Business 'flying blind' into Brexit

While confidence is high, they are unprepared and too ambitious about new trade deals, according to a study from Midlands law firm Shakespeare Martineau.

The firm says confidence is high amongst bosses at mid-sized British businesses as they expect to prosper from Brexit. But it warns that they are unprepared, lack robust plans, are overly ambitious about brokering new trade deals, and are heavily reliant on migrant workers to fill a widening skills gap.

Nearly three quarters (73%) of British business leaders believe the UK is strong enough to be independent whilst their European counterparts don’t think UK will get its way over the negotiations. Less than half (41%) of leaders believed the UK's level of influence would increase after the country leaves the union. Across the continent, nearly two thirds (59%) of European business counterparts believe that the UK’s level of influence will reduce. One third (33%) believe that the UK simply isn’t strong enough to be independent of the Union.

Almost three quarters (74%) agreed that businesses require immigration to fill the skills gap, and over a third (39%) want a reduction in ‘red tape’ in this regard. But nearly two thirds (63%) of UK leaders are expecting the flow of skilled workers into the UK to decrease.

The research found that British bosses were slow to implement plans and reticent when it came to taking positive steps towards being Brexit-ready. Nearly two thirds (61%) say they hadn’t set up a Brexit task force to address the outcome of Article 50.

And two thirds (68%) believe that Brexit presents them with the freedom to strike new trade deals. But over three quarters of EU opposite numbers are warning that the UK has overestimated the EU’s willingness to accommodate its requirements.

Andy Raynor, CEO of Birmingham-based Shakespeare Martineau, said: “Business are flying blind, but they are flying nonetheless. And, in the absence of information, they are charting their own reality to get on with business.

“Our research compounds what we are living and breathing everyday through our interaction with clients - these are uncertain times but we are working collectively to try and navigate our organisations’ through an information vacuum.

"The confidence shown in the report is welcome and mid-market leaders need to embrace the uncertainty. Those who take action now to prepare and plan for the whole host of potential variables can be ahead of the curve and capitalise on the current state of flux.

"As business leaders we simply can’t rely on central Government to hand us opportunity amidst all the Brexit chatter, it needs to be tackled with true entrepreneurial spirit in order for organisations to survive, prosper and maintain a positive direction of travel.”

Shakespeare Martineau surveyed more than 400 bosses from mid-market UK companeis employing 50-250 people, and more than 50 from the EU.