Defence giant's job boost
11 Jun 2025 09:50
Published by:
Scott Callan
Visit: Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds at the Bolton plant
A £200million investment in its Bolton operation by defence giant MBDA will create 700 jobs.
The investment is part of a wider £500m commitment from the company to expand its UK manufacturing and technologies.
MBDA, a leading missile systems manufacturer, plans to more than double its Bolton footprint by 2028 and grow its apprenticeship and STEM outreach programme, which already includes over 400 early-career professionals UK-wide.
The news was announced days after a new security and defence partnership was signed by the UK and EU.
MBDA UK managing director Chris Allam said: “We are proud and excited to be building a world class engineering and manufacturing campus in the North West of England, the centre of complex weapons manufacturing for the UK, and our associated recruitment and training will extend our already great workforce.
“MBDA is privileged to have a 10-year Complex Weapons portfolio agreement with the UK government.
“This gives us the confidence to invest and better support the UK and its allies. It also helps our supply chain and over 700 SMEs who work with MBDA in the UK. When we expand, they expand with us.”
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds visited MBDA’’s Bolton site to make the formal investment announcement.
He said: “This is great news for Bolton and another win for our world-class defence sector, which will create hundreds of good, well-paid jobs and ensure the UK continues to lead the way on the cutting-edge technologies of the future.
“Our new Security and Defence Partnership will unlock access to the EU’s proposed new £150billion defence fund for UK firms.”
UK Export Finance chief executive Tim Reid said: “
Pioneering companies like?MBDA UK?investing in their people and technologies for the long-term underscore why we are a world leader in defence. The UK is one of the largest exporters of defence equipment in the world, and in 2023 the UK won defence contracts worth £14.5bn.”
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