8.11A Foreign Ownership of UK based Companies

• Sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) are worth hundreds of billions of dollars and allow foreign governments to own assets in other countries, which many see as undermining national identity and threaten sovereignty 
• British car industry:

  • Most UK car manufacturing is now under foreign ownership, which complicates the once iconic British brands
  • In an effort to keep the 'authenticity' of the brand, the new Mini has optional Union Jack taillights
  • Other 'British' car brands such as the Bentley, Jaguar Land Rover and Lotus are all owned by overseas companies
  • This raises the issue of the UKs so-called industrial decline, because although the loss of the car industry did lead to reduced employment, output has increased with profits going offshore