Domestic

She founded the company in 2006 and it now employs 40 people. It designs and assembles its bikes in Ludlow, mostly for the domestic market but 25 percent of its sales go to continental Europe.

“Even if (Brexit) goes smoothly, we will end up with a drastically reduced operating profit at the end of the year because we had to spend all this extra money on warehouse space. And that’s money that we can’t invest in the future of the business,” Rowntree said.

Repeated across the economy, that scenario might limit any rebound in business investment, even if London and Brussels strike a deal in the coming months.

Investment by companies in Britain has fallen for four consecutive quarters, the longest such run since 2009 when the economy was in the grip of the global financial crisis.

Rowntree said Islabikes was able to finance its stockpiling operation itself. “But for a lot of businesses that obviously wouldn’t be an option,” she said.

There are growing signs of financial stress for Britain’s factory sector.

Bank of England figures show manufacturers’ overdrafts as a percentage of business overdrafts, outside the financial sector, rose in December to the highest level since April 2016, at just under 20 percent.

It was the biggest jump by this measure in three-and-a-half years.

And on the ground, those who keep a close eye on the health of British companies are now worried that manufacturers are over-stretching themselves financially by stockpiling goods.

Stocks of goods are not easy to use as collateral for loans because security can be complicated, with responsibility often split between lenders and suppliers.

“If they can’t raise the finance to do that by going to a funder – borrowing by way of debt – typically it comes out of the cashflow,” said Colin Haig, insolvency partner at accountants BDO.