UK now has second-worst risk rating in G7 after Italy

THE UK has been moved on to a poorer risk rating by business information company Dun & Bradstreet, with the country now ranked joint secondworst among the Group of Seven leading industrialised nations behind only Italy.

Dun & Bradstreet said yesterday that it had downgraded the UK’s risk rating from DB2c to DB2d, citing the increasing likelihood of a “hard Brexit” scenario involving loss for the UK of free access to the European Union single market. It noted this move followed a rating change from DB2a to DB2c on June 24, immediately after the EU referendum result.

Markus Kuger, senior economist at Dun & Bradstreet, warned UK companies should be taking “appropriate risk management measures” and declared that sterling weakness would prompt rising inflation.

He added: “With the pound having already fallen to a six-year low against the euro, companies should be taking the appropriate risk management measures. Businesses must carefully assess growth opportunities, while preparing for the changes that Brexit will bring.”

Assessing the UK’s prospects, Dun & Bradstreet said: “Although industrial and consumer confidence indicators remain positive, bolstering the short-term economic outlook, Dun & Bradstreet analysis indicates that the increasing likelihood of a ‘hard Brexit’ warrants a further downgrade.”

Dun & Bradstreet observed that, before yesterday’s downgrade, the UK had been on a par with Canada and Singapore, but now rated the same as Belgium. It added that, together with Japan and France, the UK was now