GSK to invest £275m in Britain in major boost to UK economy

Britain's largest drug company, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), has delivered a major vote of confidence to the UK economy post-Brexit, after unveiling plans to invest an extra £275m ($360m, €328m) on three different sites in the country.

GSK said on Wednesday (27 July) that the investment will boost production at its sites in the Scottish town of Montrose, at Barnard Castle in County Durham and in Ware, Hertfordshire. The former will see £110m invested in a new plant to produce ingredients for respiratory medicines, while the site at Barnard Castle will receive a £92m investment to build a facility that will produce biological molecules.

The remainder will be invested in Ware, where GSK plans to expands production of its Ellipta inhaler.

"It is testament to our skilled UK workforce and the country's leading position in life sciences that we are making these investments in advanced manufacturing here," said group chief executive Sir Andrew Witty.

GSK added the investment would create new jobs to boost the 6,000-strong workforce the company employs across nine different UK sites, although it did not offer any detailed figure. The FTSE 100-listed group's decision to increase investment represents a major vote boost for the UK economy following the European Union referendum, particularly as GSK had been among those campaigning for Britain to remain in the EU.

"An investment of this scale is a clear vote of confidence in Britain and underlines our position as a global business leader," said business secretary Greg Clark.

"GSK's recognition of our skilled workforce, world-leading scientific capabilities and competitive tax environment is further proof that there really is no place better in Europe to grow a business."

The pharmaceutical giant indicated Britain remained an attractive place to do business, thanks to its skilled workforce, technological and scientific capabilities and infrastructure as well as a competitive corporate tax system.