The merger this week of pharmaceuticals giants Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham stirred mixed emotions in Britain. The coming together just two years after a previous effort fell apart reportedly due to personality clashes at the top, sees two of the more historic names in British corporate history - Wellcome, founded in 1880, and Beecham, founded 40 years earlier - bite the dust.

More importantly for the present day, the merged Glaxo-SmithKline announced it would be moving its headquarters to the US, a bitter blow to the British government. The group cited commercial realities for the move, with the British market accounting for only 6 per cent of its business. Still, there is a lingering feeling that the British government's refusal to license Glaxo's Relenza flu drug might have undermined the loyalty of the alliance.