Brexit woes see services firms report poor outlook

There has been a call to pass the Brexit deal agreed between the UK and the EU after data published today shows optimism across the UK’S powerhouse services sector fell sharply in the three months to November.

The latest quarterly data from the CBI has found that business volumes and profitability fell across consumer as well as business and professional services.

Sentiment in the latter fell at the fastest pace for two years, while profitability is expected to decline in both sub-sectors over the quarter to February.

Investment intentions for the year ahead were found to be subdued in both subsectors, but “more starkly so” for consumer services.

Rain Newton-smith, CBI chief economist, said Brexit uncertainty continues to weigh heavily on the UK’S “world-beating” services firms.

“[They] expect to be operating in a challenging environment over the next quarter and beyond,” she added, and called for Parliament to approve the Brexit deal, to avoid a “no deal” scenario and access a long-term trade deal.