Jacksonville UK Trade Mission: Economic & Political Briefing

​From Westminster to Manchester: Who Holds the Levers in Britain, and Why It Matters to Jacksonville.

​Jacksonville's 2026 UK Trade Mission begins with breakfast from 8am) followed by a warm welcome (9am) from Mayor Donna Deegan, Aundra Wallace, President of JAXUSA Partnership, and Brian Wolfburg, President and CEO of VyStar Credit Union.

​The opening briefing will be an American's guide to the UK, covering what is moving in Westminster and beyond, who is shaping it behind the headlines, the state of the special relationship, and how the economy is really doing. As well as touching on what changed when the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade was formed in July, and the ground Jacksonville already holds here, from the UK–Florida trade and economic cooperation agreement signed in the city in November 2023 to the City Council's Memorandum of Friendship with the City of London.

​The briefing will run for around forty-five minutes, with a further forty-five minutes set aside for questions and conversation.

​Please Note: This briefing is open to US delegates only.

​Sponsor and participants

​Sponsor: TBC
Panel: TBC

​About Jacksonville's 2026 Trade Mission

​Jacksonville, Florida brings its annual trade and investment mission to London from Monday 12 to Sunday 18 October 2026. It is led by Donna Deegan, Mayor of Jacksonville, joined by Shad Khan, owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars and Fulham Football Club, and more than 50 business and civic leaders from the region.

​Jacksonville is ranked the #3 large US city for economic growth. Florida has no personal income tax, leads the US in net business relocations, and saw some 698,000 new businesses formed in 2025, more than any other state; Jacksonville is where much of it lands. The city has been called the Wall Street of the South: FIS, Fidelity National Financial and GuideWell are headquartered there, and global banks including Bank of America, Citi and Deutsche Bank run major operations in the city.

​The UK connection is already working. The UK and Florida signed their trade and economic cooperation agreement in Jacksonville in November 2023, and Jacksonville's City Council holds a Memorandum of Friendship with the City of London. JAX Hub, the city's fintech innovation programme, is accepting applications from UK companies for its 2026 cohort.

​The mission exists to help UK companies succeed in US markets, with summits across finance and fintech, defence, aerospace and space technology, medical services and medtech, construction and real estate, retail and consumer brands, legal services and lawtech, AI and cyber security. Each pairs Jacksonville decision-makers with their UK counterparts. JAXUSA Partnership, the city's economic development agency, travels with the delegation and advises UK companies on entering the market.