Dyson’s pay cut in profits slip

Vacuum cleaner tycoon Sir James Dyson took a massive pay cut last year as profits at his technology empire slipped in the recession.

The multi-millionaire inventor, best known as the pioneer of the bagless vacuum cleaner, pocketed just £457,000 in 2008, having taken home £12.5 million the previous year. A further £570,000 was set aside for his pension.

Pre-tax profits at his company, Dyson James, dipped 4% to £85.3 million in the period as margins were squeezed in the recession. Turnover rose 2.8% to £628.3 million.

In response to the downturn, the company has cut its expenditure on research by 6%, but still splashed out £49.1 million on new product development.

Last month, Sir James' team of engineers in the company's Wiltshire design headquarters added a desk fan without external blades to their list of inventions. It is hoped companies will buy the fan, which is the shape of a magnifying glass, as a greener alternative to office air conditioning.

Sir James, who was named as the Tory's new technology guru, has also transformed public loos with an Airblade hand-dryer which expels air at 400 miles an hour through a small slit.

He has come under fire for using manufacturing facilities in Malaysia, but says it still operates as a British company.