost and investment interact. When one lags, the system slows.
Transport and the fundamentals of growth
That theme of coordination continued with Patrick Doig, Chief Financial Officer at Transport for London.
Transport is not simply about movement. It is about connecting people to jobs and opportunity.
The example of Thamesmead showed how weak connectivity can constrain development. The shift now is to bring infrastructure forward so that housing and growth can follow.
Infrastructure is not secondary. It is foundational.
A stronger, shared story for London’s global brand
Attention then turned to how London presents itself to the world – and what underpins its position as a leading global city.
Katherine Fleming, CEO of the London Heritage Quarter, highlighted how perceptions of safety shape investment decisions, while Matt Twist, Assistant Commissioner at the Metropolitan Police, addressed the challenge of misinformation and its impact on confidence. Taken together, both pointed to the importance of how London presents itself – and how consistent that message needs to be.
Picking up that theme, Beau Vigushin, Chief Experience Officer at the Barbican, broadened the focus from perception to experience, arguing that London works best when its strengths are brought together. His point was not simply about culture, but about how the city’s assets combine. Rather than operating in silos, there is an opportunity to connect institutions, sectors and places more deliberately. For London, it is not individual assets that matter in isolation, but how they come together to shape a coherent and compelling experience of the capital.
That is reinforced by London’s ability to convene global audiences. Venues such as ExCeL continue to demonstrate the capital’s international reach and commercial appeal.
The test ahead
Finally, our live, interactive discussion with Andy Silvester, London Editor at The Times, and Alys Denby, Opinion and Features Editor at City AM, saw them respond to real‑time audience views across housing, AI, taxation and competitiveness.
There remains strong confidence in London. But it is increasingly conditional.
On housing and beyond, the conclusion was consistent. The issue is not a lack of plans, ambition or capital. It is the ability to act with pace and consistency.
Across infrastructure, skills and London’s global role, the same constraint kept returning. Not strategy, but execution.
London’s strengths remain significant. But they cannot be taken for granted.
That’s the test now.
London knows what needs to be done. The question is whether it can deliver.
Explore the full day in pictures here.
With thanks to our Gold Sponsors of Future London, ExCel London and Heathrow, and our Silver Sponsors, Arcadis and Waymo, for their support.