THUMBS UP FROM BOSSES
Sterling has best day in eight years and even big business is onside at last
tHE pound enjoyed its best day for eight years yesterday as business leaders welcomed the ‘ clarity’ provided by theresa May’s Brexit speech.
sterling jumped 3pc to a high of $1.24 after the Prime Minister set out her aims for leaving the European union and data showed a rise in inflation.
Bosses and City lobby groups gave Mrs May’s strategy a cautious welcome – even though many had hoped to remain in the Eu’s single market – saying that the currency markets had been craving certainty and that the pound’s biggest one- day gain since 2008 was a vote of confidence.
Mrs May also made clear yesterday that she backed a transition deal if necessary, so that any changes could be phased in to ensure a smooth exit from the Eu. It came after warnings that there were risks of a ‘cliff edge’ exit that could see Britain crash out with massive disruption to firms on both sides of the Channel.
Allie Renison, head of Europe and trade policy at the Institute of Directors, said: ‘We welcome the level of detail provided in the PM’s speech, which is absolutely vital for business. Whatever the shape of the final trade deal, a smooth and orderly departure is in the whole country’s interests.’
British business executives meeting at the World Economic Forum in Davos – the vast majority of whom opposed leaving the Eu during the referendum campaign – said the uK could prosper on the global stage.
John Nelson, chairman of the Lloyd’s of London insurance market, said: ‘We are leaving. We’ve got to get used to it. Let’s get cracking. the sooner we get negotiations going the better.’ the boss of unilever, Paul Polman, added: ‘What we need to do is make sure that we don’t shoot ourselves in the foot and we have a solution that is good for the uK, good for Europe and ultimately good for the long term.’
Also at Davos, foreign business leaders suggested the appetite for new trade deals was strong. Among them, Indian billionaire sunil Mittal, founder of the Bharti Enterprises conglomerate, said: ‘India and the uK have been trying to do a lot of things together, but we have been prevented from a trade deal by the uK being part of the Eu. that’s done, it is separate now, and I am optimistic.’
the recovery in the pound came after two days of falls. Michael Hewson of trading firm CMC Markets said: ‘Currency markets certainly liked the sound of the speech, with the pound rallying hard in the aftermath. For now, markets appear soothed about the fact that the uK has a plan.’
CBI director-general Carolyn Fairbairn, who argued strongly for Britain to remain in the Brussels bloc, said last night: ‘ the Prime Minister changed the landscape. Businesses will welcome the greater clarity and the ambition to create a more prosperous, open and global Britain, with the freest possible trade between the uK and the Eu.’
Anthony Browne, head of the British Bankers’ Association, previously demanded the uK protect the socalled passporting rights that allow financial firms to sell their services across the Eu – which is now widely viewed as impossible from outside the single market. But last night he said: ‘the Prime Minister has provided important clarity on the kind of relationship the uK will seek with the Eu and we welcome the Government’s commitment to free trade with the Eu and the rest of the world.’
‘We are leaving – let’s get cracking’