UK IT suppliers increase spending on R&D

Research and development spending as a percentage of sales for UK software and IT service companies has risen from 5.8% in 2002 to 7% over the past year, according to the Department of Trade & Industry's 2003 R&D Scoreboard, published yesterday (20 October).

Despite the increase in spending, UK companies still lag behind international benchmarks, with the world's top 700 companies investing 21.7% of sales values in research and development in the past 12 months.

The report revealed that the share value of the 10 most R&D-intensive UK companies has been higher than the FTSE 100 every year since 1997, with a selection of shares in those companies rising by 30%, compared to a drop of 15% for FTSE 100 companies during the same period.

Science and innovation minister Lord Sainsbury said, "The scoreboard confirms that R&D is key to economic success. R&D helps create the innovative products and services that UK businesses need to compete on the global stage."

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This was first published in October 2003

 

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