Newly appointed business and trade secretary Peter Kyle has pledged to pursue an “ambitious” growth agenda, telling senior executives that the government should play an active role in creating the UK’s first trillion-dollar company.
Business Matters understands Kyle held a hastily arranged call with corporate leaders on Saturday afternoon after succeeding Jonathan Reynolds in the role. Attendees included executives from BAE Systems, Heathrow Airport, Microsoft UK, NatWest Group and Octopus Energy, alongside representatives from the CBI, FSB and Make UK.
Kyle told bosses that his experience at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) would be an asset in his new position, with plans to deploy the resources of the British Business Bank to drive growth. He said his goal was to make Britain the best place in the world for start-ups and scale-ups, and stressed the importance of long-term stability to boost business confidence.
Among his ambitions, he said, was for the UK to nurture its first $1trn company — a milestone achieved only by a handful of US tech giants such as Amazon, Apple and Nvidia.
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