Conference to help firms make transition to a post-Brexit economy

15th October 2018

Businesses have less than six months in which to safeguard their transition to a post-Brexit economy.

If the UK and EU fail to agree a deal, even for a transitional period from 11pm on 29 March next year, then goods already in transit at that time could be held at our borders.

That might mean orders not being delivered on time, parts not being available to complete orders already in production, raw materials being held in stockpiles at ports and delays to payments, creating corporate cash flow problems.

At this month’s Conservative Party conference, Prime Minister Theresa May pledged she would deliver Brexit even if ‘no deal’ were agreed.

Six months ago, the Chamber’s Brexit Advisory Group published a checklist of the minimum businesses should be doing to make their transition as seamless as possible.

Research carried out at the time found that 75% of businesses had not made plans to manage the potential financial impact of Brexit on their activities and 57% had not even discussed it at Board level.

Scott Knowles, Chief Executive at East Midlands Chamber, which is actively encouraging firms to take steps to protect themselves and has campaigned to make sure the needs of business drive the Government’s position in negotiations with the EU, said: “You don’t have to be trading with the EU to be affected by Brexit.

“You might be trading with a country outside the EU but any agreement we have with that country will have been negotiated through the EU and won’t apply to the UK after 11pm on 29 March next year if we don’t have a deal or a transitional arrangement in place.

“That could result in delays to getting goods in or out of the country, getting paid for those goods or services, enforcing existing contracts or protecting intellectual rights, all of which could cause problems for UK.”

On Monday 22 October, the Chamber is staging a Brexit and Trade Conference to offer guidance on what leaving the EU really means and how to minimise its impact.

Delegates will hear from keynote speakers who are experts in their fields and some who have been actively involved in trying to make Brexit as smooth as possible. They will also get to hear and take part in panel discussions and workshops about what Brexit really means and how to ease the transition.

The free conference will be held at The City Ground, Nottingham Forest Football Club, Nottingham. For further details visit https://bit.ly/2pJVPvp.

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