Staff numbers at East Malling Research are set to fall within the next year following a takeover by another scientific body.

David Neill, the man installed by new owners NIAB as the site’s managing director, said the institutes workforce would decrease as the business is restructured.

East Malling Research, which employs about 85 people, was bought earlier this month after making losses of £1.5 million last year.

A year earlier, only a £2 million grant from its backer the East Malling Trust saved it from a larger loss of nearly £2.4 million.

It was left with funds of just £4,691 heading into the 2015 financial year.

Mr Neill, who is NIAB’s chief operating officer, said the firm would have to endure short term job losses to allow it to grow in future.

He said: “Realistically the number of jobs will dip over the next year but our plan is for growth.

“In the next few weeks we will sit down with senior people in East Malling and work out what is the best way forward.

"We don’t want to put weeks or months on it but we need to get on and make the changes we need.

“Understandably we are going through a reorganisation process and in the short term there might be some reduction but in the long term this site can grow its income and scale.

“Obviously we need to achieve cost savings but we can also generate savings to invest in new posts where we think there is a growth opportunity.

“In three years’ time we expect to be employing more people.”

Cambridge-based NIAB bought East Malling Research for an undisclosed sum with the aim of creating a major new centre for applied crop science and innovation.

For every £1 spent at the research centre, which dates back to 1913, at least another £7.50 has been returned to the UK economy according to a report by Brookdale Consulting in 2014.

East Malling Research has become NIAB EMR, a wholly-owned subsidiary of NIAB, and will continue to operate from its existing site in the town.