One in Eight German Firms to Relocate U.K. Business on Brexit

(Bloomberg) -- One out of every eight German companies with business in the U.K. is planning to relocate their investments to other markets because of concerns about Brexit.

Firms with links to Britain are already experiencing less favorable business conditions than they did last year, a survey by the German DIHK industry association showed on Thursday. More than two thirds of respondents expect 2019 to get worse, and 13 percent say they plan to shift toward Germany and other European Union countries because of Brexit.

The results underline the difficulty businesses face in making investment decisions as key details about the U.K.’s exit from the EU remain undecided. British Prime Minister Theresa May is seeking more to secure changes to a Brexit deal she proposed that has so far failed to earn the support of her administration.

Only a quarter of the companies surveyed by DIHK claim to be well prepared for Brexit, according to the report. More than half say they can’t yet quantify the likely consequences even after a deeper examination of the issues.

To contact the reporter on this story: Carolynn Look in Frankfurt at clook4@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Fergal O'Brien at fobrien@bloomberg.net, Andrew Blackman, Kevin Costelloe

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