Brexit Prep Costs Small Firms $2,470, But Most Are Doing Nothing
Brexit Prep Costs Small Firms $2,470, But Most Are Doing Nothing
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The average cost to a small business preparing for a no-deal Brexit is about 2,000 pounds ($2,470) -- but only one in 10 have actually taken steps to get ready, according to a leading business lobby group.
“Preparing for this outcome is coming at a high price,” said Mike Cherry, national chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses, which surveyed 1,062 SMEs on their Brexit plans and published the findings Friday. “Ongoing uncertainty is to blame for preparations hitting the skids.”
The findings highlight the scale of the challenge facing Prime Minister Boris Johnson as he tries to ready the country for a potential hard break from the EU on Oct. 31. Though the U.K. government has accelerated its own contingency planning, many businesses are unwilling to spend scarce resources on an outcome that may not happen, Cherry said.
The average cost of preparing for Brexit rises to 3,000 pounds for small firms that import and export, the survey found, and two-thirds of respondents said they didn’t think they could plan for a no-deal split at all.
Cherry said small businesses should be given vouchers that could be used to spend on hard Brexit preparations such as finding new export markets. The government announced a 10 million-pound Brexit support scheme in August, but the funds are targeted to trade groups for things like training events and advice packs.
To contact the reporter on this story: Joe Mayes in London at jmayes9@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Rebecca Penty at rpenty@bloomberg.net, Frank Connelly, Jennifer Ryan
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