Factories Explain the Mexico-England Relationship Better Than Customs Data

On Sunday, Mexico and England will play to keep their World Cup hopes alive. But the relationship between the two countries has also been measured for years on another field: industrial buildings, where British companies occupy nearly 1.9 million square meters in Mexico.

According to SiiLA data as of the first quarter of 2026, British-origin companies represent about 1% of the tenants tracked across Mexico’s main industrial markets in the north, center and Bajío regions, but account for roughly 2% of occupied gross leasable area. In other words, their presence is not dominant, but it tends to be concentrated in above-average-scale operations.

That real estate footprint accompanies a trade relationship that has also grown over the past four years. From the Qatar World Cup to the North American tournament, trade between Mexico and the United Kingdom—made up of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland—reached an all-time high. Trade grew at an average annual rate of 5.5% from 2022 to 2025, above the 3.9% recorded across the full series. However, the analysis found no statistically significant evidence of a structural change in the trend¹.

Although the United Kingdom accounts for just 0.4% of Mexican exports and 0.3% of its imports so far in 2026, trade between the two countries is far from concentrated in raw materials. High-value manufacturing dominates. Mexico mainly exports automobiles, gold and electronic equipment, while the United Kingdom sells industrial machinery, pharmaceutical products and premium spirits. That composition reflects an economic relationship closely tied to manufacturing and industrial activities.

It is no surprise, then, that about 87% of the industrial space occupied by British companies is concentrated in manufacturing, consumer products and electric power. And precisely because of that specialization, their operations are mainly located in Class A buildings in Ciudad Juárez, Monterrey, Reynosa, Querétaro and Tijuana, markets closely tied to export manufacturing and North American supply chains.

That pattern is also reflected in the profile of British companies present in Mexico. An estimated 62% mainly serve international markets², compared with about 18% focused on the Mexican market and the rest serving both. Among them, manufacturers of components and technologies for the electrical, automotive and aerospace industries predominate, including Aptiv, TI Fluid Systems and GKN Aerospace, although more locally consumer-oriented companies, such as Reckitt and Diageo, also participate.

In the end, the story between the two countries is better understood through factory data than through customs data.

On Sunday, only one of the two teams will advance to the next round. The economic relationship between the two countries, however, will continue to be built long after the final whistle, driven less by the exchange of finished goods than by a network of companies and suppliers integrated into industrial parks that connects Mexico with one of Europe’s leading economies.

Explore more industrial market analysis, data and insights in SiiLA Market Analytics, or contact us at contacto@siila.com.mx.

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¹ In-house analysis based on data from Mexico’s Economy Secretary and Data México. The analysis compared the average annual growth rate of bilateral trade from 2022 to 2025 with the long-term trend using linear regressions with interaction terms, compound annual growth rate (CAGR) estimates, and structural-change tests based on the breakpoints method (strucchange). Although recent growth was higher than the historical average, no statistically significant evidence of a break in the long-term trend was found.

² The classification of British companies’ target market (international, Mexican or both) was estimated based on their business model, the nature of their products and publicly available information about their operations. It is an analytical classification prepared by SiiLA.