Tim Cook says Apple has invested over $18 billion in the UK since 2019

As he visits Apple Stores in London, Tim Cook says the company is continuing to expand on its more than $18 billion investment in the country, and how it has doubled its engineering teams there.

On his return trip from China, Apple CEO Tim Cook has been in London, visiting the city's Apple Covent Garden store. He saw a performance by musician Jamie Cullum, and also drank a pint with "Slow Horses" star and Golden Globe nominee Jack Lowden.

"We've been serving customers in the UK for more than 40 years, and we're proud of our deep connection with communities across this country," said Cook in a statement about Apple's investment in the UK. "We're thrilled to be growing our Apple teams here, and to keep supporting the extraordinary innovators, creators, and entrepreneurs who are pushing the boundaries of technology in so many ways."

Apple has also highlighted how the company now supports a claimed 550,000 jobs in the UK. Those include direct employment, plus Apple's supply chain, and iOS developers, and also creative industry jobs prompted by Apple TV+ production.

UK developers have reported earned almost $9 billion in revenue since the App Store opened in 2008. And Apple TV+ production has tripled in the last two years.

Apple's UK education programs

Apple says that it has partnered with the UK's The King's Trust since 2019, to expand STEAM programming teaching across the country. A 12-week programme also gets at-risk young people access to learning resources and Apple technology.

The company's UK headquarters at the old Battersea Power Station is also the center for an education program. That includes working with Caius House, an organization for local youth and young adults, where Apple has donated iPads and MacBooks.

A royal outing

In a Thursday post to X, Cook shared a video of King Charles III visiting Apple's Battersea Power Station office in London. Apple also shared photographs of the occasion, including the tree-lined offices, and the King talking to Apple employees, students, and members of the British creative community.

The visit was in part to celebrate Apple's work with The King's Trust, an organization to help young people in the UK develop their skills for employment or to start a business.

Children from the nearby St. George's Primary School created art on iPads, which were then projected into the chimneys of the power station itself.

Apple CEO Tim Cook [center-left] meeting crowds at Apple Battersea with King Charles III [center-right]

Charles and Cook then invited attendees and the local community to attend a holiday concert by British award-winning musician RAYE.

"We were honoured to welcome His Majesty King Charles to Apple Battersea — our home in the U.K. — and we're proud to support The King's Trust in its vital work educating and empowering young people," said Cook. "We look forward to our continued growth here, building on more than 40 years of history in the United Kingdom"

As well as Apple, the King has also worked with Apple's former design chief Jony Ive. The famed designer created the royal emblem for King Charles' coronation, as well as a seal for the King's space sustainability project, Astra Carta.