General Electric is moving the headquarters of its core consumer finance division from Connecticut to London in a move symbolising a shift in the US conglomerate’s centre of gravity.

The decision by one of the largest and oldest companies in the US to relocate a business with $25bn (£13bn) of revenues a year to London underlines the increasingly global nature of GE. It is also a boost for the UK capital, which has been challenging New York’s supremacy as a global financial centre.