This is a UK Trade & Investment Document, part of the Go UK campaign

BE INSPIRED
INNOVATION

BE INSPIRED
INNOVATION
Crown Copyright 2011 You may reuse this information (not including logos, graphics and images) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/ or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk Any enquiries regarding this publication should be sent to our Enquiry Service by email: enquiries@ukti.gsi.gov.uk or telephone: +44 (0)20 7215 8000 (Monday Friday 09.00-17.00). This publication is also available from our website at www.ukti.gov.uk

BRIGHT SPARKS

This booklet presents some amazing facts and unusual features that have helped make the UK a uniquely fertile environment for business innovation.

MORE BRAINS FOR YOUR BUCK

The UK is the leading country in the G8 for research productivity. British researchers publish 45 research papers per billion pounds of GDP , compared to 25 and 15 papers in the US and Japan respectively.1

MAKING WAVES

The south west of England is home to the 42 million Wave Hub development a giant seabed socket into which wave energy devices can be plugged to generate electricity from tidal flow and currents.2

FROM THE START TO THE HEART OF GLOBAL BUSINESS

The worlds first multinational corporation is widely regarded to have been created in the UK: the East India Company formed in 1600. Four centuries later more than 330,000 new companies register in the UK each year3 helping make it the worlds sixth largest economy.4

FIRST CLASS
Almost 10% of pupils in the UK reached the highest grade in science exams in 2010.5 The UK also boasts four of the top ten globally-ranked universities, including the worlds number one: the University of Cambridge.6

BRITISH FIRSTS*
The UKs pioneering approach to business helped found the modern world and is now helping reinvent it for the 21st century. Just some of the objects that have been invented, or had key parts developed in the UK, include:

OUTSIDE THE BOX

Most people might look at a grassy field and think of a picnic, but Brits often see things differently. In 1863, the British looked at a field and thought of football, giving birth to the English Football Association and the worlds favourite game.7

ON THE SIDE OF SCIENCE

The UK is rated as the best European location for bioscience, healthcare and clinical research. This is thanks to its culture of scientific innovation, in areas such as embryonic stem cells, and its tradition of collaboration between industry, academia and the National Health Service (NHS). The NHS alone spends approximately 15 billion per year on goods and services, making it one of the largest purchasers of life sciences products in the world.8

MONEY TO MAKE IT HAPPEN

THE UKS PRIVATE EQUITY INDUSTRY IS THE LARGEST AND MOST DEVELOPED IN EUROPE.9

MORE THAN JUST A GAMES

London 2012 will be the most sustainable Olympic and Paralympic Games possible thanks to the use of innovative design throughout the planning stages. For example, groundbreaking water-efficiency techniques will reduce water use by Olympic Park sports venues by at least 40%, while new energy infrastructure will reduce carbon emissions from the Parks permanent buildings by 50%.10

ANIMATE YOUR BUSINESS

In 1899, it was a UK film-maker that first made matchsticks move by changing their position in between film frames. A century of innovation has led to world-leading creations such as Wallace & Gromit, made by the Oscar-winning Aardman Animations. Such expertise has also helped make the UK one of the largest producers of computer games, boasting almost 25% of the worlds most profitable games development studios.11

LIVING LIFE SCIENCES TO THE FULL

With more than 750 medical biotechnology companies and 2,750 medical technology firms, the UK has one of the largest life sciences sectors in Europe. UK-originated medicines account for 16% of the sales of the worlds top 100 drugs.12

A HELPING HAND TO YOUR BUSINESS

Touch Bionics i-LIMB bionic hand

In the last ten years, life sciences departments within UK universities have generated over 200 spin-out companies, employing over 1,000 people.13 Touch Bionics, a spin-out of the National Health Service for Scotland, has produced the worlds first fully articulating and commercially available bionic hand.14

LIVING THE HIGH-TECH LIFE

The UK is a powerhouse for technology, with some of the keenest electronics consumers, mobile users and computer gamers in Europe. Around 90% of British households enjoy digital television, there are nearly 19 million broadband subscribers and more than 32 million subscribers to 3G mobile services.15

