As controversy mounts over Pfizer’s bid for AstraZeneca, new figures from the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and accountants and business advisers BDO LLP have found that the majority (69%) of manufacturers think overseas investment into UK manufacturing is helping UK companies.
This is compared to just 13% who said it was damaging the sector.
The results are part of the annual Engineered in Britain 2014: Manufacturing a Successful Economy? report by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and BDO LLP released today. It features surveys of 1,000 manufacturers and 1,000 members of the public to gauge opinion on the current status of UK manufacturing.
Tom Lawton, head of manufacturing at BDO LLP, said: “The positive view of overseas investment from UK manufacturers reflects a very successful and long history of foreign companies investing in the UK, bringing huge benefits to employment, skills, investment and the continued development of intellectual property. In particular, the automotive industry in the UK provides a superb example of foreign investment that has supported and then developed world leading manufacture, design and technology.�?
The report also highlights that manufacturers and the public are broadly divided over whether the uncertainty over the Scottish independence vote is damaging UK manufacturing, with 44% of manufacturers and 27% of the public saying it is having a detrimental effect compared to 47% and 28% respectively saying it was having no effect. In addition, 52% of manufacturers and 44% of the public think that uncertainty over the UK’s future in the EU is having a negative effect on UK manufacturing, compared to 36% and 20% respectively saying it was having no effect.