Lucky days for Graze as its US venture pays
THE snacks-by-post business Graze is ‘very lucky’, with so much uncertainty around Brexit, that half of its revenues come from the US, says chief executive Anthony Fletcher. But he is concerned at the prospect of the firm, based in London, losing access to skilled staff from abroad. He says: ‘It’s a worry. It’s very hard to plan a Brexit strategy. It is a period of greater uncertainty if you’re looking to export full stop. ‘We’re very lucky nearly half our revenues come from America, which means some of our numbers go up and some of them go down. ‘If we were a business more focused on Britain this would be quite a difficult thing to negotiate, with foreign exchange moving around and ingredient prices moving.
‘I have low expectations of there being any clarity soon. Politicians seem to be moving very fast but not really signalling or consulting heavily on what might be coming.
‘London is emerging as this real entrepreneurial hub which is creating businesses such as Asos and Just Eat – the next breed of British success stories. They’re filled with specialists, talent drawn from around the world.’
He says Graze is a tech firm, using technology to not only optimise its mail order system, but to refine its products.
‘I like to hire people who can do the job,’ he says. ‘British is the largest contingent but we have many from across Europe, some with very specialist skills, people with PhDs in specific types of mathematics.
‘They ask me what’s going to happen. Some have moved their families to the UK more than a decade ago.
‘What can I advise? All I can say is “it’s very uncertain, but you’re a key employee”.’