Brexit backer Dyson moves head office to Singapore

Brexit-backing businessman Sir James Dyson is to relocate the Dyson head office and tax base from the UK to Singapore.

The relocation of Dyson's head office from the UK means the firm will no longer be a British-registered company and Singapore will become its main tax base.

Dyson's decision to move its headquarters abroad, from Malmesbury, Wiltshire comes after last year's announcement that the company - best known for its vacuum cleaners and other domestic appliances - will manufacturer its new electric cars in Singapore, rather than the UK.

Company founder Sir James Dyson - knighted in 2007 for services to industrial design - has been widely criticised for being pro-Brexit but not being prepared to keep his business interests within the UK.

The firm said in a statement: "An increasing majority of Dyson's customers and all of our manufacturing operations are now in Asia; this shift has been occurring for some time and will quicken as Dyson brings its electric vehicle to market.

"We are now at a point where Dyson's corporate head office will relocate there to reflect the increasing importance of Asia to Dyson's business."

Dyson chief executive Jim Rowan insisted the relocation to Asia was not related to Brexit or the lowering of corporation tax.

He said: "The move is nothing to do with Brexit or tax, it's about making sure we are future proofed.

"There are huge revenue opportunities in Singapore, China is the poster child of that."

But the news that one Britain's most successful manufacturers is preparing to move its headquarters out of the UK comes at a sensitive time for international businesses based in the country.

Several car makers including Nissan, Ford, Toyota and Honda have been warning about the rising prospects of a no-deal Brexit, which would jeopardise their operations in Britain.

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