Abstract
Should we be more concerned about the foreign ownership of UK Brands? Is Britain making the most of its industrial brands? Much has been made of these questions and the recent contracting out of nuclear energy to China. This is only one of several examples of recent contracting out of activity. Indeed most rail franchises are now foreign owned and most electricity providers are also from mainland Europe. The process of selling off much industry has been taking place in the UK for many years and it has now gone much further than merely selling off the family silver. Recently in the House of Commons mention was made of the time that has now arrived to sell the fixtures and fittings. This paper sets out to explain the reasons why the UK has been willing to sell off many historic firms and assesses the consequences of this for future generations. The paper draws on theories of international marketing, corporate strategy and production to help explain the relevant thinking behind current policies. It also draws on case examples, relevant theory and data, in order to provide further evidence for future policy making, arguing that it still vitally important for the UK to undertake the strategic stewardship of its remaining brands.
Highlights
The UK has always adopted a more liberal attitude towards markets, from the 1980s period where privatisation was championed by the Thatcher government
Tata Motors of India have taken over Jaguar; Chinese firms such as Geely have merged with Volvo and Chinese firms are involved with MG and the UK Taxi making business
The broad problem is, where does a liberalised state of affairs, in terms of acquisition, leave those brands that still remain under UK ownership? After considering some issues around the foreign ownership of previous home based brand assets, the main focus of this paper is to argue that the UK government must ensure a strong stewardship of the brands that remain genuinely “home owned”, occurs
Summary
The UK has always adopted a more liberal attitude towards markets, from the 1980s period where privatisation was championed by the Thatcher government. In France, the large engineering firm Alstrom was not allowed to be taken over by Siemens and this suggests that there is a different attitude to traditional brands in different countries despite a free market existing, in theory It is doubtful whether the French government would allow Chinese involvement in the nuclear sector as has been the case recently in the UK. After considering some issues around the foreign ownership of previous home based brand assets, the main focus of this paper is to argue that the UK government must ensure a strong stewardship of the brands that remain genuinely “home owned”, occurs This should become a main strategic initiative. At stake here is the ability of a country to compete effectively on a global stage, and attract investment and income, these are the key factors we argue that need much more consideration
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