City of London Chief warns UK must act on tax and digital reform to stay competitive  

• Bold tax reform to keep founders, investors and high‑growth firms in the UK and ensure the country has a world‑leading environment for scaling businesses.
• Hayward will urge Government to accelerate digital markets reform, warning that “we either lead it, or we lose it” as global competitors press ahead with wholesale market tokenisation.
• A renewed sense of national belief, calling on Government and industry to “talk up Britain” and champion the country’s strengths in innovation, finance and technology. 

City of London Corporation Policy Chairman Chris Hayward will tonight call for urgent action on tax competitiveness and digital market reform. He will warn that without a more investment‑friendly tax environment, the UK risks losing ground to global competitors. 

Speaking ahead of a keynote address by City Minister Lucy Rigby MP KC, Hayward will urge business leaders and ministers to revitalise the UK’s offer to entrepreneurs and investors, accelerate the transition to tokenised wholesale markets, and restore Britain's self-belief, as a world‑class destination for innovation, investment and growth. 

Speech extracts to be checked against delivery: 

On a national confidence reset, he will say: 

Hayward will argue that global investors see the UK’s strength more clearly than the UK sees itself. 

He will say: 

“This age of self-deprecation must end. The Americans, the Australians, the Canadians, the Gulf States – everyone else invests in the UK, while proudly talking up their own countries. We must do the same.” 

Hayward will say on tax competitiveness: 

“This isn’t a question of ideology, it’s a matter of national interest. If financial centres like New York and Singapore offer better deals on tax, it is just inevitable that operations and individuals will follow.  

“To be clear, I’m not proposing we compete with 0% tax regimes – instead, let’s capitalise on our huge advantages through incremental, but urgent, re-positioning. Our globally pre-eminent education system consistently produces founders and entrepreneurs. 

“We cannot afford to lose either their taxes or their technologies, nor the culture of innovation from which they emerge.  

“If we are not careful, a whole generation of wealth creators will come to view success as selling early or listing elsewhere.” 

Hayward will say on investment & scaleup capital: 

Hayward will call on Government to introduce a Scaleup Reinvestment Scheme (SRS), a targeted reinvestment relief enabling successful founders and early-stage investors to recycle gains into UK headquartered scaleups. 

He will say: 

“So today I call on the Government to go further by supporting private firms on that scale-up journey and introducing a Scale-up Re-Investment Scheme. To ensure that the growth firms which are born here, stay here – creating wealth and jobs for our nation.” 

Hayward will say on digital markets leadership: 

“A digital big bang is underway. Wholesale digital trade in equities, FX, gilts and bonds is the future. 

“We either lead it, or we lose it. If we do not build the infrastructure, we will not host the transactions.” 

Hayward will warn that Singapore and New York are making rapid progress on tokenised market infrastructure. 

“This is, unequivocally, a race – and a race we must win. To be competitive tomorrow, we must act fast on digital assets. To preserve our edge in this new world, we need a clear vision and implementation plan from Government – in time, I suggest, for this year’s Mansion House speech in July.” 

Notes to editors 

• This new relief rewards founders and founding teams that reinvest in the UK economy.
• An SRR would taking the form of a deferral of CGT for a gain that is reinvested into a qualifying business within three years.
• A qualifying business would be a UK-headquartered scale-up, UK-focused venture and growth equity funds or R&D-intensive UK companies aligned with strategic priorities (e.g. IS8)
• SRR would extend to founders, founding teams, or early executives in UK startups. The relief would encourage founders to reinvest in a new company