Businesses Are Getting More Pessimistic Over Brexit

(Bloomberg) -- Businesses are getting more pessimistic about how Brexit will impact them, according to a Bank of England survey.

The most downbeat businesses expect a reduction in sales of more than 10 percent due to the U.K.’s withdrawal from the European Union, while the most optimistic expect a boost of about 1 percent or more, the BOE said.

The average eventual change in sales stood at around minus 3 percent, it said based on responses to its Decision Maker Panel survey of around 4,000 chief financial officers from a range of U.K. companies. Compared to a year earlier, businesses are slightly more gloomy about the eventual impact on sales.

Analysis from respondents also shows that Brexit likely lowered investment growth by 3 to 4 percentage points in the twelve months leading up to the first half of 2017, the BOE said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jill Ward in London at jward98@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Fergal O'Brien at fobrien@bloomberg.net, Lucy Meakin, David Goodman

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