IMPATIENCE IS A VIRTUE
On average, the UKs National Health Service (NHS) takes care of a million patients every 36 hours, or eight patients every second. Leading UK initiatives like the National Institute for Health Research Clinical Research Network Exemplar Programme are revolutionising the speed at which commercial clinical trials can be completed, achieving median approval times of 53 days from submission to permission.16

ON THE LOW CARBON HIGHWAY

The market for low carbon vehicles is set to accelerate to 440 billion by 2020 according to a recent estimate17 and the UK is the place to capitalise on this growth. For example, Nissan plans to build the worlds first mass-produced zero-emission car the LEAF in Sunderland from 2013.

A LOAD OF LAUREATES

UK institutions boast over 80 Nobel Prizes in science and technology alone, including the winners of the 2010 Nobel Prizes for Medicine and Physics.18 The University of Cambridge has been awarded more Nobel Prizes than any other institution in the world.19

OPEN FOR BUSINESS

Overseas organisations own over 35% of patents in the UK, compared with just over 12% in the USA and less than 4% in Japan. The UK has more policies to promote an open, competitive market than any other country in the northern hemisphere (according to the OECD).

MEDIA HUB

The UK is home to some of the worlds leading media companies, including the BBC, Reuters and The Economist, as well as some of the worlds largest telecommunications companies such as BT and Vodafone. This makes it the ideal location to tell the world about your latest development.

ZERO EMISSIONS IN 1890

ZERO EMISSIONS IN 2011

When a UK engineer developed the Penny Farthing over a century ago, he revolutionised popular transport.

Today, UK scientists are road testing the worlds first hydrogen fuel cell motorbike, a development set to introduce a new age of sustainable travel.20

1,000,000,000,000,000, 000,000,000,000,000, 000,000,000,000,000,000 (ONE OCTILLION)

Thats the number of universes that exist according to British physicist Professor Stephen Hawking, the first scientist to discover that black holes emit radiation and eventually disappear.

THE SKYS NOT THE LIMIT

The UKs culture of innovation and global ambition has inspired entrepreneurs such as Sir Richard Branson to take on challenges like Virgin Galactic the worlds first company to offer space tourism. Let it help your business take off too!

PUT US UNDER THE MICROSCOPE

UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) helped deliver over 1,600 foreign direct investment projects into the UK in 2009-10 with investment from more countries then ever before: 54 in total.21 To find out how the UK can be your springboard for global growth, get in touch with one of our colleagues overleaf.

UKTI GLOBAL CONTACTS

ASIA PACIFIC AND AFRICA
AUSTRALIA BRISBANE John Williams British Consulate-General E: john.williams@fco.gov.uk T: +61 (07) 3223 3203 MELBOURNE Majella Hamilton British Consulate-General E: majella.hamilton@fco.gov.uk T: +61 (03) 9652 1621 SYDNEY Carrie England British Consulate-General E: carrie.england@fco.gov.uk T: +61 (02) 8247 2234 CHINA BEIJING Phil Wyithe British Embassy E: phil.wyithe@fco.gov.uk T: +86 10 5192 4439 CHONGQING Lindsay Li British Consulate-General E: lindsay.li@fco.gov.uk T: +86 23 6369 1534 GUANGZHOU Ambert Prosper British Consulate-General E: ambert.prosper@fco.gov.uk T: +86 20 8314 3069 SHANGHAI David Percival British Consulate-General E: david.percival@fco.gov.uk T: +86 21 3279 2000 CHINA HONG KONG AND REGIONAL HEADQUARTERS HONG KONG Tony Collingridge British Consulate-General E: tony.collingridge@fco.gov.uk T: +852 2901 3265 INDIA BANGALORE Gita Krishnankutty British Deputy High Commission E: gita.krishnankutty@fco.gov.uk T: +91 80 2210 0200 CHENNAI Jamie Cribb British Deputy High Commission E: jamie.cribb@fco.gsi.gov.uk T: +91 44 4219 2151 KOLKATA Mustaq Birader British Deputy High Commission E: mustaq.birader@fco.gov.uk T: +91 33 2288 2253 MUMBAI Collette Weston British Deputy High Commission E: collette.weston@fco.gov.uk T: +91 22 6650 2247 NEW DELHI Paul Grey British High Commission E: paul.grey@fco.gov.uk T: +91 11 2419 2504 JAPAN TOKYO Ben Chesson British Embassy E: ben.chesson@fco.gov.uk T: +81 3 5211 1140 KOREA SEOUL Tom Matlock British Embassy E: tom.matlock@fco.gov.uk T: +822 3210 5610 MALAYSIA KUALA LUMPUR Matthew Smith British High Commission E: m.smith@fco.gsi.gov.uk T: +603 2170 2232 NEW ZEALAND AUCKLAND Paul Wilkinson British Consulate-General E: paul.wilkinson2@fco.gov.uk T: +64 9 303 5019 SINGAPORE Amanda Brooks British High Commission E: amanda.brooks@fco.gov.uk T: +65 6424 4301 SOUTH AFRICA JOHANNESBURG Corin Wilson British Consulate-General E: corin.wilson@fco.gov.uk T: +27 11 537 7209 TAIWAN TAIPEI Stephen Metti British Trade and Cultural Office E: stephen.metti@fco.gov.uk T: +886 2 8758 2066

