UK pharma companies pledge to invest £430m in France
BRITAIN’S two biggest pharmaceutical companies have pledged £430m of investment in France after a charm offensive by Emmanuel Macron.
Astrazeneca and GSK have vowed to upgrade their facilities in the country as part of a flagship investment programme unveiled by France’s president yesterday. As part of the spending, Astrazeneca will commit €365m (£313m) to a factory in Dunkirk making asthma medicines, while GSK will spend an extra €140m (£120m) on three production sites across the country.
Investment from the FTSE giants will coincide with an additional €500m from overseas rivals Pfizer and Novartis, meaning President Macron has secured nearly €1bn of inbound pharma investment.
This is in contrast to the UK, where the Government in recent years has been accused of failing to back the pharma sector. Tensions peaked last year when Astrazeneca chief executive Pascal Soriot said high taxes had made Britain “very unattractive” for business.
However, relations have since improved as, two months ago, the company committed to a new £650m vaccine factory in Liverpool.
President Macron’s investments were unveiled as part of the Choose France investment summit held at the Palace of Versailles yesterday. More than 180 foreign business leaders attended, including the heads of Wall Street’s largest banks and top executives from tech giants Microsoft and Amazon. The president announced a new record €15bn of foreign investment into the country from more than 50 multinationals, up from €13bn last year.
He said the country’s pro-business policies had “made France the most attractive country in Europe”.
An EY report launched alongside the summit also revealed that France is the most attractive European destination for foreign investment, outstripping the UK.
President Macron has long been hailed as a skilled dealmaker when it comes to schmoozing foreign executives to invest in France.