UK-India trade mission brings £1bn deals and 500 UK tech jobs

A UK trade mission to Delhi and Mumbai has announced more than £1bn in commercial deals and investment plans, including a £50m commitment from Meta for Data Technologies to create 500 skilled jobs in London and Manchester.

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds is travelling with northern mayors, a combined authority leader, the environment and Scotland secretaries and more than 100 businesses. The delegation aims to secure customers, investment and partnerships for regional firms, alongside promoting the North to Indian visitors.

What happened

The package, announced by the Government and reported by GOV.UK Business, spans aviation, engineering, communications, healthcare and consumer goods. It combines signed contracts with planned investments and projected revenues, with several businesses setting out expansion programmes lasting between three and 15 years.

Meta for Data Technologies plans to establish AI and data research and engineering facilities, including a quantum computing laboratory in Greater Manchester. Its proposed recruitment accounts for 500 explicitly identified UK jobs in the announcement. The technology focus follows other international initiatives, including the UK-Germany technology corridor and its £17m quantum fund.

Menzies Aviation has the largest export agreement by stated revenue, expecting more than £600m over a 15-year ground-handling licence. Backed by £6m of investment and exclusive bridge-mounted equipment rights, its expansion includes operations at Bengaluru’s domestic cargo facility and more than 1,000 jobs in India.

RANsemi has signed a strategic partnership to extend the Indian market for its British-developed 5G Open RAN semiconductor technology. The company puts the export opportunity at more than £100m over five years.

Bath-based engineering consultancy Buro Happold expects its Indian projects to generate £90m in revenue. It plans to invest £3m and create more than 500 jobs over three years, working with government, airports and property developers.

East of England childrenswear business Angel & Rocket plans to build a network of 100 Indian stores over five years. Up to £5m of investment would support the programme, which is expected to generate £43m in revenue and create 500 jobs.

Cambridge-based Panakeia Technologies is entering India through an initial relationship with Dr Lal PathLabs. Deployment of its AI cancer diagnostics platform is projected to benefit about 115,000 patients, with the Government putting the commercial opportunity at £27.6m.

Healthcare International Research has secured business for natural health products sold under its HEMPE brand. Retailers and pharmacy platforms already engaged include Zepto, Amazon, Apollo and 1mg, with the opportunity potentially exceeding £42m over five years.

The background

The Government says the visit takes place three months after the UK-India free trade agreement entered into force. Signed in July 2025, the agreement is expected to increase annual bilateral trade by £25.5bn in the long run; that is a forecast rather than trade already delivered.

Deals announced since the signing now total nearly £12bn, according to the Government. Separately, total UK-India trade reached £48bn in the 12 months to March 2026, up £3bn year on year at current prices.

Food and drink exporters are among the businesses seeking to use the agreement. Indian whisky tariffs have fallen from 150% to 75%, salmon now qualifies for tariff-free entry, and British biscuits, including shortbread, also benefit from tariff changes.

The delegation includes representatives from farming, meat processing, whisky and salmon trade bodies, alongside businesses such as Fever-Tree, Kendamil and Walker’s Shortbread. Market access is one part of the sector’s growth agenda, alongside the funding and regulatory changes sought for agritech businesses.

The northern delegation gives the visit a regional investment focus rather than solely a national export brief. Another route into Asian markets has recently opened through the Growth Company’s Hong Kong initiative for Manchester startups.

What people are saying

Reynolds said the agreement had provided a basis for regional businesses to form partnerships, with northern mayors helping turn those relationships into domestic investment and employment. He presented the mission as a means of widening the geographical reach of the trading relationship.

Environment Secretary Angela Eagle said the priority was to convert the agreement’s provisions into commercial results for farmers and food and drink businesses. Scotland Secretary Douglas Alexander emphasised helping Scottish producers understand and enter the Indian market, particularly salmon and whisky exporters.

Oxford Nanopore Technologies chief executive Francis Van Parys described India as a long-term life sciences partner. He said the agreement would support scientific collaboration, exports and longer-term investment as the company prepares a new research partnership.

Beyond those positions, the commercial pipeline includes £27m of Indian construction consultancy, project management and cost management contracts for Gleeds. SmartViz expects £18m in revenue over three years from opportunities in building management and smart infrastructure.

Cloud provider Civo has signed an exclusive distribution partnership with Redington, pairing a £15.5m sovereign, AI-ready cloud platform with access to Indian business customers. Essex supplier Kimia is introducing pharmaceutical-grade alcohols and solvents, targeting £9m–£10m in revenue over five years.

Property adviser JBrown International expects £7m of business from Indian clients, supporting 14 UK jobs. London AI startup Asika has partnerships with hospital groups in Hyderabad to reduce administration, with exports projected at £5m over five years.

Arup has secured a £1.4m Mumbai Metro design review contract and is pursuing a further £7m pipeline, supporting 22 jobs across the UK and India. ERG Neev has £1m of contracts, including odour-control equipment for a Mumbai wastewater treatment project, while Organicco is progressing waste-processing export opportunities valued at an estimated £2m.

What happens next

Reynolds will meet Indian commerce minister Piyush Goyal to co-chair the UK-India Joint Economic and Trade Committee. He will also co-chair the Science and Innovation Council with science and technology minister Jitendra Singh.

Oxford Nanopore is due to sign a memorandum of understanding with India’s Biotechnology Research and Innovation Council-Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics. The agreement will launch a Centre for Excellence in Hyderabad, providing a further channel for research collaboration.

The University of Liverpool’s Bengaluru campus officially opens during the week of the visit. It anticipates reaching 10,000 students within 10 years, with Liverpool City Region mayor Steve Rotheram taking part in the opening and discussions with local partners.

In Mumbai, Reynolds is scheduled to meet Maharashtra’s chief minister to launch closer regional economic cooperation. His programme also includes a British-Indian business marketplace and a Premier League community football event.

Further investment programmes extend beyond the visit. East Midlands business DMMP plans approximately £3.5m to support growth, manufacturing capacity and additional group capabilities in 2027. Oriole Networks is investing nearly £5m in its Indian operations following the opening of a Bengaluru engineering centre focused on energy-efficient networking for large-scale AI infrastructure.