THE GULF
Kirstyn Boyle E: kirstyn.boyle@ukti.gsi.gov.uk T: +44 (0)20 7215 0813

FINLAND HELSINKI Kari Luukkonen British Embassy E: kari.luukkonen@fco.gov.uk T: +358 9 2286 5229 FRANCE PARIS Nadge Anturo British Embassy E: nadege.anturo@fco.gov.uk T: +33 1 4451 3403 GERMANY DSSELDORF Ulrich Marthaler British Consulate-General E: ulrich.marthaler@fco.gov.uk T: +49 211 9448 207 ICELAND REYKJAVIK Petur Stefansson British Embassy E: petur.stefansson@fco.gov.uk T: +354 550 5123 IRELAND DUBLIN Simon McKeever British Embassy E: simon.mckeever@fco.gov.uk T: +35 31 205 3769

ISRAEL TEL AVIV Richard Salt British Embassy E: richard.salt@fco.gov.uk T: +972 3725 1231 ITALY MILAN Danielle Allen British Consulate-General E: danielle.allen@fco.gov.uk T: +39 02 723 00222 LUXEMBOURG LUXEMBOURG Thomas Flammant British Embassy E: thomas.flammant@fco.gov.uk T: +352 22 9864 2216 NETHERLANDS THE HAGUE Mark Ashwell British Embassy E: mark.ashwell@fco.gov.uk T: +31 (0) 7 0427 0419 NORWAY OSLO Roy Kristiansen British Embassy E: roy.kristiansen@fco.gov.uk T: +47 2313 2765

PORTUGAL LISBON Ana-Cristina Abreu British Embassy E: ana.abreu@fco.gov.uk T: +35 1 21 392 4065 SPAIN MADRID Justine Winterburn British Embassy E: justine.winterburn@fco.gov.uk T: +34 91 714 6330 SWEDEN STOCKHOLM Anna Lindberg British Embassy E: anna.lindberg@fco.gov.uk T: +46 8 671 3067 SWITZERLAND BERNE Matthew Peters British Embassy E: matthew.peters@fco.gov.uk T: +41 (0) 31 359 7753 TURKEY ISTANBUL Taclan Topal British Consulate-General E: taclan.topal@fco.gov.uk T: +90 212 334 6441

EUROPE
AUSTRIA VIENNA Jane Spiegel British Embassy E: jane.spiegel@fco.gov.uk T: +43 1 716 136 250 BELGIUM BRUSSELS Inge Haeldermans British Embassy E: inge.haeldermans@fco.gov.uk T: +32 2 287 6276 DENMARK COPENHAGEN Christina Liaos British Embassy E: christina.liaos@fco.gov.uk T: +45 35 44 5103 ESTONIA TALLINN Annely Lautre British Embassy E: annely.lautre@fco.gov.uk T: +372 667 4736

