UK planning laws are hampering investment, CEO Eli Lilly warns

The head of the world’s most valuable pharmaceutical company has criticized the UK’s planning system, claiming it is deterring investment.

Dave Ricks, CEO of Eli Lilly, a maker of anti-obesity drugs, has said that current planning processes in Britain are a significant barrier to building factories quickly, unlike in the US and Ireland.

Ricks revealed that he had been considering establishing a factory in Britain for the past decade, but chose another country due to Britain’s cumbersome planning procedures. “What they mainly do is reserve land in advance, they promise to cut through the red tape and layers of government,” Ricks explained, contrasting the British approach with more streamlined processes elsewhere.

Eli Lilly, together with Danish rival Novo Nordisk, leads the pharmaceutical industry in anti-obesity drugs, producing high-demand drugs such as Zepbound and Mounjaro. The company is struggling to build factories fast enough to meet rising demand.

With operations in the US, Ireland and several European Union countries including Italy, France and Germany, Ricks highlighted that countries offering shorter pharmaceutical plant setup times (from five to two years) are particularly attractive. “In Britain – although I enjoy visiting there, it’s a beautiful country – it’s not the biggest market, so you have to overcome that with other attractions, whether that’s labor, asset supply or economics. incentives,” he noted.

Ricks urged Britain to increase its competitiveness, stating: “You have to be frank and say: ‘Are we as competitive as we can be?’ And so far it is a little less, but I think it is not unattainable.”

Both major British political parties have pledged to tackle planning laws in their manifestos. The Conservatives aim to ‘simplify the planning system’, while Labor has pledged to reform it if they win the upcoming general election. A Labor spokesman criticized the Conservatives for 14 years of indecision, which they say has let the UK life sciences sector down. They added: “Labor has a growth plan, including a new industrial strategy, and the UK life sciences sector is at the heart of that.”

The Conservative Party has been contacted for comment.

Changes to planning laws are seen as crucial to boosting economic growth. The strength of the British economy was a central theme of the election campaign, with growth having been subdued in recent years. Ricks indicated that Britain remains a potential location for a new manufacturing facility, and urged the next government to focus on becoming “world class” in attracting investment.

“It’s a competition,” he said. “You have to make it easier and faster for companies to make that choice.”

A Liberal Democrat spokesperson echoed these sentiments, criticizing years of Conservative mismanagement for undermining business confidence and missing investment opportunities. “We would develop an industrial strategy to promote a stable business environment with smart regulation to give businesses the certainty they need, and overhaul the broken business rates system to boost our manufacturing industry,” they said.

As Britain grapples with the need for economic revitalisation, reforms to the planning system could play a crucial role in attracting crucial investment from global companies like Eli Lilly.