Britain was handed a double boost yesterday as two major European companies outlined fresh plans to invest in the country.

Swedish telecoms giant Ericsson and pork producer Danish Crown said they would plough millions into the UK in the coming years.

The vote of confidence was hugely welcome as a bleak report from the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development warned that Britain would be the worst performing economy in the G7 next year. 

Investing: Ericsson said it would spend tens of millions of pounds over the next ten years by establishing a research unit to focus on 6G connectivity

Investing: Ericsson said it would spend tens of millions of pounds over the next ten years by establishing a research unit to focus on 6G connectivity

Investing: Ericsson said it would spend tens of millions of pounds over the next ten years by establishing a research unit to focus on 6G connectivity 

The Paris-based group forecast a decline of 0.4 per cent for the UK in 2023.

But Ericsson said it would spend tens of millions of pounds in the UK over the next ten years by establishing a research unit to focus on 6G connectivity. 

The company said the programme would see researchers employed alongside PhD students and other academics to look into next generation 6G technology and its possible uses.

An exact figure for the investment has not been confirmed by Ericsson but the company said 6G is expected to become available in the 2030s.

The Government welcomed Ericsson’s announcement.

Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan said it was a ‘huge vote of confidence in the UK’s innovative telecoms sector’.

Ericsson UK chief executive Katherine Ainley said: ‘This new investment underlines our ongoing commitment to ensure Britain remains a global leader in the technologies and industries of the future.’

Danish Crown said it will build a £100million plant in Rochdale to turn Danish pork into bacon and sausages for consumers, creating 300 jobs.

The company’s boss Jais Valeur said: ‘Bacon is a basic commodity for most British consumers. 

‘This is simply something you need to have.’

R&D tax raid backlash 

The Chancellor faces a backlash over a tax raid on innovative small businesses.

The Office for National Statistics showed firms employing fewer than 250 staff have hiked research and development spending by £4.3billion to £24.3billion since 2018 and larger firms’ spending rose by £1.6billion to £22.6billion. 

But last week, Jeremy Hunt said he was scaling back R&D tax breaks for smaller firms.

The Federation of Small Businesses accused him of turning ‘triumph to disaster, with the self-inflicted R&D credit crunch set to cut a swathe through start-ups, spin-out and advanced engineering companies’.

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