UK firms reduce foreign investment by most in over 10 years

LONDON (Reuters) - British companies cut their foreign direct investment by the biggest amount in a decade last year, while foreign firms also scaled back their investments in Britain, official figures showed on Thursday.

British firms repatriated a net 79.9 billion pounds worth of investments in 2014, a sharp turnaround from net direct overseas investment of 28.4 billion pounds in 2013.

This was the first time British companies reduced their net foreign direct investment in over a decade, the ONS said, though it said flows could be driven by one-off transactions.

Foreign firms cut direct investment into Britain to 27.8 billion pounds in 2014 from 33.0 billion pounds in 2013.

Britain's current account deficit in 2014 was its widest on record as a share of economic output.

(Reporting by David Milliken; editing by William Schomberg)