Apart from the very successful British microlight industry, which has often delved into the light aircraft work. E.g. -
TLAC or
CFM . Nearly 400 Shadows is hardly trivial, nor is the several thousand aircaft built by
P&M and its two predecessor companies: . The Bulldog was built as military but is now widespread in civilian use and been highly successful in both. The Slingsby Firefly was both civilian and military and seems to have done fairly well. The
AMF Chevvron could have done better but wasn't an outright disaster.
And, as has already been said, the Islander.
The very successful British microlight sector only existed as a result of the protectionist Section S airworthiness arrangements, without that, the continent suppliers would have cleaned up. The Bulldog is a success in civil hands 'cos its cheap - they were sold off as little more than scrap, as a commercial product it failed completely - which strangely is why its manufacturer no longer exists in any recognisable form. I seem to remember that the Islander was actually built in Romanian most of the time?
Ask Angus about the Chevvron and you'll get nothing more than expletives regarding the people who buy light aircraft. As ever a nice design with real promise, no real ability to produce it in numbers and no real thought to do so. (and yes I own one and it is lovely but......)
If Airbus see a real opportunity to relocate production to France it will happen. The only reason production exists in the UK is due to the technology behind the wing design - offer the chaps and chapess's relocation to Toulouse or Paris and forget BAe and wing fabrication - there is plenty of fabrication spare space in France.
If you want to find a genuine aviation success story - most of them lie in the parts, components and rather less glamorous areas frequented by Dowty and the like - and the withdrawal of EASA certification will hit them very hard unless some stupid politicians stop playing politics and actually do some thinking.