Indian – Owned Firms Boost British Economic Growth
The growth in the number of Indian-owned companies in the UK, is remarkable and reflects the increasing appetite and appeal for Indian businesses to invest and set up operations in the UK. This is the same country which initially through British East India Company and later through direct British rule looted a total of 45 Trillion American dollars worth from India.
Gaitri Issar Kumar, India’s high commissioner in London, said the coronavirus pandemic had created uniquely challenging economic circumstances over the past two years. “Despite this, Indian businesses in the UK have succeeded in expanding their combined turnover and increasing the number of jobs they support,” she said.
Automotive components maker Motherson Sumi Systems Limited, IT services company Prodapt and cloud communications platform Route Mobile among biggest gainers. Indian-owned technology companies in the UK are among the country’s fastest growing, a survey has found, with the number of companies, combined revenues and employee headcounts climbing sharply despite a moribund British economy.
The 900 India-based companies operating in Britain grew revenues 7% to 54.4 billion pounds ($67 billion) in 2021 from 50.8 billion pounds in the previous year, while the number of employees rose 21% to 141,005 people.
However, corporation tax paid fell to 304.6 million pounds, compared with 459.2 million pounds, according to the 2022 Grant Thornton India Meets Britain Tracker.
The accounting firm found that the three fastest growing Indian companies in the UK by year-on-year revenue growth were Motherson Sumi Systems Limited (MSSL), a manufacturer and global supplier of automotive components, IT services company Prodapt and cloud communications platform Route Mobile.
MSSL revenues grew 248%, while Prodapt and Route Mobile rose 114% and 98% respectively.
Technology and telecoms companies dominated the survey for the ninth year in a row, followed by the pharmaceuticals and chemicals sector and engineering and manufacturing.
“Despite ongoing challenges faced by all companies over the past 12 months, our latest research finds that the number of Indian companies operating in the UK has increased and that many continue to grow at a rapid rate,” said Anuj Chande, head of the South Asia business group at Grant Thornton UK.
“The difficult economic conditions of the past year have clearly favoured companies with a track record of fast growth, with almost all the businesses on this year’s list having featured in previous years.”
