Industrial Strategy to provide over £150m to reinforce UK as services superpower

• UK’s modern Industrial Strategy will drive forward 2035 ambition for UK professional and business services to be most dynamic and innovative in world
• Plan includes five new centres of excellence across country to help services firms grow and adopt new technology
• New international marketing campaign will also be deployed for UK services through GREAT

The UK’s modern Industrial Strategy will invest over £150 million in five transformative AI and technology programmes to help UK Professional and Business Services (PBS) sectors such as legal, management consulting and accountancy soar.

The latest step in the Government’s Plan for Change, the funding comes as part of a wider package of commitments in the Industrial Strategy sector plan for the PBS sector, published this week.

With professional business services worth £300 billion a year and supporting one in every seven jobs, the sector has been put at the heart of the UK’s modern Industrial Strategy, recognising its critical role in unlocking growth and creating jobs across all UK regions and sectors – and the UK’s place as the second largest exporter of services in the world, behind only the US.

Minister for Investment Poppy Gustafsson CBE will visit the University of Edinburgh on Tuesday where she will meet with the Law Society of Scotland to hear more about AI adoption and how Scotland is a hub for world class PBS firms. 

Jonathan Reynolds, Secretary of State for Business and Trade said:

“The Professional and Business Services sector is the jewel in the crown of the UK economy, worth over £300bn a year and making up one in every seven jobs.

“Our Industrial Strategy and Plan for Change will help the sector soar further through the adoption of new technologies such as AI and increased promotion overseas as we strive to make the industry the most dynamic and innovative in the world by.”

The plan sets out the sector’s ambition for the UK to be the most trusted adviser to global industry, with the most dynamic and productive PBS sector by 2035, whilst remaining the world’s second largest exporter of professional business services after the US.

The five programmes will be focused on building on the already high levels of AI adoption in the sector, with major spends on launching a new PBS adapted Made Smarter digital adoption programme and enhancing Innovate UK’s Next Generation Professional Services programme which advises firms to adopt new technologies and support research.

From Birmingham to Glasgow, this will be accompanied by new PBS centres of excellence in five city regions to offer firms advice, with a new national AI skills hub to offer wider support, alongside a new research programme to tackle barriers to innovation – starting with real estate.

By placing innovation at the heart of the plan, it aims to increase business investment in the PBS sector and ensure the UK will not just be an AI taker, but an AI maker in delivering modern Professional and Business Services.  

Other measures to boost the UK’s PBS sector in the plan include:

• A new marketing campaign for PBS through GREAT + and more opportunities for PBS firms to join government trade missions.
• Expanded support for regulators to negotiate mutual recognition of professional qualifications agreements, especially with the EU, US, and other key markets.
• A Trade Digitalisation Task Force to advise PBS firms and clients on the productivity and growth benefits of digital trade documents and processes and to break down barriers to adoption. 
• UK Export Finance to provide guarantees to PBS firms securing early-stage overseas project contracts for the first time, strengthening the UK’s position as the world’s second largest PBS exporter.  
• A new PBS AI Champion by summer 2025 to identify growth opportunities, address adoption barriers, and deliver sector-wide AI Adoption.  

Iain Wright, Chief Policy & Communications Officer, ICAEW, PBSC Business Co-Chair, said: 

“The launch of the Industrial Strategy marks a pivotal moment in the collaboration between business and government to enable the UK economy to grow and we were pleased to work with the government to develop the ambitious sector plan to make the UK the most trusted economy for PBS by 2035.

“With targeted support, the plan sets the stage for a more innovative, competitive and growing sector which underscores our position at the heart of the economy. I strongly welcome this renewed partnership, and we see today’s launch as the start of a long-term collaboration with government to turn this vision into reality.”

Kirsty Newman, Deloitte UK Market Chair, said:

“The PBS sector plan represents an important moment for our sector and sets out a boldand exciting vision for the future. It recognises our impact as a major employer and economic contributor in our own right, but also how we drive growth, innovation and resilience across the economy.

“The sector plan will help to ensure PBS is underpinned by the right skills and regulatory framework, is at the forefront of technological innovation and grows its presence internationally and in all regions and nations of the UK.

“The commitments from government and long-term engagement with the sector can solidify the UK’s reputation as a global centre of excellence for PBS.”

Tamzen Isacsson, Chief Executive of the Management Consultancies Association (MCA), said:   

“Consulting is one of the UK’s great economic success stories, with firms helping clients to grow, innovate, and tackle complex challenges. The Industrial Strategy and PBS sector plan is a blueprint to go further – accelerating tech adoption, opening procurement to SMEs, upskilling our workforce, and cementing the UK’s global leadership in services.

“As a sector with over 300 offices across the UK, we look forward to supporting the regional agenda of the Government as well as partnering with it to promote the skills and expertise of UK consulting globally.” 

Richard Atkinson, President of the Law Society of England and Wales, said:

“The government’s new Industrial Strategy can be a game-changer for the UK economy and the legal sector. Putting legal services at the heart of the country’s economic engine will fuel sustained growth.

“Our legal industry is the second largest in the world, the biggest in Europe and brings all other sectors together. By opening global markets for UK lawyers, investing in our courts’ infrastructure, supporting technology in legal services and upholding the rule of law, we ensure the UK remains a global jurisdiction of choice. The Law Society looks forward to working with the government to deliver its long-term vision for growth in our sector.”