Texas has quietly planted its flag in London, opening a new trade office this month and sending in lobbyists to pitch the Lone Star State’s low-tax business model to firms in the City of London. The goal is straightforward: brand Dallas as a serious global financial hub, burnish its nickname “Y'all Street,” and tempt banks, asset managers, and trading houses to look south and west. State leaders are also betting that this charm offensive will sync up neatly with the launch of the new Texas Stock Exchange later this year.
According to The Real Deal, the London outpost was approved in April 2026 and will be staffed by lobbyists serving up a familiar menu of incentives: no state income tax, no corporate tax, and a lighter regulatory touch. They will also tout newer perks such as specialized, fast-track business courts and multimillion-dollar incentive packages. The Real Deal reports that the office will extend an international footprint that already includes locations in Mexico and Taiwan as officials search for jobs and investment.
What Texas is pitching
State officials and their hired guns will lean hard on Texas’s lack of a personal or corporate income tax, paired with the promise of quicker commercial litigation through dedicated business courts. Those courts are being sold as a way to smooth out legal snarls around big-ticket corporate deals. The Guardian reports that the campaign is aimed squarely at City of London banks and investment houses and that the package on offer will include multimillion-dollar subsidies targeted at large employers.
City of London officials respond
The City of London Corporation has already opened talks with Texas, and its lord mayor led a delegation to Miami, Dallas, and Austin in February, according to City A.M.. During that trip, the delegation spotlighted potential “dual-listing” arrangements that could link British and Texan companies to new pools of capital on both sides of the Atlantic.
Texas Stock Exchange gives the pitch momentum
The state’s sales pitch is getting extra momentum from the planned Texas Stock Exchange, which says it is on track to begin trading in 2026 and intends to offer a venue for dual listings that might catch the eye of U.K. firms. Texas Stock Exchange materials and filings have been cited in coverage detailing how Texas aims to plug international capital into local companies.
Why Dallas wants these firms
Dallas economic development officials say interest is already building among manufacturers and financial firms thinking about expanding into the region, and Linda McMahon of the Dallas Economic Development Corporation told The Guardian that she has met with companies considering moves from the Netherlands and Ukraine. Local business groups argue that landing City of London players would speed up the growth of Dallas’s financial cluster and help lock in Y'all Street’s international profile.
What to watch next
A Texas delegation that includes state and local economic officials was scheduled to travel to London in mid April to officially launch the office, according to The Real Deal. Next up to watch: the first wave of recruitment outreach, any early takers for the fast-track courts or incentive deals, and initial talk of dual listings tied to the Texas Stock Exchange.
It is still an open question whether the London operation will deliver headline-grabbing relocations, a modest trickle of new hires, or simply more glossy pitch meetings. For Dallas and the rest of Texas, though, the new office is a clear signal that state officials are treating foreign capitals as hunting grounds for employers and stock listings that used to gravitate toward older, more established markets.
