The top one thousand UK companies invested more than £26 billion on developing new products, services and improving productivity in 2008 according to the 19th annual R&D scoreboard, which surveys the 1,000 UK and top 1,000 global corporate investors in R&D.
Spending by the UK companies listed increased by 9.2 per cent in 2008 compared with 2007. The increase was largely by companies in the pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, aerospace and defence, software and computer services and banking sectors.
Eighty one percent of UK R&D was conducted by just one hundred of the 1,000 UK companies surveyed, and is dominated by the pharmaceuticals and biotechnology sector.
Globally, the 1,000 top spenders R&D invested £396 billion in 2008, an increase of 7 per cent on the previous year. There are 46 UK companies in this group and they increased their R&D spend at a rate of 11.1 per cent.
Eighty per cent of investment in R&D by the global 1,000 companies occurs in five countries, the US, Japan, Germany, France and the UK.
To read the full, original article click on this link: Science|Business 19th annual R&D scoreboard: UK private investment rose in 2008
Author: Science Business
