The referendum result may have sent Sterling plummeting to a 30-year low, but almost half (47 per cent) of small business leaders anticipate no disruptive impact at all from Brexit. Only 14 per cent are concerned that the UK leaving the EU will significantly affect them, according to a study by CitySprint.
The company’s survey has found that, on average, most in the survey would like a six-month breather before the exit negotiations begin. But a fifth of the UK’s SMEs want to get the exit process started now, asking for Article 50 to be triggered immediately, in contrast with prime minister Theresa May’s assurance that Brexit talks will not begin until 2017.
When asked about their attitude towards the future, 68 per cent state they feel either as confident or more confident about their business than they did 12 months ago. This is a 16 per cent drop since CitySprint put the same question to them in October 2015, but still means more than two thirds of SME leaders have not had their confidence knocked by the economic slowdown reported following the referendum result.
Patrick Gallagher, chief executive of CitySprint says, ‘It’s fantastic to see that the UK’s SMEs remain upbeat and ready to tackle whatever lies ahead. We know that they are resilient, having weathered the economic ups and downs over recent years, but business leaders must not become blasé about the future.
‘As a business leader myself, I have been working closely with my leadership team to prepare for every likely eventuality.’
The company also be working very closely with its UK customers on how they navigate the change and take advantage of the situation and the length of time available to plan new business models and properly research ideas that could differentiate their brands, rather than let Brexit happen to them. ‘I’m feeling very positive about this and think it’s a strategy other businesses could do well to look at,’ he adds.
Further reading on Brexit
