By Paul Sandle
LONDON, Jan 22 – James Dyson, the billionaire Brexit supporter and vacuum cleaner tycoon, is moving his head office from Britain to Singapore.
Dyson’s company said the move was not driven by Britain’s looming departure from the European Union or tax implications but by a desire to be close to its fastest-growing market. Much of its product development will remain in southwest England.
“Our growth rate in Asia has doubled most other places in the world over recent years,” said Dyson Chief Executive Jim Rowan, adding that more than half of its profit came from the region and the move was aimed at “futureproofing” the company.
The 71-year-old Dyson has become one of Britain’s best-known entrepreneurs, creating a multibillion-dollar company from an insight about a more efficient vacuum cleaner.
He came out in favor of Brexit days before the 2016 vote, when he said Britain could be about 18.5 billion pounds better off each year if it left the European Union.
With only weeks before Brexit, other manufacturers are warning of huge damage if no divorce deal is struck.
There would be a “negligible difference” to the company’s tax payments as a result of the move, said Rowan, who is already based in Singapore, where the corporate tax rate is 17 percent. It is 19 percent in Britain, but is set to fall to 18 percent in 2020.
He said he would be joined there by other senior executives including the company’s chief financial officer, once the paperwork to re-register was complete.
Dyson, which has 5,853 engineers and scientists working on its new electric car and other products, said it was still expanding its research and engineering operation in Britain.
Dyson also said on Tuesday it had hired executive Roland Krueger from Infiniti Motor Company and Nissan Motor Co to oversee its automotive project.
“We expect to be able to go in and disrupt yet another industry using bespoke Dyson technology and innovation,” Rowan said.
In October, it said it would build its electric car in Singapore because it said it was close to suppliers and Asian markets for the vehicle, which is due to launch in 2021.
