North West businesses not convinced by Brexit

YouGov, working on behalf of audit, tax and consulting firm RSM, polled 300 UK leaders of mid-market companies with a turnover between £30-£300m across a range of key sectors.

London, where 54 per cent expect a negative impact, was the only region with lower expectations.

The survey also showed that 41 per cent of North West businesses have faith in the UK government to secure a ‘good deal’ on exiting the European Union, compared to 15 per cent who are not confident.

A narrow majority of North West companies reported they had already taken measures to review immigration and employment legislation in anticipation of hiring EU nationals (51 per cent); and have looked to review/adjust EU supplier contracts (40 per cent) and expand into non-EU markets (34 per cent).

Competition from abroad (27 per cent), exchange rates (21 per cent) and political change and wage inflation (20 per cent) were the top key areas of concern for North West businesses. Jill Jones, RSM’s regional managing partner in the North West, said: ‘There is still a lot of uncertainty and this will be a key factor in shaping a difference of opinion and will be fuelling the short term pessimism from North West businesses."