Dyson, the technology company, is to undergo a dramatic expansion in the UK by opening a new 210 hectare (517 acre) campus as part of a £2.5bn investment that will support its development of new battery technologies and robotics.
The company, led by the billionaire inventor Sir James Dyson, will increase its UK geographical footprint tenfold by developing the campus on a former Ministry of Defence airfield and intends to at least double its workforce of 3,500 over the next few years.
The new facility in Hullavington, Wiltshire is part of a £2.5bn investment by Dyson in new technologies and will focus on research and development. The size of the campus and the company’s work on batteries, robotics and artificial intelligence will increase speculation that Dyson is developing a driverless electric car.
Theresa May said said: “This investment is a vote of confidence in our modern industrial strategy and our determination to cement the UK’s position as a world leader in high-tech engineering.
“Dyson’s exporting strength and commitment to creating jobs in Britain is a real success story that demonstrates the opportunity that our plan to create a truly global Britain can present.”
The expansion plan is a boost for the government amid growing speculation about the future of other key industrial facilities. BMW is considering building its new electric Minis in Germany rather than its factory at Oxford. There are also concerns that jobs could be lost at Vauxhall’s factories in Ellesmere Port and Luton if PSA Group, the owner of Peugeot, completes a deal to buy parent company General Motors’ European business.
Dyson was one of the most prominent business leaders to publicly support Brexit before the referendum in June. His company has developed from a business specialising in bagless vacuum cleaners into a fast-growing multinational technology company selling bladeless fans, air purifiers, hand-dryers, hairdryers and robotic vacuum cleaners.
Dyson said he did not understand claims that the UK is suffering from economic uncertainty and that the prospect of the country leaving the EU had not dissuaded him from investing.
“We have got the opportunity to export globally – Europe is only 15% of global trade and declining. The world outside Europe is expanding faster than Europe, and that is the same for Dyson,” he said.
The tycoon said that Britain is a “great place to do business” due to the low rate of corporation tax, the skills of engineers and scientists, and the decline in the value of the pound against the dollar and euro. “These are far more important elements than any WTO [World Trade Organisation] tariffs.”
When asked what the new facility will be used for and whether it will help to build a driverless vehicle, Dyson said the company’s new facility will do “a lot on batteries and a lot of other top secret work”.
The new campus is close to Dyson’s headquarters in Malmesbury near Bath, and is on the site of a former Ministry of Defence airfield. Dyson will begin work on the first phase of the development next week. It aims to restore six second world war hangers on the site and have them ready for occupation by the end of the year.
The company declined to clarify how much it was spending on developing the new campus, saying it was part of £2.5bn committed to new technologies. This £2.5bn includes £1bn on battery technology, £250m on expanding Dyson’s existing headquarters, and the rest on research and development.
Dyson said: “After 25 years of UK growth, and continuing expansion globally, we are fast outgrowing our Malmesbury campus.
“The 517-acre Hullavington campus is an investment for our future, creating a global hub for our research and development endeavours. It will enable us to continue creating world class products and jobs right here in the Cotswolds.”
The investment is the latest in a number of expansion announcements by Dyson. Last year it unveiled a £250m extension of its existing Malmesbury headquarters and earlier this year it opened a new technology centre in Singapore.
Dyson has tripled its UK workforce in the last five years and its sales have doubled. Dyson reported revenues of £1.7bn in 2015, up 26% year on year, with profits of £448m. It is investing £7m a week in research and development.
Dyson himself still owns 100% of the company and is estimated to be worth £5bn – more than Sir Richard Branson.
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