Ricardo : George Osborne visits Ricardo as part of Remain campaign

Chancellor of the Exchequer the Rt Hon George Osborne MP visited the Ricardo Shoreham Technical Centre this morning in order to highlight the advantages to the motor industry of retaining the UK's status as a member of the EU.

During the visit, which was hosted by Ricardo CEO Dave Shemmans, the Chancellor met some of Ricardo's apprentice trainees and visited the £10 million Vehicle Emissions Research Centre, which is among the world's leading vehicle testing facilities. He was also able to visit Ricardo high performance engine assembly facility - opened in 2011 but recently expanded to double its production capacity - where the award-winning M838T engine is built for McLaren's range of high performance sports cars.

'I was pleased to welcome George Osborne to Ricardo so that he could see some of the work that we do and meet members of the team,' commented Ricardo CEO Dave Shemmans. 'Uncertainty is the enemy of both the economy and of business, and it is Ricardo's view that a 'Brexit' decision would create significant uncertainty at a time of hard-fought economic recovery. As a British-based international company operating in many countries around the world, Ricardo benefits from extensive collaborations within EU research and innovation programmes. EU membership also allows the company the operational flexibility of being able to recruit the very best engineers and scientists, and of deploying its European staff where they are needed most. While we will of course tackle the challenges of Brexit should this be the decision of the country, Ricardo's preferred outcome for our business, for our investors and for the career opportunities of our staff, is that the UK remains a member of the EU.'

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