Italy’s Leonardo (the former Finmeccanica) has confirmed the combination of its UK operations into a new single entity, known as Leonardo MW – a reference to its historic Marconi and Westland brands. Preparations for the move were announced at last year’s Farnborough Air Show.

“With the support of the UK government, Leonardo is ready to invest and grow its business in and from the UK, committing to long-term innovative partnerships,” said Mauro Moretti, CEO and General Manager of Leonardo. 

The new structure will be one of the UK’s largest high-tech engineering companies, with more than 7,100 Britain-based employees. It brings together AgustaWestland Ltd, Selex ES Ltd, Finmeccanica UK Ltd, and DRS Technologies UK Ltd.

Norman Bone – a former managing director at Selex ES – has been appointed chairman and managing director of the new company. He said that Leonardo would now be able to present a coherent face to customers and stakeholders in the UK, and to export customers throughout the world.

Leonardo underlines that it makes a significant investment in UK R&D, including with universities, and continues to sustain a supply network of around 2,300 companies most of which are SMEs. The company has sales in the UK of £2.3bn, including £1.3bn of exports.