UK manufacturing heading for top of league   

Britain has been earmarked as one of the top future locations for profit growth by global manufacturing executives – ahead of Japan, Germany, Brazil and India, according to a new survey.  

KPMG’s fourth Global Manufacturing Outlook reveals that international businesses are increasingly looking to the UK to provide key skills and resources, although Britain still lags behind the US and China.

“There are a number of things that make the United Kingdom attractive to foreign investors,” said KPMG’s UK head of industrial manufacturing Stephen Cooper. “We have a relatively low corporate tax rate and our legal system provides good IP protection for businesses trading in the UK. The latter may not be said with the same degree of confidence for a number of other emerging economies.

“In addition, over the past few years, the weak pound has made UK goods relatively cheaper in the global marketplace. These advantages have contributed to the year on year increase in exports since 2009.”

The survey also highlighted the fact that the UK is one of the world’s top three sourcing locations, beating Germany, India and Brazil but again behind the US and China.

In the survey 92 per cent said they would resource R&D in Britain, 81 per cent product design and development and 75 per cent IP.