New Leonardo investment in the Home of the British Helicopter
Italian defence group Leonardo has eight major sites in the UK, supporting 8,000 jobs. It has committed to invest £435 million in the UK this year, including work on establishing a ‘Single Site Logistics Hub’ at its helicopter production facility in Yeovil, in an effort to improve efficiencies at the sprawling site. Work at Yeovil will reportedly account for some £35 million of Leonardo’s total UK investment in 2024.
The funding will also support work being undertaken by Leonardo in the UK on sensors for the sixth-generation Global Combat Air Programme, which is being built by the UK, Italy and Japan. Sensors are the key element in the new fighter, and may account for up to 30% of the value of the aircraft. There will also be investment in research work covering “laser, radio frequency and quantum technologies.”
Leonardo said it was also investing in the further digitalization of its UK business, enabling it to “offer a range of digital and data products and services to customers.”
The UK government announced the investment on Monday 16 September, during Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s visit to Rome for wide-ranging talks with Giorgia Meloni. Other Italian investments (notably by steel manufacturer Marcegaglia, who will invest £50 million to build a new clean steel electric arc furnace in Sheffield, creating 50 new jobs) will take the total to £485 million. Italy is a vital NATO ally, G7 and EU partner, and is one of the UK’s top ten trading partners, with annual bilateral trade worth £50 billion. Italian companies already support more than 20,000 jobs in every part of the UK.
The two leaders also discussed defence, security and migration issues, including co-operation in tackling illegal migration. The leaders talked about the war in Ukraine, and agreed on Italian participation in next year’s UK Carrier Strike Group’s deployment to the Indo-Pacific.
The visit to Rome represents a continuing drive by the Starmer government to reset the UK’s relationship with its closest European partners, and to deepen co-operation on shared challenges, boost bilateral trade and investment and drive economic growth at home.
Stefano Pontecorvo, the Chairman of Leonardo said that: “It was a pleasure to meet with Prime Minister Starmer and discuss our new £435 million investment in the growth of Leonardo in the UK. This investment will support advanced research, thousands of highly skilled jobs and outstanding early careers opportunities at our eight UK sites as well as the resilience of our nationwide supply chain. It is clear that the Prime Minister represents a pronounced change in approach for the UK and its relationship with the European Union. Leonardo’s presence in the UK is underpinned by transnational collaboration at a governmental level, which also supports cooperation at an industrial level. I look forward to working closely with the Prime Minister as we continue to invest in the UK and support the defence of Europe.”
