Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg and Business Secretary Vince Cable have praised production facilities at Ricardo in Shoreham ahead of a major policy launch to support regional firms.
The two senior politicians broke from their party conference in Brighton this morning (Tuesday, September 24) to examine the manufacturer’s base in West Sussex.
They toured the recently-installed Ricardo’s McLaren MP4-12C sports car engine production site and hailed the company as a prime example of UK companies thriving despite continued economic challenges.
Deputy Prime Minister Mr Clegg said: “It was fantastic to visit Ricardo. I was blown away by the enthusiasm and dedication of everyone there. The people I met are a real credit to not only the company but also to British manufacturing. Ricardo is a great example of British innovation.”
Mr Cable, who was equally impressed with the facilities, today used the conference to launch a major scheme to assist small and medium sized enterprises.
He revealed at conference that there will be a new business bank that will lend up to £10 billion. This is set to be financed by a combination of the private sector and partially funded from investing £1 billion of taxpayers’ money.
It will offer loans to companies that have struggled during the past few recession-hit years to gain financing through high street banks.
For full story, see this week’s Herald (Thursday, September 27).
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