>hgVZa^ Ògbh [ZVg 7gZm^i ^beVXi dc J@ igVYZ

ISRAELI COMPANIES operating in Britain have outlined their concerns over trade and investment prospects following Brexit.

A major survey of foreign business leaders in this country included 17 Israeli companies.

Trade between Britain and Israel has been at record levels, but the Israeli firms’ responses painted a negative outlook, with 65 per cent saying they were “not very confident” that the government would secure a good deal by the time the UK leaves the EU in March 2019.

They said their priorities for the negotiations included finding a solution to allow companies to have access to the European single market.

Hugo Bieber, chief executive of the UK Israel Business (UKIB) group, said: “The survey shows there is still a lot of work to be done to reassure on Britain’s Brexit readiness and to lock-in record trade levels.”

A delegation of 35 UK business leaders will travel to Israel this month to discuss Brexit strategies.

The Israeli views were in line with those expressed by French, German and American businesses involved in the poll. It was carried out by Ipsos Mori with 1,046 members of 13 foreign chambers of commerce during October, with the results published on Wednesday.

Twenty four per cent of the Israeli firms said Brexit would have “no effect either way” on their plans.

But asked about the prospects for future investment, 65 per cent expressed negativity, with just six per cent saying they were “very positive”.

While one-third reported no impact from Brexit on their business so far, another third said there had been a “fairly negative” effect.