AstraZeneca has put a £450m investment in Britain on hold in a stand-off with ministers over state aid.
The drugs giant told The Telegraph that proposals to build a new vaccine factory in Liverpool had been paused, amid conversations with the Government about “incentives”.
The pharmaceutical giant said in March that it would invest £450m into a new green vaccine production factory in Speke, Liverpool.
AstraZeneca had been in talks with the previous Conservative government about providing state aid to fund the development, with more than £90m of support expected.
However, Labour has since come to power and has been seeking to reduce the amount of state aid to £40m, according to the Financial Times.
Aradhana Sarin, chief financial officer, told The Telegraph: “We’re still in discussions with the Government to figure out what type of incentives there may be. So we don’t have anything new to report at this time.”
Asked if the plans were on hold, Ms Sarin said: “That’s correct.”
A spokesman said that talks were ongoing, adding: “We are reviewing the incentives for investment in the UK.”
