Manufacturers ‘risk recession’ as Brexit stockpiling hits record highs February 1, 2019 Storm clouds are gathering above Britain’s manufacturers, as positive sentiment in the industry fell to a 30-month low in January amid record levels of stockpiling in the run-up to Brexit. Manufacturing activity fell to a three-month low in January, as stocks of purchases rose at a record rate, according to the latest Purchasing Managers' Index [...]
Plastic packaging giant RPC Group revenues down after weak Christmas, as it ramps up Brexit stockpiling February 1, 2019 RPC Group’s shares fell slightly this morning as the company admitted weak Christmas trading had impacted revenues. The firm, one of Europe’s biggest plastic packaging makers, said Brexit stockpiling had also hit cash flow in the period as it looks to alleviate disruption from the UK’s exit from the EU. Read more: Private equity group [...]
Brexit pushes one in three firms to plan move abroad, survey finds February 1, 2019 Nearly a third of companies surveyed by one of Britain's biggest groups may move parts of their operations abroad because of Brexit. Research by the Institute of Directors (IoD) found 16 per cent of its member had already initiated relocation plans, with a further 13 per cent “actively considering” a move. Among large businesses surveyed, [...]
Editor’s Notes: Why we cannot take no-deal off the table February 1, 2019 There has been no shortage of ludicrous Brexiter outbursts lately as they see their project imperilled by political reality. One Tory backbencher railed against the CEO of Airbus (who had warned against a no-deal Brexit) on the grounds that he is German. He even invoked the Second World War to make a point about not [...]
Britain’s trade bodies must confront challenges of their own January 31, 2019 What does the future hold for Britain's trade bodies? We hear a great deal about the disruption that poses huge challenges to their members but what of the disruption facing membership groups themselves? Many are struggling with declining membership rates, or the competing interests of the members who do remain. Take the British Retail Consortium [...]
Britain has never understood the fervour for the EU project January 31, 2019 What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object? It would appear that we are about to find out in the latest instalment of the Brexit soap opera that has been running since we announced our intention to leave in 2016. For no sooner had MPs voted on Tuesday night to back Sir Graham [...]
DEBATE: After Tuesday’s amendments, is a no-deal Brexit actually more likely now? January 31, 2019 After Tuesday’s amendments, is a no-deal Brexit actually more likely now? John Oxley, a Conservative commentator, says YES. The UK leaves the EU by operation of law at 11pm on 29 March. No deal is the default. The insipid amendment “rejecting” that outcome has no force. Only an agreement with the EU or the revocation or extension [...]
Let it be: London councils should allow offices and shops to be converted into homes January 31, 2019 Amid all the Brexit brouhaha in Westminster it is important that parliamentarians do not forget the many other issues that affect people's day-to-day lives. Bravo, therefore, to MP Chris Philp for reminding Theresa May during yesterday's Prime Minister's Questions that the dream of homeownership remains all too elusive for many young adults – particularly in [...]
UK car industry warns on no-deal Brexit as manufacturing and investment nosedive January 31, 2019 The UK car industry has warned of the “devastation” a no-deal Brexit would cause as new figures show manufacturing and investment plummeted in 2018. UK car production fell to a six-year low of 1.52m units last year, while investment was slashed almost in half to just £589m, according to the latest data from the Society [...]
Barclays gets go-ahead to shift £160bn of assets to Dublin amid Brexit uncertainty January 30, 2019 Barclays has been given the green light to transfer £160bn of assets to its Irish business as the bank “cannot wait any longer” to implement its no-deal Brexit strategy amid ongoing political uncertainty. A High Court judgement revealed that the bank is pushing forward with its Brexit contingency plan to transfer all of its European [...]