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Lotus has secured a £10 million government
grant which will see the firm create more than
300 new jobs.
The Regional Growth Fund (RGF) has awarded the
automotive firm £10.44 million, which will be
used for research and development of products,
along with staff training. In addition Lotus is
expected to create 313 new full time jobs to
support production over the coming years (Editor:
for readers who now have a "deja vu" have a
).
Business Secretary, Vince Cable MP visited
Lotus’ Norfolk headquarters today, 25 November
2013, where he toured the engineering and
factory facilities and formally announced the
grant to Lotus management.
The grant is a further boost for Lotus,
following a £100 million investment by its
owners DRB-HICOM which has allowed the company
to enhance its engineering, productivity,
efficiency and quality. Lotus is also recruiting
for more than 130 new jobs, previously announced
in July 2013.
The Regional Growth Fund (RGF) is a flexible and
competitive £3.2 billion fund operating across
England from 2011 to 2017. It supports projects
that are using private sector investment to
create economic growth and sustainable
employment.
Aslam Farikullah, Chief Operating Officer at
Lotus, said: “This grant is part of a wider
strategy for Lotus created to ensure we thrive
and grow. We are responding to increased global
demand for our cars and engineering consultancy
services and this grant will help to position
Lotus at the forefront of global automotive
innovation.
“We have very exciting plans for our sports cars
and it’s a very positive move for Lotus that
we’re in a position to create new jobs and to
significantly contribute to Britain’s automotive
industry.
“The team here at Lotus have worked very hard to
secure this grant and every employee is playing
their part in the stability, growth and future
success of our company.”
Business Secretary Vince Cable said: “Lotus is
an iconic British car maker, with some of the
most innovative engineers in the business. The
car industry is one of Britain's great success
stories, employing over 130,000 people and
helping to build a stronger economy by
contributing £11 billion a year. The
Government's industrial strategy is working and
giving business the confidence to invest,
creating more high skilled, long term jobs in
the UK.
“I am pleased to announce today that our
flagship economic plan to create jobs outside of
London - the regional growth fund - is awarding
Lotus a £10 million grant which will help them
develop their next generation of cars and create
over 300 new jobs in East Anglia. The Government
has already supported over 400 projects with
£2.6 billion from the Regional Growth Fund,
promoting growth in regions across England. The
latest round is still open for another two weeks
and I'd urge all businesses with a plan to
support jobs in their local areas to apply". |
