No-deal Brexit will make business “untenable” for 1 in 6 manufacturers claims new research

The EEF-commissioned ComRes survey of 500 manufacturing business decision makers finds with just six months to go until Britain leaves the EU, four in five (83 per cent) say that they are currently not prepared for a no-deal Brexit. Two in five companies (43 per cent) say they are not prepared - and will not be preparing - for what would happen if the government fails to strike an agreement.

Moreover, 30 per cent of businesses said that they are finding, or expect to find it, more difficult to recruit workers with the necessary skills. A quarter said that as a result of Brexit they have put investment on hold, or are expecting to lose out on investment, lose skilled workers and new contracts. A similar number expect to change their growth plans as a result of Brexit.

Respondents were uncertain about where future opportunities lie, with 24 per cent not clear what their biggest post-Brexit opportunity will be, but there was a definite appetite to take advantage of new trade possibilities, with 52 per cent of respondents viewing the US as the top priority for post-Brexit trade deal, and two in in five business saying that they are already exploring, or expect to explore, new markets outside the EU.