Robin Twyman

Robin Twyman

Consul for Business and Government Affairs

Part of Partners in Prosperity

30th May 2012

GREAT British Cars

Why buying a second-hand jag puts you in good, competitive company…

In the business pages of this Sunday’s Washington Post, Michael Lennox asked whether an aspiring global competitor from a developing economy could use the acquisition of an established Western business to grow its earnings and diversify.

Michael’s case in point was Tata’s acquisition in 2008 of the British luxury auto brand Jaguar Land Rover. I’ll cut to the chase, spoil the suspense and reveal that Michael says yes in this case, but he warns that not all acquisitions are this simple. What Michael presumably didn’t have space to add in his article was that this acquisition was so successful that JLR has announced 2,000 new UK jobs since November alone. Or that JLR’s new Evoque model won the North American light truck of the year award at the Detroit 2012 International Auto Show.

Both of these are clearly signs that overseas investors agree that Britain is open for business, and that the UK’s autos sector is prize winning.  Tata doesn’t appear to be alone, judging by recent announcements by other non-UK autos investors, like GM and Nissan, in the last few months.

2012 Land Rover Range Rover Evoque at the British Embassy in Washington
2012 Land Rover Range Rover Evoque at the British Embassy in Washington

But we can’t afford to be complacent, which is why the Business Secretary Vince Cable presented the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill to the British Parliament on 23 May to help make the UK one of the most business-friendly countries in the world.  The bill proposes improvements to the employment tribunal system, will establish a new Competition and Markets Authority, and reduces the regulatory burden on business.

About Robin Twyman

Robin Twyman took up his posting as Consul for Business and Government Affairs at the UK Government Office in Seattle in January 2013. He was previously First Secretary (Trade Policy,…

Robin Twyman took up his posting as Consul for Business and Government Affairs at the UK Government Office in Seattle in January 2013. He was previously First Secretary (Trade Policy, Business Affairs and Agriculture) at the British Embassy in Washington.

Born in Canterbury, Kent, in 1968, Robin joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in 1987. His diplomatic career has seen him serve overseas tours in Harare, Zimbabwe (1989-1992), and Geneva, Switzerland (2001-2006), plus short overseas tours in Mozambique, Mauritius, Russia, Abu Dhabi, Israel, Jordan, DR Congo, Albania, Zambia, Qatar, Nigeria, Syria, and Yemen.

Robin’s assignments have covered a wide range of duties. In Geneva, Robin was a UK delegate to the World Trade Organisation, where his portfolio included the Doha Trade Round’s agriculture negotiations, and trade disputes. Whilst there, he was elected to serve as a chair on one of the WTO’s sub-committees. In the FCO in London, Robin has been a Foreign Office Press Officer (1999-2001), Horn of Africa desk officer, a manager for the UK’s Afghanistan Counter Narcotics programme, and headed up the UK’s South Atlantic Overseas Territories team.

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Automotive industry british British Business business cars creativity Detroit 2012 International Auto Show Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill Evoque GM GREAT Britian innovation jaguar JLR jobs Lamd Rover Michael Lennox Nissan North America prosperity Range Rover Evoque tata trade uk usa Vince Cable