Dyson has shelved plans for a £100m engineering and research center in Bristol, opting to consolidate its south-west operations at its flagship Malmesbury campus in Wiltshire.
The move sees the relocation of 180 employees – previously based at Bristol’s 1 Georges Square – to the company’s main site, which is also home to the Dyson Institute and its engineering college.
The British tech company, best known for its vacuum cleaners and hairdryers, had originally announced the Bristol hub in 2023. However, Bill Wright, Dyson’s UK HR director, said bringing teams together under one roof would support the company’s collaborative approach to research and innovation. “As the pace of innovation and development accelerates, we are increasingly seeing the benefits that would come from bringing teams together in one physical location,” Wright explains.
While it has already invested significantly in the renovation of the Bristol site, Dyson confirmed that 1 Georges Square will now be marketed for rental. The company says it will help staff commute by introducing a bus service and offering free electric car charging points to soften the impact of the move.
This latest development follows Dyson’s global overhaul, which last year prompted an announcement to cut up to a third of its UK workforce. The decision also comes against the backdrop of founder Sir James Dyson’s outspoken criticism of Britain’s economic policies – especially Labour’s recent tax proposals and higher national insurance costs. In a letter to the Telegraph he wrote: “Why would anyone start a business in Britain? The blow that Labor has dealt to business, and especially the destruction of British family businesses, is a blatant act of self-harm.”
While the company emphasizes that the closure of the Bristol site is a business decision rather than a political statement, it underlines an ongoing consolidation strategy across Dyson’s global operations. Now headquartered in Singapore, Dyson looks set to focus its core innovation activities on the place where it all started: at the historic Malmesbury campus in rural Wiltshire.