Brexit uncertainty ‘starts to bite’ for UK businesses
london — Britain’s businesses are suffering from Brexit-related uncertainty as exports slow, recruitment difficulties mount and investment plans are scaled back, two surveys showed on Monday.
The British Chambers of Commerce said its survey of 5,600 companies, the largest of its kind in Britain, showed services firms were having the most trouble finding staff since the survey began in 1989, and growth in factory exports was the slowest since late 2016.
“These figures reinforce what we are hearing from businesses up and down the country — the uncertainty over Brexit, and the lack of bold moves to boost business at home, are starting to bite,” BCC director general Adam Marshall said.
Last week Prime Minister Theresa May told her Conservative Party to back her plan to leave the European Union as Britain entered “the toughest part of the negotiations”.
Diplomatic sources told Reuters on Friday the EU’s Brexit negotiators see a divorce deal as “very close”.
Britain’s economy has lagged behind the growth rate of many other rich countries for much of the period since the 2016 Brexit vote.
The BCC’s quarterly survey showed that the percentage of services businesses looking to recruit more staff over the next three months fell to 47 per cent from 60 per cent, the lowest since the first quarter of 1993. Seventytwo per cent of firms reported recruitment difficulties, the highest on record.
For manufacturers, growth in both export sales and new export orders was the slowest since the end of 2016.
“Weaker sterling is no longer providing a boon to many of our exporters, while consumer spending is failing to boost the domestic market,” Marshall said.
Separately on Monday, accountancy firm Deloitte said its survey of chief financial officers pointed to slower business spending and hiring after Brexit.
Only 13 per cent of CFOs were more optimistic about the prospects for their company than they were three months ago, down from 24 per cent in July, Deloitte said.
Seventy-nine percent said they expected the long-term business environment to be worse as a result of leaving the EU, the highest share since the 2016 Brexit vote.