Government names new minister for investment

A new minister for investment has been appointed to head the Office for Investment, as the government looks to “shake up” its partnership with businesses and investors. Poppy Gustafsson founded cybersecurity company Darktrace in 2013, serving separately as its chief financial officer, chief operating officer and then chief executive until she left earlier this year. Gustafsson now becomes a joint minister across the Department for Business and Trade and the Treasury. Her role will involve promoting the UK to investors and businesses globally and attracting more investment into the UK. The government said it will enlarge the Office for Investment by bringing together the Treasury, DBT and Number 10 into “a joint unit to streamline how the government approaches business and investment”. An external advisory board will be created with industry leaders. Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer said: “We are upgrading the Office for Investment to ensure it is fit for purpose and has the capability it needs to make the UK the first choice for investment and the best place in the world to do business, which is central to our mission to drive growth and make people better off.” Gustafsson added: “I have first-hand experience of building and scaling a business here in the UK and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to share with the international investment community what I already know to be true; the UK is a great place to do business.”