Chancellor meets with employees at growing science innovator LGC in Teddington
Chancellor meets with employees at growing science innovator LGC in Teddington
Chancellor George Osborne today (2 January 2015) visited LGC in Teddington to meet with some of their employees and learn more about how the government’s long-term economic plan has helped the business grow over the last 5 years.
The Chancellor visited LGC, which is a leading international life sciences measurement and testing company, and which employs 1,500 people in Britain.
Over the last 5 years, LGC has made impressive progress to grow, create jobs and export to established and emerging markets including:
- increasing total turnover from £130 million to over £220 million
- increasing the number of employees from 1,400 to over 2,000 worldwide, with 400 of this increase being in Britain alone
- increasing exports to the rest of the world, including emerging economies such as China and Brazil, by £36 million, with exports now accounting for 32% of the firm’s total revenue, up from 5%
The firm is also a significant investor in research and development (R&D), and has taken advantage of government support to encourage businesses to invest in R&D – including through R&D tax credits – spending over £10 million every year in this area.
The benefits of the government’s support here are clear, with the largest part of LGC’s export growth coming through its pioneering genomics technology, which has a number of uses including fighting diseases and tackling food shortages around the world.
The Chancellor said:
World class science and innovation is key to this country’s long-term success and staying ahead in this field is one of my personal priorities.
It’s great to visit LGC, to see how they are leading the world in developing important technologies for the future. This is exactly the kind of high skilled work that we want to see more of which is why I’ve come to see the employees at LGC today.
Backing businesses who create jobs and the security that comes with that is key to our long-term economic plan.
Since 2011 LGC has also operated a successful apprenticeship programme, which is now a key part of how the firm develops and maintains staff with the skills it needs to grow and compete. The firm currently has 22 apprentices, and has recruited a total of 51 apprentices over 3 years, of which 33 are still employed in other roles by the company.