Pioneering household appliance firm Dyson today called on the Government to do more to help the UK’s innovative businesses as it reported rising annual sales and profits.
Chief executive Martin McCourt said the Malmesbury-based business’s success could be repeated by other UK firms if the Government was more supportive. Dyson exports more than 80 per cent of its output and invests heavily in research and development.
“We are consistently doing whatever we can to pressure the Government and offer more incentives to encourage businesses like ours to invest in ideas,” he said. “When you invest in ideas it is a risky business. Until it comes to fruition and you make it, all you are doing is spending money. We just need to offer some relief, better tax credits, and give companies some kind of incentive. That’s the key to keeping manufacturing businesses successful on the world stage.”
Dyson’s operating profits rose by 8% last year to £206m on sales up 15% to £770m. While the firm, best known for its bagless vacuum cleaners, has shifted production abroad to cut costs, it has retained its R&D expertise in Wiltshire and has recruited engineers to work on a range of new appliances, including its hand dryers and domestic fans.
The firm, founded by inventor Sir James Dyson, joins a growing list of UK manufacturers urging ministers to help them boost their R&D and invest in better skills training. Defence giants BAE Systems and Rolls-Royce recently made similar pleas.
Dyson spent £45m on R&D last year and in 2009 filed the second-highest number of patents in the UK after Rolls-Royce. It employs 550 engineers at its R&D centre in Malmesbury but says it is struggling to recruit more skilled staff.