AMERICAS
BRAZIL SO PAULO David Burrows British Consulate-General E: david.burrows@fco.gov.uk T: +55 11 3094 2741 CANADA CALGARY Stacie Symington UK Trade & Investment Office E: stacie@btoalberta.com T: +1 403 539 2234 MONTREAL JEREMY MACKENZIE-LEE British Consulate-General E: jeremy.lee@fco.gov.uk T: +1 514 866 5863 TORONTO Matthew Hobbs British Consulate-General E: matthew.hobbs@fco.gov.uk T: +1 416 593 1290 VANCOUVER Andrea Morgan British Consulate-General E: andrea.morgan@fco.gov.uk T: +1 604 683 4421

MEXICO MEXICO CITY Isaac Vargas British Embassy E: isaac.vargas@fco.gov.uk T: +52 55 1670 3245 USA BOSTON Kirsten Chambers British Consulate-General E: kirsten.chambers@fco.gov.uk T: +1 617 245 4509 CHICAGO Colette Buscemi British Consulate-General E: colette.buscemi@fco.gov.uk T: +1 312 970 3845 HOUSTON Gray Hancock British Consulate-General E: gray.hancock@fco.gov.uk T: +1 713 659 6275 x2140 LOS ANGELES Andrew Lewis British Consulate-General E: andrew.lewis@fco.gov.uk T: +1 310 996 3024

MIAMI Rebecca Mowat British Consulate-General E: rebecca.mowat@fco.gov.uk T: +1 305 374 1522 x2322 NEW YORK Fiona MacLeod British Consulate-General E: fiona.macleodny@fco.gov.uk T: +1 212 745 0458 SAN FRANCISCO Jaclyn Mason British Consulate-General E: jaclyn.mason@fco.gov.uk T: +1 415 617 1360 WASHINGTON, DC Melinda Goforth British Embassy E: melinda.goforth@fco.gov.uk T: +1 202 588 6864

SOURCES
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 UKTI Life Sciences Z card, Oct 2010; www.ukti.gov.uk Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, 2009 Innovation report; www.bis.gov.uk www.companieshouse.gov.uk www.imf.org The Times (June 2010) QS World University Rankings, 2010 www.thefa.com UKTI Life Sciences Z card, Oct 2010; www.ukti.gov.uk www.bvca.co.uk

REFERENCES
* UK Firsts include: Cell phone with GSM services, digital comics, DNA technology, football, fibre optics, gene therapy, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Hawkeye, internal combustion engine, IVF, jet engine, motor racing circuit, nature reserves, Paralympic Games, penicillin, postage stamps, programmable computers, pneumatic tyre, purpose-built Olympic stadium, radar systems, steam engine, telephone, toilet, transputer microprocessors, underground trains, World Wide Web.

10 www.london2012.com 11 www.tiga.org 12 UKTI Life Sciences Z card, Oct 2010; www.ukti.gov.uk 13 Economic Impact Baseline, 2009 Update; www.bbsrc.ac.uk 14 www.touchbionics.com 15 www.eito.com 16 UKTI Life Sciences Z card, Oct 2010; www.ukti.gov.uk 17 HSBC Climate Change Centre of Excellence; www.hsbc.com 18 http://nobelprize.org 19 www.cam.ac.uk 20 www.intelligent-energy.com 21 www.ukti.gov.uk

UK Trade & Investment is the Government department that helps UK-based companies succeed in international markets. We also assist overseas companies to bring high-quality investment to the UKs dynamic economy.

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Whereas every effort has been made to ensure that the information given in this document is accurate, neither UK Trade & Investment nor its parent Departments (the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office) accept liability for any errors, omissions or misleading statements, and no warranty is given or responsibility accepted as to the standing of any individual, firm, company or other organisation mentioned. Published February 2011 by UK Trade & Investment Crown Copyright. URN: 11/501