Finance: British Companies Invest Heavily in Germany

Foreign companies invested about €86 billion in Germany in 2025, marking a sharp recovery after the previous year's downturn. The figure represents an increase of roughly 50% from 2024, according to calculations by the German Economic Institute, known by its German initials IW.

The biggest shift came from the origin of the capital. British companies increased their investment by about 284%, reaching €26 billion. That gave the United Kingdom a share of almost 31% and made it Germany's largest foreign investor, according to the IW.

US investment moved in the opposite direction. American companies invested €11.8 billion in Germany, nearly 44% less than a year earlier. Their share of total foreign investment dropped from more than 36% to about 14%.

Europe remained the dominant source of capital. EU member states other than Germany invested about €43 billion, despite a 2.7% decline. Together, the EU and the United Kingdom accounted for more than 80% of foreign investment in Germany.

The IW said the figures reflected Germany's close and reliable economic ties with its European neighbours. It also cautioned that direct-investment flows can fluctuate significantly from one year to the next, particularly when individual large transactions affect the totals. The data are often revised later. Even compared with the median for 2015 to 2024, however, investment in 2025 was nearly 11% higher.