£66bn of investment abandoned as firms fear pear-shaped Brexit
A third of businesses have turned their back on investments totaling £65.5bn following the Brexit vote, a study out today has found.
Hitachi Capital and the CEBR (Centre for Economic and Business Research) also found two out of five (42 per cent) large and medium sized companies had cancelled or put investment plans on hold.
Around a fifth (22 per cent) cited the tumbling pound as a reason behind their lack of investment appetite, while a similar proportion (21 per cent) blamed the uncertainty surrounding the access to the Single Market UK businesses could expect to enjoy post-Brexit.
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However, Robert Gordon, chief executive of Hitachi Capital, is urging businesses not the be downbeat about June's referendum result.
"Hitachi is calling on businesses, which are the drivers of the UK economy, to adapt to these uncertain times and seize the opportunity to forge new partnerships globally while continuing to engage with the Single Market," said Gordon.
"Seventy percent of businesses would be likely to resume investment if uncertainty of the UK's membership of the Single Market is resolved, but they must remember that access is different to membership and this is how both China and the US are able to engage with the EU."